A fledgling recovery in the US market fuels a healthy attendance at the AHR Expo

2010 AHR Expo

Signs of a recovering economy was a key view from many interviewed as to the main reason for the attendees at the 2010 AHR Expo, from January 25 to 27, at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida. According to the organisers, nearly 45,000 attendees and exhibitors filled the aisles during the Expo. They came from 120 different countries to see hundreds innovative products on display from 1,823 exhibiting companies. More than 200 companies were first-time exhibitors at the AHR Expo. According to the organisers, the 28,582 registered visitors, a nearly 8% increase from the 2005 AHR Expo in Orlando, set a new record for Southeast HVAC/R shows.

Clay Stevens, president of International Exposition Company, which produces and manages the AHR Expo, attributed much of the show’s success to an improving economy and the huge amount of valuable information offered at the event. “There is great interest and demand for ‘green’/ sustainable products and technologies,” Stevens said.

“Hundreds of exhibitors were featuring energy-efficient solutions and we offered a variety of educational sessions built around these interests.” The following were the show highlights:

• Several ‘Green’ features and educational sessions

• The International Energy Agency sponsored, for the first time a workshop on Solar Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration

• LEED half-day workshops, presented by the US Green Building Council provided practical knowledge on how to be an essential and knowledgeable part of a LEED team and how to manage a LEED project from the first client meeting to final certification

• Energy Star Your Customer’s Path to Green, Sustainable Buildings, presented by the US EPA’s Energy Star Programme

• PM Live: Hydronic Design for Solar & Geothermal Heat Pump Systems, John Siegenthaler, Hydronics Editor of PM Magazine discussed the essentials of successful solar combisystem design

• The presentation of the AHR Expo Innovation Awards. Nine category-winners received the first place honour, while 32 companies were awarded Honourable Mention. Danfoss won the AHR Expo Product of the Year Award for their Performer VSD, a variable speed compressor for residential use.

• Nearly $11,000 in entry fees from the 2010 AHR Expo Innovation Awards Competition was given to the Jacksonville Police Athletic League (JAXPAL) to help install a new HVAC control system

• Powering the Smart Grid with the LonWorks Technology and RF Wireless Technology, presented by LonMark Americas

• Introduction to Cloud Services for Buildings, presented by Ken Sinclair, Editor/Owner of www. automatedbuildings.com According to the organisers, the 2011 AHR Expo will be held in Las Vegas, from January 31 to February 2, 2011.
What they said:

“We are very happy with the traffic. It was more than we expected, given the current economy. There has been a lot of interest in our new high-efficiency commercial product.”
– April Johnson, Marketing Director, Weil McClain

“We got tonnes of good leads, and the traffic was great. This show has the best ROI of any show we do in this industry.”
– Martin Dingman, Product Manager, Siemens

“Traffic was heavy from the very beginning. The quality was great. We saw a lot of engineers.”
– Mark Adams, Channel Development Manager for Florida Schneider Electric

“A lot of interest in new products, and we saw a lot of manufacturer reps.”
– Tom Petersen, VP Sales & Marketing, Mars Air Systems

“It was absolutely fantastic! We couldn’t have been happier. There was tonnes of interest in our new software.”
– Jackie Catalano, Marketing Communications Manager, Emerson

“It started off with a bang and stayed steady all show long. We’re as happy as can be with the traffic we saw. We introduced a new product and received more leads than we did all of last year – and last year was a good show.”
– Lou Laroche, National Sales Manager, Airtec

“The aisles were flooded. There was a steady flow of people, and we got quality leads.”
– Gene Ziegler, Regional Manager, Daikin AC

“We were impressed! We were a bit pessimistic, but the first-day traffic was steady, and there seems to have been a lot of international visitors.”
Steven Junge, President, – Lattner Boiler Manufacturing Company

“It was a good first day. We saw a good mixture of engineers and contractors. There is a lot of interest in our new energy-efficient products.”
– Mark Handzel, National Sales, ITT R&CW

“We were seeing people from a variety of places and diverse industry sectors. People visiting our booth really liked all our options. They saw what we had and got excited about how to use it in their own business. It’s obvious attendance was much higher at this year’s Expo. We’re busy nonstop, which is just the way we like it!”
– Todd Strem, Sales & Marketing Manager, WoodMaster

“The diversity in attendance at the Show was exceptional, especially the number of international visitors. We saw the buying behaviour improve from a lot of kicking the tyres last year to a much more significant resource commitment here in Orlando, which was critical to the success with the introduction of our new RIGIDconnect online business tool. We were extremely pleased!”
Steve Dyer, Director of Marketing, RIDGID

“The Show was great. We saw a lot more foot traffic in our booth, especially local contractors and applied distributors. Our broad product displays and minivignettes really helped us tell the complete story of LG’s offerings.”
– Kelly Cutchins, VP Commercial Air Conditioning, LG Electronics

“We heard from many attendees in our booth that our variable speed compressors are the “wave of the future”, and that to see the wave of the future you need to attend the AHR Expo. It’s the Show you want to have your products at, if you want to be positioned for meeting the needs of the industry, now and going forward.”
– Steve Hamlin, Sales Group Manager, Panasonic

“As a first-time exhibitor, this was incredible for us. As a new company looking to meet customers, AHR Expo brings the largest and most knowledgeable crowds. This was a perfect fit.”
– Ben Pierce, Customer Service Manager, Clean Alert

“We saw a lot of interest in renewable and comfort systems from all areas, and good engineering contacts, who have an appreciation for quality, and proven, truly sustainable systems. People who came to the booth understand the importance of the ‘whole systems’ approach to sustainable building, and are eager to work with us on making it happen.”
– Bill Johansen, Business Unit Manager, Building Technology, REHAU

“We were very pleased with the show this year. Visitors to our booth were very interested in retrofitting old buildings to enable energy savings. The consumer is searching for low-cost and minimal-disruption solutions, and we heard that over and over. It’s these timely topics and offerings that attendees hear about and see at the AHR Expo.”
– Harry Sim, CEO, Cypress Envirosystems

“We chose AHR to introduce the Premier VS-VH high efficiency heating system because the Expo is recognised as North America’s most significant HVAC/R show. We consider this to be our best show yet!”
– Susan Samson, Marketing Manager with Superior Radiant Products