Use Your Shipping Cases In Your Booth – How to Save Money, Time and Hassle in Tradeshow Exhibiting

Ever notice how much those “incidentals” at the show cost. These are the costs related to tables, chairs, stands, and a host of other items. At least these items are delivered to the booth, and get to leave them there when you go. This is not the case, however, with your shipping cases. You have wait for them to be delivered to your booth, unpack then, and then wait for someone to pick them up for off-the-floor storage. At the end of the show, the process repeats itself in reverse. What if you could actually use your cases in your booth without looking like a gypsy. 

In building fabricated shipping case, it is no big deal to add table legs to a case lid that will fold down into a surprisingly rugged table. With a little drapery, nobody will recognize this as a lowly case lid.

Another common booth fixture is a plasma or LCD screen, which naturally has to ship in a special case. These cases can be made so that the screen can be quickly fixtured to top of the shipping case after it is removed. These cases also have snap-on removable outriggers for stability. Once again, a little drapery hides the ugly truth. Special hydraulic screen lifters are generally not needed given the lower weights of modern screens. They also add significantly to the initial case cost.

It is also possible, and sometimes very practical, to build a trade show shipping case that opens up in the middle (or in sections) to reveal an attractive surface ideal for hanging graphics, or displaying items on shelves. At the beginning show, just un-pack and setup, at the end, just pack up and walk away. Since your case is your booth, you will also save money by having less to ship.

Click link to learn more wonderful things about Fabricated ATA Road Cases

Tradeshow Shipping Cases – How to lose the weight, yet still survive the exhibit hall war zone.

Supposedly, everyone driving a forklift truck at an exhibit hall loading dock has some sort of professional certification. It seems like this school must also teach demolition derby tactics. A plywood panel is no match for a steel fork aimed way too high. Still though, heavy wood crates and wood ATA cases are the standard in the trade show shipping industry.

Back in the old days, it was “no harm, no foul”. shipping costs were reasonable (at least when compared to today), and you just had your case repaired when it came back from the road. So, what has changed?

For one thing, those nasty fuel surcharges that now significantly add to your freight costs. The penalty for bigger and heavier cases is now at an historic high since dimensional size and total weight affect not only the base shipping price, but also the surcharge. The other factor is number of shows that professionals are now exhibiting at. Many of the larger companies have tradeshow marketing departments that remain always on the road. Instead of just going to one or two big shows a year, these companies are now going to an increased number of smaller regional shows. This means that cases are on the road longer, and being worked harder. If one breaks, there may not be time to repair it in time for the next show. So what can be done?

The answer lies in both the case construction, and in the case interior design. New, lighter weight panel are now available that actually increase durability and penetration protection. These materials started in the billboard construction industry and have been modified with laminates that give the penetration protection needed in commercial shipping. These materials can reduce the weight of a large case by up to 30% without any compromises, and some added benefits such as no splintering.

The case interior construction has traditionally been an afterthought at best. Most professionals purchase cases that are either foam or carpet lined, and use bubble warp and scrap foam to cushion the case contents. The secret here is that a properly engineered case interior can not only provide better protection for the contents, but can also reduce the case size needed. This obviously saves cost in freight, but also in hidden costs such as item breakage and repair cost.

Click link more information on custom case interior design. Click the following link to learn more about trade show shipping cases.

Sales Demo Cases – How to beat the airline baggage surcharges and still get your samples on the plane

Sales Demo Cases – How to beat the airline baggage surcharges and still get your samples on the plane

It used to be so easy. Pack your items in a hard case and check them through. You were allowed 2 bags, and nobody bothered to weigh them at check in. Your sales samples could go with you, and you could be sure they would be there when you got there. Not so anymore.

One of the biggest challenge now facing traveling salespeople is how to get their product samples, clothing, and personal items all on the plane without taking a significant haircut in fees. For many, the 50 lbs. and 60 dimensional inches limit on free baggage is a very tough hurdle to climb. The one-bag limit is just icing on the cake. To solve this headache, there are two paths that are worth exploring.

Here is a trick question: Which is stronger, an oak tree or a willow? The answer is that they are both very strong, but in different ways. An oak tree, like a hard case, relies on a rigid external structure that stands up to outside forces. A willow, like a soft case, flexes in the face of outside force, and absorbs its energy without breaking. Exiting from this analogy, the point is that a properly designed padded soft case can, in many instances, take the place of a much heavier hard case. With proper case interior construction, the soft case will allow the same amount of contents to be protected equally well, even in the rough-and-tumble world of airline baggage handling.

The other option to look at is a custom designed case interior. Foam padding, pluck foam and bubble wrap  may be fine when you have plenty of space to play with, but when it all has to go into a relatively small case, a custom cushioned interior may make it happen. The better custom interiors are CAD designed and incorporate plastic trays and partitioning, along with custom foam cushioning, so that the internal structures work together as a supportive unit. In many cases this will make the difference between getting everything in, and having to leave some items behind.