The business world and technology are changing fast. Workers need to keep up with these changes.
That was the driving force behind the Tri-City Electric 2023 Trade Show – the company’s first-ever field trade show, which was held Thursday, May 18, at the Bend XPO in East Moline.
“It’s a fast-changing industry. So fast that we want to get our employees out in front of it to keep them updated,” said Ben Palmer, vice president of procurement & logistics for Tri-City.
In information presented at the show, Mr. Palmer added: “Our industry is changing so quickly it confirms how important it is to continuously educate our Tri-City team on the products and services” offered by the many companies that do business with Tri-City.
Thursday’s show brought together about 350 people and 43 companies with a business relationship with Tri-City to show off various services and many new products.
For instance, Clint Zhang, founder and CEO of Remarcable, gave a series of classes on the services his Highland Heights, Ohio- based company provides. (Remarcable is a cloud-based platform that helps electrical contractors and distributors streamline purchasing processes to save time and money, according to information from the company.)
Other company representatives were at the trade show to offer looks at new safety equipment, new tools and advances in lighting.
“We’re here to educate people on the benefits of LED lighting,” said Elijah Anderson, a sales manager for Nora Lighting, based in Commerce, California. “This is just a beautiful place to meet people. Look at this place. They have food and prizes for everybody.”
In addition to showing off the newest products on the market, the trade show featured drawings for prizes. They included a 65-inch television, a John Dreer Zero Turn 54-inch Deck Mower, a Milwaukee battery chainsaw and the big prize – a multi-use utility vehicle, the Bighorn UTV 5500X.
Not far from the Nora Lighting table, John Crimmings, a senior account executive with 3M, was telling Tri-City workers about the new services his company offers.
“We have some new value-added services. That helps people in the field so they don’t have to come up with fast solutions on their own. We can help,” he added.
Jill Anderson, a control manager with the company CSLA, was also trying to be helpful with her display of the newest lighting innovations.
“I’m here showing the newest electronics, the newest products. We hope to get them interested in this new technology,” Ms. Anderson said.
For others, the trade show was a great way to make connections and meet their business partners at Tri-City Electric. Several attendees Thursday made the same remark: “It’s good to put a face with the name.”
Jaime Stanger, a sales coordinator with RICO Safety Supply, was busy showing off various safety equipment, such as vests, gloves, hardhats and more.
“We’re here to support one of our best customers. … We also hope to get to know some of the people at Tri-City and build some relationships,” she added.
During the first hour of the trade show, hundreds of Tri-City workers were busy looking over the many company tables and getting demonstrations on various new tools and equipment. For instance, Gary Hauger, a journeyman wireman from Sherrard, Illinois, was looking over the safety items on display at the RICO table, and tools shown by other companies.
“It’s good to get updated. Sometimes you don’t know about all these changes until you read about them,” said Mr. Hauger, who has been with Tri-City for almost 30 years.
The trade show appeared to be a hit. Mr. Palmer said the show’s planning started in 2019 and was expected to take place the following year. However, the pandemic delayed those plans until this spring.
“This is the night we’ve been waiting for for a long time,” he added.
