Small Contractors: Grabbing a Slice of the Pie

Once again, Las Vegas snagged the top spot this year as the most prolific host of Tradeshow Week 200 shows, so there are obviously numerous jobs out there for the taking. But how do you get any of them? And how does a company get noticed when it's up against the established big guns — like Freeman, GES Exposition Services, AVW-TELAV and Allied Van Lines?

One way is to find that one thing nobody else has. Three years ago, Richard Delgonte, president of Toronto-based Display Transportation, saw a chance to fill a void in the Las Vegas market. There were already a number of big transportation companies in town, but none of them specifically focused on cross-border freight between Canada and the United States.

"Las Vegas was a natural place for us, because the exhibit industry there is the biggest in the world," Delgonte said. "We ship a lot of exhibits to and from Las Vegas, and we're basically filling a demand."

Quite frankly, he added, crossing the border can be a hassle, especially since Sept. 11, and a lot of the bigger companies just didn't want to deal with it. There's a mountain of customs paperwork and clearances to wade through, along with the pressure to get exhibits to a show on time. But, Delgonte has figured out a system that's cost-effective for his clients and good for the company.

One distinct advantage to moving freight efficiently, according to Delgonte, is securing priority status at the border. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security conducted an audit of the company's facility and performed security checks on employees. The company passed with flying colors, got the official stamp of approval, and now its trucks use the fast lane to cruise over the border.

"We have less overhead (than bigger carriers), we know the system better and we're very cost-conscious," he said.

After starting out in 2004 with a staff of three, Display Transportation now has more than 60 employees, a fleet of 55 trucks and high-profile clients like Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft.

London-based Creative Technology has also made a mark for itself in Las Vegas. The company, a full-service audio visual provider specializing in event staging services, doesn't try to be all things to all people.

"Creative Technology is a very specialized company, and we don't often compete with the larger, multi-divisional companies," said Herb Brandt, general manager of the Las Vegas office.

Instead, it has focused on LED technology, pioneering its introduction to the North American marketplace. "We are now one of the largest providers of high-resolution LED display devices in the U.S. Our clients come to us for the latest in display technology," he said.

Even with the niche under his control, Brandt said the company has had to work hard to get the word out in the overwhelming Las Vegas market.

"It's still tough to get it across sometimes," he said. "We're most successful by word of mouth."

The company has already attracted some attention with flashy exhibits at Intl. CES and a recent Ford auto dealers show. The Las Vegas office has only been open since September 2005 so, Brandt said, with increased exposure he expected the company to grow even more.

"We partner with our clients and provide them with personal service," Brandt said. "Our employees are treated with respect, as partners. This instills loyalty and a lower turnover rate, and helps to ensure that our clients receive quality equipment and exceptional support and service on a consistent level."

Being able to stare into the face of the big guys like Czarnowski or MC², and still say, "We definitely can take a piece of the Las Vegas market for ourselves," takes some chutzpah. Luckily, A1 Convention Services has plenty of it. "We've doubled our business in the last two years alone," said Kathleen Rossi, director of sales.

Rossi said the company offers "everything an exhibitor needs," including booth construction, rentals, storage, transportation and I&D labor. "We try to walk them through the entire process," she added. They might have just one exhibitor at a particular show they are working with, sometimes many more.

It's a tiny operation — there are only four full-time staff members — but at the moment, Rossi said, it has more business than it can handle. "There's definitely room for the smaller guys in Las Vegas because there's so much business here right now," she added. In fact, the company's turning down work.

"Right now we just have to take care of who we have the best we can," Rossi said. Some of it includes working with exhibitors at shows such as MAGIC Marketplace, SEMA Show and The WSA Show.

According to Rossi, a major key to the company's success, unlike what may be the case with a bigger company, is that there's only one person at A1 talking to a client throughout the entire process.

The Expo Group is far from being the smallest of contractors in Las Vegas, but it is dwarfed by companies like Freeman and GES.

"We had been working in Las Vegas since we started the company," said Ray Pekowski, president and CEO. "We took a look at how we approached jobs in the West, primarily California and Nevada, and we put a distribution center there (in 2002)."

The center, located off Old Desert Inn Road, is within walking distance of the Las Vegas Convention Center, which allows The Expo Group convenient access that other companies may not have. "It's perfect for us," Pekowski added.

And, even though there may be comparisons to be drawn with the larger companies, he said The Expo Group has a very different business model than companies such as Freeman and GES. "They replicate a footprint (in cities they serve)," Pekowski said. "Instead, we have a hub, like FedEx, and it's distributed from there. We look at where our customers want to go, and we go with them."

There wasn't a huge need to go out and promote the company in a new market, because the brand was already well-known, he said. "We've grown really on reputation," Pekowski added.

The Dallas-based company has eight offices and 140 employees, with six full-time staff members in Las Vegas, including General Operations Manager Shane Sexton, who was promoted to the top post earlier this year.