Having never participated at SouthPack before this year, SouthPack 2010, was held April 28-29, in Charlotte, NC, which proved to be the epitome of southern hospitality. SouthPack housed exhibitors serving many industries, including pharmaceutical, food and beverage, cosmetics, consumer products, and medical devices. Located within SouthPack were solutions providers of packaging, automation, design and manufacturing, sustainable products, and plastics.
Attendees: The first day appeared to be better attended than the second day; however, the second day seemed to bring in attendees that were more seriously seeking out new products from suppliers. Most attendees I spoke with were located within a few states of North Carolina, although suppliers exhibited from across the nation. Attendees seemed quite optimistic that the companies they work for are starting to see an economic turnaround.
Exhibitors: Exhibitors employed everything from cars to booths made of corrugated, getting creative in displaying their products and services. Exhibitors I spoke with, like attendees, had optimism that the economy was starting to turn around.
Lessons learned: A great lesson learned by one supplier I talked to was how important continued communication between suppliers and customers is--their customer came to the show seeking out a product that they thought their current supplier didn't have within its portfolio. By stopping by their booth and discussing what brought them to the show, the supplier was able to share with them that indeed, they did carry the component the customer was looking for, and the customer didn't need to seek out a new supplier.
The “catch” from the story is that the product the customer was looking for was just slightly different from what they already purchased from the supplier. Not being aware that their supplier carried a wide variety of items, they may well have found a new supplier for all of their components and both customer and supplier would have lost--instead it was a win/win!
The future: Some exciting news for SouthPack 2011 is that “MDM Southern Regional Series” and “AeroTec” segments will be added into the show, which will move every year within the region. For example, next year's event will be held in Orlando, FL March 16-17, then to Texas in 2012.
--Jennifer Neid, CPP, is the Education Co-Chair for the Medical
Device Packaging Technical Committee within the Institute of Packaging Professionals (http://www.iopp.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=197). She can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at 651-269-8706.
Attendees: The first day appeared to be better attended than the second day; however, the second day seemed to bring in attendees that were more seriously seeking out new products from suppliers. Most attendees I spoke with were located within a few states of North Carolina, although suppliers exhibited from across the nation. Attendees seemed quite optimistic that the companies they work for are starting to see an economic turnaround.
Exhibitors: Exhibitors employed everything from cars to booths made of corrugated, getting creative in displaying their products and services. Exhibitors I spoke with, like attendees, had optimism that the economy was starting to turn around.
Lessons learned: A great lesson learned by one supplier I talked to was how important continued communication between suppliers and customers is--their customer came to the show seeking out a product that they thought their current supplier didn't have within its portfolio. By stopping by their booth and discussing what brought them to the show, the supplier was able to share with them that indeed, they did carry the component the customer was looking for, and the customer didn't need to seek out a new supplier.
The “catch” from the story is that the product the customer was looking for was just slightly different from what they already purchased from the supplier. Not being aware that their supplier carried a wide variety of items, they may well have found a new supplier for all of their components and both customer and supplier would have lost--instead it was a win/win!
The future: Some exciting news for SouthPack 2011 is that “MDM Southern Regional Series” and “AeroTec” segments will be added into the show, which will move every year within the region. For example, next year's event will be held in Orlando, FL March 16-17, then to Texas in 2012.
--Jennifer Neid, CPP, is the Education Co-Chair for the Medical
Device Packaging Technical Committee within the Institute of Packaging Professionals (http://www.iopp.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=197). She can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at 651-269-8706.
