Category: International Trade
The New Normal in Global Trade
Conversation with Alibaba’s Jack Ma at International Economic Forum
Chinese Premier Xi Jinping On Opening World Markets
Microsoft Founder Bill Gates on the Impact of Tariffs on Poor Countries
Top 5 Things to Consider Before Taking Your Business Global
Think you’re ready to start exporting your product? Greg Sandler, Editor and Publisher of ThinkGlobal, answers five key questions on the American Express Business Trends & Insights website.
Get advice on what it takes to go global. Taking your business global requires an understanding of how your product will fit into the marketplace of a country that has a whole different set of rules and cultural norms than you are used to at home. Do your homework and then get going.
World of Concrete 2019 Sets 10-Year Attendance Record
World of Concrete 2019 exceeded expectations across the board and concluded its 44th edition as the largest World of Concrete in over a decade. This signature annual event for the industries drew 60,511 registered professionals and featured more than 1,500 companies (including 259 brand new companies) exhibiting across more than 776,800 net square feet of exhibit space.
Jackie James, Group Director, World of Concrete, said: “This year has been a very successful event–World of Concrete 2019 attendees, both domestic and international, experienced the newest products, technologies and educational offerings. Having our largest event in 10 years proves that the construction sector is strong globally. The education program was well received with a 5% increase in attendance. We want to thank all the exhibitors and attendees who made WOC a must-attend event for 2019, and we look forward to a successful WOC 2020!”
Kevin Archibald, Show Manager, World of Concrete, said: “We are very excited with the results. The positive energy indicates a strong year ahead. This year brought in record breaking attendees, exceptional exhibits, and a very solid rebook rate of just over 538,000 net sq. ft. of exhibit space, rebooking 70% of the total 2019 square footage onsite for next year’s show.”
Highlights of the 2019 edition included the Bob Weatherton Award established by World of Concrete to honor his contributions to the concrete industry. The award includes a $2,500 scholarship and was presented at the CIM National Board Meeting at WOC 2019. This year’s recipient of the Weatherton Award was Paige Silva, who attends California State University – Chico.
The 17th Annual SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® World Championship brought in crowds full of spectators from across the globe. 27 bricklaying teams travel from all over North America and Australia to Las Vegas to compete for the title World’s Best Bricklayer. This year’s winner Mason – Mario Alves – A&M Masonry, Hamilton, Ontario with the help of Tender – Michael Alves took home the coveted title and went home with a 2019 FORD F-250 4×4 truck and $10,000 in cash and prizes.
Concrete Industry Management (CIM) is a business program that has been developed specifically for the concrete industry to provide students with a four-year Bachelor of Science degree in Concrete Industry Management. The program gives students entering the concrete work force industry experience early in their careers. CIM held its 14th annual unreserved silent and live auctions at World of Concrete 2019. The silent and live auctions raised gross revenues of $1.2 million, setting a record for funds raised at WOC, and bringing a total of over $10 million to the CIM program in the past 14 years. More information on the CIM Program can be found at www.concretedegree.com.
World of Concrete 2020 will be held February 4-7; Seminars 3-7, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
AAPEX Keynote with John King and Karl Rove: How Trade and the Elections Could Impact the Automotive Aftermarket
The AAPEX 2018 automotive aftermarket trade show gets underway in Las Vegas on Oct. 30th with a grand opening keynote session featuring CNN’s John King and Political Strategist Karl Rove.
King, CNN’s chief national correspondent and anchor of Inside Politics, and Rove, Political strategist, Fox News contributor, and Wall Street Journal columnist, will take the stage at AAPEX 2018 for the grand opening keynote, “Breakfast with John King and Karl Rove: How Trade and the Elections Could Impact the Aftermarket.”
John King will discuss the upcoming mid-term elections and the impact the various outcomes could have on Washington, D.C.
Karl Rove will address how the global impact of President Donald Trump’s imposed and proposed tariffs will affect the automotive aftermarket and U.S. businesses.
The keynote session will begin with a State of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry presentation by Bill Hanvey, president and CEO of the Auto Care Association, and Bill Long, president and chief operating office of the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA). With more than 50 years of combined industry experience, Hanvey and Long will spotlight the trends and technologies that have the greatest impact on the industry today.
Visit the AAPEX Show website for details.
AAPEX Launches Blog to Keep Attendees Ahead of the Curve
AAPEX attendees can now turn to the event’s new blog for insights from industry experts on how the latest vehicle technologies, trends and issues are impacting the global automotive aftermarket. AAPEX represents the $740 billion global automotive aftermarket industry and will take place Tuesday, Oct. 30 through Thursday, Nov. 1, at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas.
In the opening AAPEX blogs, Bill Hanvey, president and CEO, Auto Care Association, covers “The Top 4 Opportunities That Come with Access to Vehicle Data,” and how the vast majority of motorists have no idea that their personal information is being collected and aggregated by their own vehicles, then sold to the highest bidder.
Bill Long, president and chief operating officer, Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA), addresses “Why We Are Positive About the Aftermarket … and AAPEX,” with a look at near-term trends, including changes in the distribution model such as e-tailing and omni-channels, and how autonomy – whenever it arrives in force – will mean more miles driven as vehicle usage becomes more available to new categories of motorists.
The AAPEX Blog is designed to keep attendees ahead of the curve year-round as the automotive aftermarket faces near-constant change that presents both opportunities for growth, as well as long-term shifts and threats.
To read the weekly AAPEX Blog, visit the AAPEX website, www.aapexshow.com.
AAPEX 2018 will feature more than 2,500 exhibiting companies displaying the latest products, services and technologies. More than 47,000 targeted buyers are expected to attend and approximately 162,000 automotive aftermarket professionals from 135 countries are projected to be in Las Vegas during AAPEX 2018.
AAPEX is a trade-only event and is not open to the general public.
AAPEX is co-owned by the Auto Care Association and the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA), the light vehicle aftermarket division of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA). For more information, visit www.aapexshow.com or e-mail: info@aapexshow.com. On social media, follow AAPEX at #AAPEX18.
SHOT Show Celebrated 40th Anniversary in 2018
The 40th Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade ShowSM(SHOT Show®), owned and operated by the National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF®), celebrated the milestone with more events than ever before. Strong attendance, upbeat buyers and sellers, and a series of packed special events that collectively made up “SHOT Week” resulted in another top-rated SHOT Show.
SHOT Show is the largest trade show of its kind in the world, attracting attendees from more than 100 countries. “From our humble beginnings in St. Louis in 1979, to now being one of the leading trade shows in the world, we’ve come a long way in 40 years,” said Chris Dolnack, NSSF Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.
The show spanned Jan. 23-26 at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas. More than 60,000 industry professionals packed the aisles over four days eager to view new, innovative products used for target shooting, hunting, outdoor recreation and law enforcement purposes.
“We had good, reputable media coverage, both print writers and video, and had more time to discuss products with buyers and media,” said JJ Reich of Vista Outdoor. “It was a great show all together, with lots of traffic.”
Smith & Wesson’s Chris Bovat stated, “Everything went smoothly, from set up and arrival of all of our gear, to the actual running of the booth. 2018 was great for us.”
“It was a hugely successful year for us … we’ve done more business at the 2018 show than ever before,” Patty Cueller at Aguila Ammunition reported.
The SHOT Show has grown exponentially since it started in 1979, in St. Louis. That inaugural show attracted 5,600 attendees and had 290 exhibitors covering 51,153 net square feet of exhibit space. Compare that to the 2018 show with an attendance of more than 60,000 and attracting 1,660 exhibiting companies occupying more than 645,000 net square feet of space, completing filling the Sands Expo. Taking the new, two-day Suppliers Showcase into account, more than 2,100 companies exhibited at SHOT Show this year.
NSSF introduced a new, streamlined State of the Industry format that was well received. Big moments at the reception were the presentation of the NSSF Ken Sedlecky Lifetime Achievement Award to legendary outdoor communicator Tom Gresham and NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti sharing a series of priorities that industry will focus on to help protect its future and that of its customers.
There were thousands of products for buyers to see on the show floor, encompassing firearms, ammunition, accessories, optics, knives, gun safes, apparel and law enforcement equipment, among other categories. Nearly 550 new products from 367 companies were on display in the show’s New Product Center, sponsored by U.S. Concealed Carry Association. In addition to the more than 1,660 exhibiting companies on the main show floors, the NEXT 2.0 Pavilion provided 100 first-time vendors from the show’s extensive waiting list with welcome visibility and potential new customers.
The show drew excellent reviews.
“Our company has only been up and running since October, so I don’t think there has ever been an actual brand-launch here at SHOT Show, so that may be a first,” said Phil Davy at VIKTØS.
“All of our expectations were met, and as always we had a great show, doing lots of business. We’re looking forward to next year, for sure,” said Winchester Ammunition’s Nathan Robinson.
SHOT Show’s official opening on Tuesday was preceded by many events.
The kickoff event was the 4th Annual NSSF/HAVA Golf Classic on Sunday in support of Honored American Veterans Afield, which works to aid the healing process of military veterans through hunting and other shooting sports activities. More than $200,000 has been raised in support of this effort since the golf outing began in 2015.
Monday saw some of the SHOT Show’s most popular pre-show events — SHOT Show University, an education forum for retailers; Industry Day at the Range, an opportunity for media and buyers to experience hands-on testing of products; the Executive Management Seminar, providing business information to executives and rising managers; and the expanded two-day Supplier Showcase, featuring more than 460 third-party OEM suppliers of plastics, metals, tools, fabrics and software that were able to reach a crowd of more than 4,000 designers, engineers, purchasing agents and others in the manufacturing sector.
In addition to title sponsors Ram Trucks, U.S. Concealed Carry Association and Daniel Defense, SHOT Show supporters included Aguila Ammunition, Lucas Oil, Freedom Munitions, GunBroker.com, Mossy Oak, Carhartt, SIG Sauer, Smith & Wesson, VIKTØS, Vista Outdoor and Winchester Ammunition.
Preparations have already begun for next year’s 41st SHOT Show, which will return to the Sands Expo on January 22-25, 2019.
More details are available online.