1. CastExpo 2013 Write-Up - By Shane Allen.
WOW! BEYOND BELIEF! WHAT A VENUE! WHAT A TURN-OUT!
EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS! ECONOMIC RECOVERY IS IN FULL
SWING!
Everyone I talked to was comparing St. Louis to the prior CastExpo in
Orlando and how much better this show-and-tell was! Many think it might
have been to do with the venue, so many people took the opportunity to
visit Mickey Mouse in Orlando with the family in-tow that they neglected
really attending CastExpo. Plus, at the time, the economy was in the tank.
This year’s CastExpo was wild! Sandy of Tonkawa Foundry emailed that
she stopped by the booth several times, and each time there was "no room
on the booth" as everyone was busy doing sales leads. At times, there
were four demonstrations in process and metalcasters were lined up
begging for more. We could have used an extra hand or two or maybe
even three! Saturday and Sunday were the busiest of days and Monday
was not all that bad. The venue in St. Louis was ideal and the weather
perfect. Staring off on a Saturday really set the stage.
Daniel, the newest member of the team, certainly earned his stripes with
the number of on-the-booth demonstrations that he performed, especially in
Spanish. Simon and Chris were certainly kept busy with demonstration
after demonstration - one right after the other on the stand. At the end of
each day, I can safely say that the entire team was wiped out - just drained
of energy. I personally was in bed just after 8pm the first night and 9pm the
second night. Even Daniel said he went to sleep very early!
How do you judge if a CastExpo is successful? What the metrics used to
define a successful CastExpo. The number one matrix is always the
"conversion rate" of sales leads to actual sales. The second matrix is the
number of sales leads obtained on the stand - good solid bona fide "today"
leads. Although the "tomorrow" leads are very important as well as it does
keep the fire burning. The overall attendance at the show, 8,000+ by all
accounts, is an important matrix as well. Also, the number of equipment
sales is a leading indicator of how the economic environment is doing.
Much of the equipment appeared to be already sold as it was being setup

2. on the floor, and by the end of the show, it looked like all of the equipment
had been sold. This is the big boy equipment - costing hundreds of
thousands if not millions of dollars. I am sure there are "deep" discounts
on the show floor during the negotiating process as an equipment
manufacturer would prefer to ship the equipment to a customer instead of
back to the warehouse. Also, a very important indicator is the "quality-or
type" of person you meet with - is it the decision maker - what is their role
and goal in life? We came away having talked with the big boys - the top
dogs - the ones that approve the writing of the checks. We met the Head
Honcho of Dotson Castings who is the new AFS President and also met
with the IT Director for all of Waupauka Foundries. These are the movers
and the shakers. I do know that the top dogs of Bradken were there, but
we did not get to meet them, unfortunately. They were there purchasing
new heavy equipment.
So, in recap, the most important is the "conversion" rate into new sales and
I predict we will have a good conversion rate in the coming weeks and
months.
Shane Allen
Head of North American Office
Synchro ERP