TRADE SHOW WALK THROUGH / CPS SPRING FLING 2024

This is the CPS Distributors Spring Fling 2024. It’s a landscape trade show and there’s a lot of interesting products out on display here. I’m just going to walk around with my camera on and if I see something of interest, I’ll stop and chat. I’ll also drop in briefly on some of the presentations.  In this vlog we’ll talk about: 

• Walking through the trade show 
• Speaking with some of the presenters 
• Receiving a one-on-one presentation from: 

• Badger Meter 
• Ed Trailers 
• Ford Trucks 
• WAC Landscape Lighting 
• Makita Power Tools

Walking Through the Trade Show 

It’s pretty noisy in the building. All the different presenters are set up with their booths and there’s a lot of people just mingling. It’s a lively atmosphere. I imagine a lot of people come here to network, maybe to glean some information about new products or to see what’s up and coming in the industry. I see a lot of guys here with their crews in their bright neon reflective construction coats in groups of two or three, some having uniform logos and some not. Most of the attendees are dressed like construction workers or landscapers by trade and the hosts and the presenters are all dressed business like with polos or collar shirts tucked in. 

We take a look at some rock designs and walk through the building. We see an interesting looking gadget and stop out of curiosity. The gentleman behind the counter explains the product to us and does a quick presentation. This product is called the Badger Meter and is apparently used in the world of concrete, but I’m still not sure how! He doesn’t seem entirely comfortable talking about it so we thank him for his time and move on. 

Speaking With Some of the Presenters 

In the next room over we see some really nice hydraulic lift dump trailers and have to stop at one in particular. It’s huge! Four foot high walls. One of the gentlemen offers to take a picture of me next to the trailer and I gladly accept. Him and another gentleman explain the features of the trailer: Seven gauge steel floor. Doors open up barn door style and spreader gate style. $15,000.00. Ed Trailers is the manufacturer of the one we looked at today. 

Of course Ford has a flashy presentation with three of their sparkling new commercial trucks lined up behind a gentleman in uniform, with banners to either side and a table in front. “How’s it going?” He asks as I walk by. I stop and chat and he explains to me his relationship with Ford. He is well spoken and kindly delivers a one-on-one presentation for the camera. 

We drop in on some of the bigger presentations but it’s not clear what their product is or what makes it unique. It seems to be more of a live tutorial they’re delivering. They’re hooked up to microphones, there are big audio speakers and there’s an obnoxious echo in the building. My camera mic isn’t picking up great audio here, but if I worked in this particular area I would definitely want to stay and learn some tricks of the trade. The tutorial or formal presentation goes on for a long time so we slide out and mosey on over to the next room where there are smaller, more personable booths. 

Receiving a One-On-One Presentation 

We see a flashy landscape lighting system with all the pretty colors and modes of display that the presenter is applying through his phone as we approach. It is very catchy. Lighting is a pretty big deal in film and photography so I am naturally drawn. The gentleman puts on a very nice presentation, very smooth and subtly enthusiastic with a colorful display of lighting in the background. This is WAC Landscape Lighting. We thank him for his time and move along. 

Makita Power Tools has a booth out and I am naturally drawn to it because we use Makita tools every day on the job. I take a look first at their 80V 14” Brushless Power Cutter. It looks powerful with these two 40V 8.0Ah batteries attached, but would it really hold it’s place against a gas or electric 14” power cutter to cut through solid concrete? I mean, we spend an entire day cutting out a concrete wall and sometimes several days. How would this cutter hold up to the task?? If you have field tested knowledge of this tool, please drop us a comment! 

Next, one of the Makita presenters delivers a one-on-one presentation of two of their popular tools: both the power cutter and a 36V Brushless Couple Shaft Power Head with a Water Pump Couple Shaft Attachment that can pump 39 gallons of water per minute. Apparantly this power head can be connected to various attachment tools, such as a weed eater or an edger. Very interesting! By this point I am more engaged and we move along to look at other interesting tools. 

We walk through with the camera on just to show the crowd, the place, the booths, and the presenters in general. We come upon a bright green, interesting hand held digging device set up on a very nice stilt display. The gentleman behind the counter explains that one of these MiniTrenchers is intended to replace something like three guys, three shovels and three picks!  

Sounds great but I’m not entirely convinced! We have a guy on the team I believe could single handedly crush a competition with one of these machines, while sipping a beer! OUR GUY VS. The GeoRipper Mini Trencher 727!! Who would like to see this?? I would!! Or if you have field tested knowledge of this tool, please drop us a comment! 

Last we take a look at the list of sponsors for this event enjoy a great meal on the house! We sit with some of the others and have some good conversation about our careers and what brought us to the event. I did not try to film this part about us eating and chatting over the banquet table because I was enjoying the company and didn’t want to make things uncomfortable. 

I would recommend attending one of these trade shows if you’re able to. It wasn’t hard to get in the door and there’s no pressure to stay. I personally have never been to a trade show before and I wasn’t quite sure where to go or what to expect, but it turned out to be a genuinely good experience. There are no hard sellers here, just businesses presenting an honest product or service. 

So that’s it! We walked through the whole expo, talked with some of the people and learned about some of the products. In the future we’ll visit more trade shows and expos and get even more into the spirit, meet more people and see what we can get into! Thanks for coming along! Please let us know what interests you most about the trade shows and what you’d like to see more of. See the full video here and support your local small business by subscribing to this channel! We’ll see you again next time!