Suppliers and Demand
Lisa Plummer -- Tradeshow Week, 7/17/2008 4:30:00 AM
Despite a challenging economic climate, some companies believe that expanding their operations into Las Vegas is a good bet. Motivated by the rising cost of fuel, the growing demand of customers and the need to stay competitive, an exhibit builder and an audiovisual company recently decided to make the move to Sin City.
Team One Display Services, a Marietta, Ga.-based exhibit builder, dealing mostly in rental displays, recently opened a 40,000 square foot facility in North Las Vegas. Although the six-year-old company enjoyed strong repeat business from clients in convention cities such as Orlando, Team One President and Founder Bill Groff said opening a Las Vegas operation made perfect sense, as many of these same clients also hold events here.
“We wanted to save our future and existing customers’ money,” Groff said. “A lot of our customers do the sign shows (ISA Intl. Sign Expo), one year at Mandalay Bay or Orlando or another East Coast venue, and it can get very expensive to ship the same thing back and forth.”
Groff said by conducting its graphics in-house at both locations, the company is able to reduce transportation needs and be more responsive on turn-around times, spelling cost control and flexible pricing for customers.
The plan is to create designs at the Marietta location, then replicate them in Las Vegas without the need to ship anything other than graphics and small custom components, he said. However, accommodating customers who conduct shows in Las Vegas, Groff added, was the main reason for opening the second location.
Staying competitive, improving service and saving customers money appear to be the same catalysts that brought Swank Audio Visuals to Las Vegas last year. Founded in 1937, the St. Louis-based audio visual company services 270 hotels, resorts and convention centers in more than 60 markets in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
According to Gerry Small, general manager of event services, Swank saw a need to open its fifth office in Las Vegas because of the increasing growth of repeat business in Sin City.
“Having a showroom operation in Las Vegas allows us to execute our customers’ events in a more efficient manner and allows us to react more effectively to the changing dynamics many large meetings experience,” he said.
Having a Las Vegas location offers a variety of benefits, he added, such as improved last-minute service response times, a good technical labor pool and a reliable vendor support network. Also, having a robust equipment inventory means a reduction in freight costs for customers, Small said.
Though some businesses may choose a more conservative route in a difficult economy, Team One and Swank are examples of companies making an investment in the future of a competitive market.
“One of the reasons we chose to move ahead with our Las Vegas expansion, despite the economy, was to provide cost-effective solutions for our customers,” Small said. “During challenging times like these, our customers want to see the greatest value for their expenditure.”
