Everyone expected a reduction in the
show’s attendance—30% down from last year’s record-breaking estimate of 84,000
seems a reasonable guess—but was it as bad a scene as the numbers would
suggest?While aisles in the halls were
definitely less congested than in past years, many of the exhibitors with whom I
spoke felt that the quality of the attendees was superb. This was particularly
true for those whose technology-based wares promised increased
productivity—principally the software, machine control, and telematics
vendors.
“I came specifically to look at
bidding software,” one contractor told me. “Whereas a year ago I would be up
against a half-dozen contractors, I already knew most of them and could guess
what it would take to compete. Today there might be 40 responders to an RFP, all
needing the work just to stay in business.
Being able to sharpen his pencil was
just one of his concerns. Reducing the amount of time it took to prepare and
deliver his bids was another. But being responsive to an RFP in a way that
showed the project owner he would be able to perform according to his bid was
the most critical of all, and this meant having a precise view of his business
and an effective means of communicating this in his bid
package.
Another contractor told me he was
there to assess and purchase machine control equipment because of what the
software he had bought at last year’s ConExpo showed him about his equipment
utilization.
“We put a GPS unit on one of our
dozers a couple of years ago but never really tracked its performance until we
installed the new software,” he explained. “The difference was amazing, so we’re
looking to install machine control stuff on more of our
equipment.”
Perhaps the most surprising comment
of the show came from a contractor who was genuinely relieved by the cool-down
in his company’s activity over the past few months.
“We’ve been going so hot-and-heavy
for the past several years that we’ve been throwing away money through wasteful
practices. I knew we needed to make changes, but there was never time. Now that
we’ve had a chance to evaluate our activities, we’re in a position to control
our activities far more effectively.” Then with a rueful smile he added, “After
that, the economy better improve enough to put the effectiveness to
work.”