Exhibitors surveyed by GlobalFastenerNews.com reported plenty of success, but they were unanimous in finding no value in the longer second day hours.

The 2018 International Fastener Expos was open the traditional 9am to 4pm on Wednesday, October 31, but instead of 9am to 1pm on the second day, hours were 9am to 4pm.


How was the 2018 International Fastener Expo in Las Vegas for your company?

“Generally the show was very good for us,” a regular at multiple fastener trade shows and table tops declared. “Seemingly not as well attended, but the people who were there had purpose and we had some very positive conversation that could turn into business. Very satisfied.”

“It was a great show,” said one company executive who hosted a luncheon and happy hour. “Both were well attended. The venue and hosting hotel this year were ‘miles above’ last year’s venue and hotel.”

“The first day was very strong, but I would say the attendance was down from other years,” one exhibitor responded. “We are going to evaluate the costs and may change what we do next year.”

Opening day was “very good” until about 3pm as “the activity was very brisk.”

“The Vegas show apparently was a good one. Much of that is due to extreme preparation of our sales staff, double checking details following up consistently for months to make sure everything was received, and the booth was in order.”

“I have to say that I was skeptical about Mandalay as a venue, but now I am of the opinion that it was a great place for us,” said an exhibitor who has been at all the fastener trade show locations in Las Vegas. “It kept a lot of show goers in the same place so we got to see customers and friends in the hallways. Some previous years had everyone scattered all over the city.”

“The Vegas Show for us was good because it is were a lot of people who know us stop to meet our staff on the first day. Our stand gets lots of visitors the first day.”

IFE “was acceptable, with an okay amount of attendees and a few good leads,” one exhibitor reflected.

“Overall it was a great event for us,” a major, multi-booth exhibitor declared. The company introduced new products at IFE.

The IFE Hall of Fame and Young Fastener Professional awards given on the show floor helped draw participants, the exhibitor pointed out.

One company scanned 210 visitors at their booth. “We were extremely busy – additional staffing would have helped,” the exhibitor told FIN. “Sales manager indicates we have already received many request for quotes and have even receive substantial orders so far.”

“C+,” one exhibitor offered as a grade for the 2018 trade show.


Were the longer second day hours useful?

Exhibitors at the 2018 International Fastener Expo responding to FIN were unanimous: The extra hours were not valuable to them. Instead of the traditional 9am to 1pm hours on the second day, the 2018 trade show remained open until 4pm.

“No,” one exhibitor responded. “The extended hours only made it more difficult for our employees to catch flights that day resulting in higher costs because they had to stay an additional day. The extended hours did not, in our case, result in additional attendees or visitors to our booth. At times the aisles were virtually empty.”

“The second day was not any more useful than the half day show it used to be,” said another exhibitor who emphasized it only increased costs. “It forced us to stay an extra night and with most of the attendees going home right after the show, left few prospects for us to take out to dinner.”

“Unfortunately we didn’t find the longer hours on the second day useful. We would like to revert back to the half day instead of the full day.”

One multiple-booth exhibitor who anticipated that lack of second afternoon traffic put all but a few staff members on planes at mid-day.

“A total waste,” a multiple-decade exhibitor declared of the extended hours for the second day. “The afternoon was as bad as I’ve ever experienced at the show.”

Almost all exhibitors started moving out before the 4pm closing time.

Another exhibitor termed the extra hours as “a waste of time. The 1pm ending in the past was a stretch to begin with. Extending it until 4pm made matters worse, not better. I actually saw a few exhibitors breaking down around 1pm on Thursday for lack of traffic.”

“If you see 100 distributors for the entire two-day show, you see 85 on Wednesday and 15 on Thursday. The hours should reflect as such. Bad move.”

A machinery exhibitor noted that in addition to the full Thursday, afternoon hours had been added on Tuesday so exhibiting manufacturers could visit the machinery and tooling section. The idea was good, but with longer Thursday hours it meant three days of standing in the booths.

One exhibitor offered a solution: “If show management wants two full days, then they should do whatever it takes to get customers in the aisles throughout the show.” For example, the Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association offers “must be present to win” prizes on the second day.

Another exhibitor prefers shorter hours, but suggests a well-known speaker could help draw second-day participation.


Exhibitor Suggestions:

Unpopular for 2018 was the Halloween schedule and butting up with STAFDA. Next year IFE will move to September 16-18 and STAFDA will be November 10-12, 2019.

Multiple exhibitors expressed interest in IFE moving to different cities. “We see the same western people every year. Let’s go east to meet new customers.”

Several exhibitors mentioned rotating IFE between Las Vegas and Orlando or other cities.

“Unfortunately I think Vegas has too many distractions that take away opportunity to meet visitors to the show,” said one longtime exhibitor who showed how long he had been participating by adding: “I used to really enjoy the Columbus expos where everyone went to dinner then came back and hung out the rest of the evening in the Hilton’s second floor ballroom.”

“First, the show has gotten stale in Las Vegas. The IFE could learn from other trade shows.  Many moved around the country and/or between two major locations. The shows that move tend to bring in more customers for other regions that are closer to the trade show.”

The fastener trade show traditionally was limited to distributors, but one company which sells to distributors only found OEMs with badges labeled, ‘Fastener User.’ “It happened to me at least six times during the show where the person I was speaking to who I thought was a potential new customer. When I reached the part about we sell only to distributors, they voiced their disappointment. A real waste of time. No OEMs!”

Instead of changing Thursday show hours back to 9am to 1pm, one exhibitor suggested 10am to 2pm. “Wednesday night is usually a late night for both exhibitors and attendees, making a later start appreciated. Four hours is plenty of time for the second day.”

Several mentioned need for more signs. “Getting to the seminars was a little tricky, so having more visible signage would be helpful.”

Announcements on the loud speaker would have helped get people to programs on the show floor, another exhibitor commented.

Tuesday afternoon hours were added for otherwise exhibiting manufacturers to visit the manufacturing section before the full trade show.  

But the manufacturing section was off around a corner and separated by a long curtain. Many show attendees never saw the section, an exhibitor pointed out.

“The 2018 IFE was below expectations,” a machinery exhibitor said. That was “largely attributable to the expo floorplan where the Tooling & Machinery area was literally sectioned-off from the remainder of the show.” Attendees entering “would have to venture through the Source Global section and around the corner to find the Tooling & Machinery section. Even then it had a wall of curtains separating us from the rest of the show. The exhibitors in this area that I spoke with universally were disappointed and frustrated.”

The exhibitor said putting Tooling & Machinery on one side of the “main” exhibitors with Source Global on the other would create a better flow.

Multiple exhibitors complained about the non-fastener exhibitors such as companies selling phone cases and cosmetics. “Their salespeople were the most aggressive in the whole convention,” one attendee found. “They stepped in front of you as you walked in the aisles.”

One exhibitor said the floor plan did not help promote events. “The events were not well attended mainly due to their locations. If an event on a show floor cannot be seen by attendees, and does not look welcoming to the few passersby, then the event will not do well.”

Suggestions may be emailed directly to IFE: info@FastenerShows.com.

The next IFE will be September 17-19, 2019  – and again at Mandalay Bay. Web: FastenerShows.com

The trade show was founded in 1981 in Columbus, OH and is now owned by Southern California-based Emerald Expositions, which operates 55 trade shows. Web: EmeraldExpositions.com