„Doing business with people“
All trade show events are important for WTH
(snt/mud) – Whether large or small – for Dr. Silke-Nicola Trzaska, all trade shows attended by WTH are equally important. She also does not believe that digitization will banish trade shows “to the screens” in the future. Dr. Trzaska (WTH- Sales and Application Engineering) rates the value of the interaction of trade fairs highly. After all, “We do business with people.” Here, the graduate chemist precisely describes her impressions of trade fair activity yesterday and today:
We do not conduct business with computers, platforms or artificial intelligence (AI), but with people. All our trade shows are of special value to us. Each one is of great importance to us, regardless of whether it is the largest plastics trade show like “K” or a smaller event like “Compounding World”.
We could easily get the impression that trade shows could become redundant in the face of increasing digitalization, after some events took place digitally during the Corona pandemic. But that is not the case. Trade shows provide us with an important opportunity for contact with our customers, an interaction that is invaluable to us. And what better way than at a trade show, where you can experience many contacts and projects at once without having to travel the world?
Our booths are more than just a place in an exhibition hall. They serve to make new contacts and maintain existing relationships. They also provide an excellent opportunity for colleagues who are not traveling to customers to meet their contacts face-to-face and experience one-stop exchanges of technical and commercial aspects.
Although platforms such as MS Teams provide practical solutions to day-to-day communication needs and allow people to see the face of the person they are talking to, they are often bound by rigid schedules and agendas and can overlook important developments and challenges. The presence of trade shows will continue to be critical and an important complement to digital platforms. Prospective customers will continue to visit these to experience new trends and innovations in direct contact.
We started our trade show journey back at the “K” show, one of the world’s largest and possibly the largest trade show in our industry. This gives us the opportunity to make new contacts with potential suppliers and customers from all over the world. Over the years, the “Fakuma” show has captured our hearts, not only because it was my first trade show.
Fakuma at Lake Constance gives us the opportunity to build close relationships with customers and potential customers, to have valuable conversations and to start projects that we might not otherwise experience because it’s usually the big companies that are asked first. Our goal is to find individual solutions and to follow progress as well as development of these projects, even if this sometimes takes years.
The ECS (European Coating Show) is an important platform for us because it allows us to identify new suppliers, maintain existing business relationships and successfully cooperate with our customers. It also provides us with the opportunity to keep abreast of the latest trends and developments in our industry and to absorb innovative ideas for the future.
Since our debut at the Plastpol show in 2010, we have established ourselves as a participant and have built a growing presence at the show. Our Plastpol participation has become a significant event where we are able to have valuable conversations with customers and prospects. Our efforts have resulted in a steady increase in customer visits and referrals. We appreciate the opportunity to showcase our projects and services here and expand our network.
We recently expanded our presence at CWE (Compounding World Essen) and are considering adding KUTENO to our trade show exhibits to strengthen our presence in these industries and regions. Many of us see the potential to participate in more trade shows as we can always gain valuable new insights and ideas. Each time, our booth staff looks forward to the opportunity to have in-depth conversations with customers and industry peers, despite the many efforts involved in preparing and setting up the booth.
Over the past few years, we have faced many challenges. Some trade shows could not take place – and yet we have had great successes and positive developments rolling in. Over the course of the past year, life has slowly returned to normal, so we look to the new trade show year with optimism.
