An increase in sales and a record attendance highlighted Neu Tool & Supply’s Tool Fair 2016 last week. The fourth annual event, which was held over two days at Potawatomi Hotel and Casino in Milwaukee, welcomed more than 220 distributors.
“We had such an outstanding turnout,” said Tim Neu, sales manager at Neu Tool and Supply, noting additional people registered for the show on-site. “It was more than we’ve ever had.”
Attendees had the opportunity to visit with approximately 120 vendors, including top sponsors Ingersoll Rand, DeWalt, Horizon Tools, SP Air, Makita, Apex Tool Group, Bosch and Milwaukee Tool.
According to Neu, this year’s event saw a 30-percent increase in sales over the previous year.
“We’ve seen growth each year, and this year was a notable sized growth,” Neu said, adding both the vendors and attendees were pleased with show. “The feedback was outstanding from our vendors and from the distributors.”
Neu said distributors appreciate the laid-back atmosphere of Tool Fair. He added vendors benefit from the one-on-one interaction with tool dealers.
“On the vendor side of things, we like the fact that they can hear right from our distributor base,” Neu said. “Obviously, the vendors are showing new products to the distributors, and that’s huge. The distributors can see the relationship we have with the vendors. I think that’s really important.
“We try to keep real strong ties with both vendors and distributors.”
Neu said he believes positive word-of-mouth among distributors will help the show continue to grow. He anticipates the fifth annual Tool Fair will take place around the same time of year in 2017.
After show hours, Tool Fair participants had an opportunity to attend a Milwaukee Brewers professional baseball game, a vendor reception and a wrap-up event that included food, drinks and a raffle.
“People were able to mingle around, talk with the other distributors, talk with the vendors,” Neu said.
Overall, Neu said Tool Fair 2016 came together well, and the show had a nice flow throughout both days.
“It was fun for us, too – for us that organized it,” Neu said.
