This year's tour, which started in Columbus, OH, U.S. at Liebert Corp. and finished up in New Bern, NC, U.S. at BSH Home Appliances Corp., made 22 stops in 16 different states across the U.S. Visitors from leading appliance companies browsed 16 exhibits showcasing products ranging from adhesives and switches to fans and hydraulic presses.

Several first-time exhibitors used the tour as a way to get their names out to the appliance industry. Material Sciences Corporation's Engineered Materials and Sciences Group, which has historically supplied to the automotive industry, is now focusing on the appliance industry. "We're trying to find the best way to reach the appliance market," Rebecca Jones, marketing manager of MSC's Consumer & Industrial/Electrical & Electronic division, told APPLIANCE. "This show seems like the best way to get in contact with the engineers, which is who we want to talk to."

MSC showed several of its material solutions, including its patented SoundTrap(TM) and MagnaDamp(TM) products. The exhibit featured the sound-reducing features of SoundTrap, an engineered viscoelastic layer sandwiched between two cold-rolled layers of steel. According to MSC, the material can be used to reduce the noise emitted from appliance components such as motors and compressors.

Schuler, another first-time exhibitor, traveled from Germany to showcase the features of its hydraulic and mechanical presses to potential U.S. customers. "You can really meet more people this way," JŸrgen Meyer, product manager, told APPLIANCE. "Most people won't travel to trade shows anymore, especially internationally."

Curtis Boggs, sales account manager for contract manufacturer Mid-South Industries, Inc. agrees and says that even if companies do send representatives to traditional industry trade shows, it's often hard to establish good relationships in such large venues. "Someone like GE might send three or four people to a trade show, and you might never see them wondering around a convention center," he says. "It's much easier to 'tackle' them in a truck."

Even exhibitors that have been part of the tour for years say they continue to benefit from the exposure. "This is the only client show that we get to visit each of our potential or current customers," said Scott J. Adaska, southeast sales manager for Bulk Molding Components, Inc., a supplier of plastic compounds and resins. "We also get to see a lot of people we already know and get some face time with them."

Motor and air-moving supplier ebm Industries Inc. used the show as an opportunity to introduce appliance companies to some of its new products, namely its new ESM product (energy saving motor) and a newly designed convection fan. "It's also helping us to show people the design part of what we do," explained David Neal, sales engineer. "Some people think a fan is a fan. This has helped raise awareness of our engineering capabilities."