What's Missing From the USITT Floor?

With USITT just ending it seems to be a reasonable time (and frankly often the only time) to think about how to make it better for the future. We were told this time around that the show floor next year will be bigger than this year, so I thought I would take a minute to think about who's not at the show that I think ought to be. You could help too and add things in the comments.

Whenever I normally think about this I first come up with a list of non-theatrical vendors I use over and over. Some of these may sound like no-brainers, but I have worked at more than one company without an account for each, so they must not yet be ubiquitous.

• McMaster-Carr
• Grainger
• Newark
• Outwater/Outwater

I am sure there are more, but I am off the top of my head here. I suppose we could also include VerSales, but they have shown before, so I gather maybe they're just not that into us.

After that I wander to home-show vendors that we also use, so how about:

• Home Depot
• Lowes
• Menards
• Sears/Craftsman
• True Value

These might not be as valuable participant, but they for sure have people who's job it is solely to go to trade shows, so they are probably easy additions.

I guess that makes the transition to tools. Here the list is long...

• Makita
• Ryobi
• Hitachi
• Milwaukee
• Rigid
• Dremel
• Bosch
• Channellock
• Klein
• Streamlight
  
• Stanley
• DeWalt
• Delta
• JET
• Fluke
• Nico-Press
• Loos

That's just a selection. I am sure I am forgetting a bunch. Really there are enough of these that they could be their own whole aisle at the show, adding for TDs, PMs, and Facility people without taking away anything from others that don't directly use their products. I even think this would be good vendor to vendor. Maybe the BMI guy meets the Dremel guy and then put together a "propmaster package" for theatre people. Maybe the Loos guy meets the DeWalt guy and they do a screwgun attachment to crimp press sleeves.

A guy can dream right?

Finishes: Glidden, Bennie Moore, Minwax all the paint people.

Computer and software. I'd love to see a toughbook laptop. Or maybe Autodesk should come and set up next to Vectorworks. Be nice to see an MS Project demo.

Material handlining: JLG and Genie. MAybe those people that make that freaky reconfigurable ladder.

Mechanical and fluid power components. Motion control components.

I don't know the hotwire vendor name, or a vacuform machine maker, or any of the hundreds of CNC tooling companies. I'm sure the SawStop guys would make a splash for better or worse. And how about the ironworker guy.

Oops I forgot all the metals tools people.

I've seen pretty much all of these guys at one show or another over the years. Most of them are bigger than your average theatrical supplier and have nearly full time trade show and sales reps. Their lack of attendance can't be from the vendor end.

In the past when I've asked I've been told that the floor is sold out with the people we already have. But if the floor next year really is bigger, maybe we should look at it as an opportunity to bring in some different market sectors - people we all use all the time and really would benefit from seeing what they have coming down the pike that's new - or exposing people in that next tier of the business to the suppliers those of us who have been at the top tier use regularly that they might not know about.

Do due me a favor and add whoever you can think of, and pass this around and ask friends and co-workers. It might not do any good, but I do think I will actually write the letter this time to try to get some of these people online.

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