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IMTS Blog
Posts by: Meredith Fabrizio
My Trip to the China CNC Machine Tool Fair 2010
Ni Hao! Last Fall, when Peter told me I would be going to China with him in April, I was both extremely excited and nervous. What if I can’t eat the food there? What if I get a nasty case of jetlag? What if the Chinese don’t like me!? I had no idea what to expect, and the stories I heard from other vetran travelers had been a mix or good, bad, and bizzare.
Well I am happy to report that after spending one full week in the People’s Republic of China I am literally having the time of my life...and promoting our show to a very captive audience. Our mission in China is to promote both IMTS and MTConnect in the International Association area of CCMT - the China CNC Machine Tool Show. Our booth has been attracting both Exhibitors and Attendees who want more information about the big show in Chicago, and MTConnect is having great success with Exhibitors who want to adopt the standard here in China. I am once again faced with the challenge of stepping out of my role as Show Management and putting on the shoes of an Exhibitor. This time however, I cannot easily communicate with my attendees. I never realized the extreme importance of correct signage translation, and translated marketing materials. We are lucky enough to have three native speakers in our booth, both Xingbin Li - Chief Representative of AMT China and Jiang Feng, Business Development Manager of AMT China, have joined Peter and I on this adventure and have been fabulous hosts. Also our booth hostess, Vivian, has been busy keeping us caffeinated and helping to translate. After the show, Peter and I, will travel to Beijing to meet with our AMT Beijing office to discuss operations and logistics for the AMT Pavilion at CIMT 2011.
I have learned a few important chinese words, “Bu Hao” - very bad, and “Hen Hao!” - very good! Also, “Shi Shi” - Thank you, has been my most utilized saying so far. For example the food in China has been very very hen hao! I experienced my first traditional Chinese Banquet last night at the CCMT Opening Ceremony dinner. I had heard horror stories from fellow American Trade Show travelers who were faced with the awkward task of sitting through an entire traditional dinner without any clue as to what they were putting on their plate, and politely swallowing down unknown chinese fare and later feeling awful. Lucky for me, Li was able to avoid sitting with Peter at the VIP table and helped me sort through the different foods that were presented on the lazy susan. I was pleasantly surprised to find that each dish was delicious! Better still, Chinese food likes me as much as I liked it...knock on wood!
The only thing that I have found to be bu hao about China so far is the amazing yet terrifying way cars, buses, motorcycles, scooters, bicycles, and people maneuver around each other on the streets. I have seen over fifty instances where lives would have ended on the street if there had been any hesitation on either party involved. The miraculous thing is, after these near death encounters - no one stops, and gets out to yell at each other, no one flips the bird, there is no heavy horn-blowing. Just a little toot of the horn and they are on their way avoiding the next moving object that crosses their path. Needless to say, I am a nervous wreak in the back seat, yelping now and again when I witness an “almost” accident that neither of my Chinese counterparts seem to notice or care about.
I have one week left in this amazing country and am looking forward to the experiences and knowledge each day brings. I have learned so much in one week about the people, history, and culture, (and manufacturing technology) of China that I was never able to learn from a class or book. The experience has been mind opening. I will report back in a week with some more pictures, experiences, and chinese words!
Sai Chien!
Me Li Dan
(Meredith)
The Great Manufacturing Get-Together
On my first day of Christmas vacation I got a call from a panic stricken Lee Anne, who minutes earlier, got the dreaded news that she was selected for Jury Duty during the first week of January. Conveniently for her, the first week of January she planned to be in Minnesota (where it was currently 17 degrees below zero) for an event called The Great Manufacturing Get-Together. Lee Anne intended to represent IMTS at the event, while our President, Doug Woods spoke on a panel.
Now once I heard the words “Jury duty…” through the earpiece of my blackberry it became clear that I would in fact be the one stepping off the plane into painful subzero temperatures to take on the role as exhibitor for the day. Thanks Lee Anne!
I met the unexpected excursion with optimism, and viewed it as a chance to meet the real men and women in our industry. After my 6:30 am flight out of DC and a white knuckled back seat ride on the icy Minnesota highway, I was pleased to discover that even in the face of a terrible recession (not to mention a snowstorm that was causing massive delays and accidents on the roads!) the manufacturers of Minnesota were warm, confident, and cheerful people.
I also came to understand that being an exhibitor is no easy task! I had a table full of IMTS 2010 Calendars that I was not going to be able to fit in my travel bag back to DC so it was my mission to get one of those puppies into every hand in the place. To my surprise, on only the 7th day of the New Year, a few people told me they had no use for a calendar! Being an Operations girl, who in her office at this moment has 4 different calendars within eyesight, I found this awfully hard to imagine. Yet, most attendees were delighted to take one of my calendars and many even asked for a few!
As an exhibitor it felt like winning the lottery when someone actually came up to my table (without being solicited by me) asked for a calendar and how they could register for IMTS! Nevertheless, 95% of the day I worked the table with all the enthusiasm I had in my tank (which if you know me, is an almost embarrassing amount), trying to engage frozen Minnesotans who just fought the arctic blast during their walk inside. I have to admit, even for an outgoing girl I found it extremely challenging to try and smile and make eye contact with a complete stranger without appearing creepy! But in Minnesota this action must not seem nearly as strange as it does here in DC, where any direct eye contact and a smile to strangers is deliberately avoided. Amazingly, my eagerness and outgoing nature were well received as visitors graciously waited through my IMTS pitch and either went on their way with a calendar or stopped in their tracks to have a quick conversation about the Show and the industry.
By the end of the day, I had heard a lot of different stories, ranging from those who have attended IMTS for over 20 years to those who have never even been to Chicago. I found my trip to Minnesota to be extremely rewarding in both increasing my understanding of the men and women in our industry and also to physically represent the IMTS brand in person to a segment of our audience. Some exhibitors at the event commented that it was odd that a show as large at IMTS would come promote at an event that is much smaller. But to IMTS Show Management we thought this event was a prime opportunity to really interact and spend productive time with past and potential IMTS attendees. My trip to Minnesota was no doubt fiercely cold, and yeah, it almost extended to two days when my flight to DC was delayed four times, but overall it was a fantastic experience and I hope everyone in Minnesota is enjoying their IMTS calendars …seeya in September!
