Word on the Street by Kevin Carty
Let’s Reminisce
This past Friday, I found myself thinking a lot about the past. During the day, I did an internal training session on the Intro Folding Fabric Panel System for our Project Management team. And then later that evening, I attended a graduation party for a family friend’s son who just finished high school.
Both really got me thinking about how time flies and all that has happened over the years in my personal as well as in my business life.
I’ve been in the trade show industry since 1994. To me that seems like a long time, but I’m not even forty. Whenever I find myself chatting with other “experienced professionals” in our business, there will be a point where we reminisce about the companies and products we sold or competed against that are no longer in business (or no longer a dominant force). Many were great products or companies that for whatever reason either took a wrong turn or we don’t hear from them in the North American marketplace any longer. Who knows why, and I have no desire to throw stones.
During our internal training on Friday, I actually caught myself a couple times, slipping back into my old sales spiel. The spiel would have included comparisons to these companies.
Here are just some of the companies/products that I remember:
- Channel Kor [purchased by Intex]
- TigerMark [purchased by Intex]
- Intex Exhibits – Panelflo and FastPack
- Maxxatrak
- Outline Exhibits
- Exposystems USA [purchased by ExpoDisplays]
- Marler Haley
- Pro Exhibits Inc.
What companies/products do you remember and what are your positive memories about them?
Have a safe and restful weekend.
–Kevin Carty
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