Posted on: August 2nd, 2011 | Categories: Blog, General, Robert Laarhoven
I don’t know about you, but I’m getting really tired of the guys in Washington playing games with our economy. I’m ready for summer to be over and for all of us to get back to business. Even though July is typically a very slow revenue month we still remain quite busy with designing, quoting and product development. We actually booked 47% more revenue this July than we did the same month last year thanks to our “Early Buy Promotion” and our pipeline for August through October is better than it has been over the past couple of years. Hopefully this all means we will all have a great second half of the year!
I’m in the San Francisco Bay area this week visiting customers. I am anxious to show them all the latest and greatest we have to offer with DeltaMatrix and DeltaFabric. Since it is the summer I’m going to going to watch the San Francisco Giants play the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight. And then, on Thursday, I’ll be playing in the Northern California EDPA golf event. In between all that fun I’ve got a bunch of appointments in which I will be sharing some great information.
Over the course of the next four weeks I’ll be in Chicago, Las Vegas, Dallas and North Carolina. I am able to have a travel schedule like this because of the great team back in Atlanta. If you have any projects or opportunities you would like us to take a look at (purchase or rental) please contact your account manager or submit your opportunity to design@laarhovendesign.com.
Have a great week!
Robert Laarhoven
Posted on: April 11th, 2011 | Categories: Blog, Events, General, Industry Events, Robert Laarhoven
NAB opened this morning and there are 24 DeltaMatrix exhibits on the show floor totaling almost 20,000 square feet!
Last week I flew back to Vegas for NAB (after having just been there for Exhibitor). We had a nice 20×30 sale through Everything Displays/New York and a 20×20 rental through Hunter Expositions/Montreal. I had promised Gery that if he closed the rental deal I would take him to dinner as I needed a good excuse to get to NAB…a show I had never been to before. When I got to the show on Thursday morning I was surprised to find that the 20×30 exhibit was 95% finished. I thought only the electric and flooring were going to be done on Wednesday but Structure, the I&D company hired by Everything Displays, decided to make quick work of the install. What’s more, Gery Hunter had hired Trade Show Supply to install his rental and had things well under control. I was fully prepared to help on both installs, but obviously my help was not needed…so I went for a walk.
NAB takes up all of the halls at the Las Vegas Convention center and I walked every inch of them at least once. Not only did I “bump” into 24 DeltaMatrix exhibits but I also got to meet many dealers and friends on the show floor. The show floor during install is one of my favorite places to be. It’s where the “rubber hits the road” in our industry. If you want to get a good handle on the quality of your work or the state of the industry in general then I suggest going to a large show like NAB and walk it during install like I did. If you are there for a DeltaMatrix install you’ll have plenty of time to do this since it sets up so quickly!
Gery and I did go to dinner Thursday night at a nice sushi restaurant I found off the strip. If anyone else wants a nice dinner then close a deal and invite me to the show…my bags are already packed!
Hunter Exposition 20x20 rental
Everything Displays 20x30 sale
Posted on: March 1st, 2011 | Categories: Blog, Events, Laarhoven Events, Robert Laarhoven
Today was my last day. Kind of bittersweet since the show is five days and I was only on the floor for three of them. But I was at the point of sensory overload….kind of like walking the Vegas strip
The BeMatrix exhibit was unbelievably busy today. It’s Monday and the Europeans are here en masse. The previous two days were predominantly visitors from outside of Europe.
I had a great meeting with our Chinese partner and learned he now has the capabilities of supporting our network with rentals in Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Singapore. He has also completed development of a monitor bracket and pegboard merchandising accessory for our LP3500 which we will show at Exhibitor.
Went back by the EDPA exhibit and ran into a few fellow members. It might have been too early for some of the others..you know who you are!
Got on flight to Rome via London…go figure. Lance and I are going to do some site seeing before heading back to Atlanta.
Every three years I come back from Euroshop with one or two major impressions. I’ll share those with you later this week after I’ve had some time to reflect.
Have a great day.
Robert Laarhoven
Posted on: February 28th, 2011 | Categories: Blog, Events, Laarhoven Events, Robert Laarhoven
After a late night in the “Altstaat” last night it’s back to the show bright and early. The BeMatrix exhibit had a steady stream of people all day. During my breaks I took the opportunity to walk several of the exhibit halls to see the latest and greatest. One of the things that stood out most was lighting. It seems everything is going LED.
Studio Dega, a Russian exhibit company was showing an interesting use of LED lights that were somehow embedded into their system.
JMT, a Dutch furniture rental company used paper going 20 feet high with dramatic lighting to capture attention. Late in the day they had a reception in their exhibit that lasted until 10 pm, well after the halls were closed. They were allowed to bring their own food and drink into the exhibit….amazing.
What’s most amazing this year is large rear-lit fabric. The Pixlip exhibit was three giant light boxes in a row using LED technology. I can’t wait to use some of that in upcoming projects.
The Dibond exhibit was pretty amazing as well. They used their own materials to create a 30 foot high wall of three dimensional triangles. Must have been pretty darn expensive.
Most of these exhibits took more than three days to install. Some of the exhibits I saw took over a week. Can you imagine the labor bill at Javitz for some of these exhibits…I can’t!
We finally left the hall at 9 pm after enjoying some time with our Norwegian friends at 2 Story Stands and JMT. Can’t wait until tomorrow. My feet are sore!
Robert Laarhoven
Posted on: February 27th, 2011 | Categories: Blog, Events, Laarhoven Events, Robert Laarhoven
It’s Saturday and wow, what a great first day on the show floor. Saw some great exhibits and met some old friends. After 9 hours of flying from Atlanta to Dusseldorf and a six hour time change I am finally back on the floor for this once every three year event. This is my 9th Euroshop and when I see some of the great exhibit design it seems as fresh as the first Euroshop I attended in 1987.
The beMatrix exhibit was stunning with hexagonal frames (please don’t ask for those in the USA) and LED lightboxes. We are working the exhibit with agents from around the globe. What a great international flavor. Late in the day I got to walk around a little and took pictures of some interesting exhibits. What is striking me most this year is height..both in structure and graphics. I’ve include some pictures. The first is of the entrance way with a huge LED sign welcoming exhibitors into the show.
Something else striking about Euroshop are the exhibiting hours. No four hour days here. Its 10 am until 6 pm…non-stop for five days. Pretty tough on the feet.
I am amazed at how many Americans I ran into. On Sunday I’m going to spend some time in the EDPA booth.
Have a great day.
Robert Laarhoven
