Concerns that the annual National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago is turning into a purely regional event should be somewhat allayed after the trade exposition held earlier this month, according to Mark Whalen, president of Aga Foodservice Equipment (and Victory Refrigeration).

    "All things considered, it was a good show. NRA hit bottom maybe three or four years ago, but now it seems to be coming back," he related.

    Traffic at the show, which was held at Chicago's McCormick Place from May 19 to May 22, was strong and included a good number of decision-makers, Whalen observed. This proved to be a winning combination for AFE, which went into the show looking to build the name recognition and brands of its companies and reinforce its overall value proposition based on unique features, category-leading energy efficiency and a two-year parts-and-labor warranty on every product the company sells.

    Whalen related that AFE was able to spread these messages through the promotional opportunities offered at this year's NRA Show. For example, Aga Foodservice Equipment shared space at the show with Amana, which is owned by AFE's parent company. That brought in additional booth traffic, exposing AFE's name and products to more attendees and allowing the companies to educate potential customers on the synergies between Amana and AFE.

    In addition, AFE's live cooking demonstrations, presented by Corporate Chefs Mike Nicholson and Steve Goellner, featured its Eloma combi ovens and drew many passersby to the booth where, Whalen said, they learned about the ovens' exclusive features and about the benefits of combi cooking in general.

    Of course, beyond those show-goers who gained information about AFE companies and products via unscheduled booth visits, the company also held constructive meetings with many people and companies with whom it already had relationships.

    "We saw a good mix from every target constituency," Whalen stated. "We saw some chains that we had proposals in to and several others that we're already doing business with. Several dealers came through, and one dealer, TriMark Marlinn, had their people spend almost an hour in the booth learning about our product lines."

    Such dealer and end-user education sessions, combined with the meetings the company held with reps, consultants and other channel partners, made the time and money AFE put into NRA 2007 worthwhile, Whalen remarked.

    "It's hard to measure exactly the cost benefit from our investment in this show," he stated. "It's a heavy expense, but the fact that we get to see so many people in such a short period of time is a good thing. If we tried to travel around and see all these people individually, it would take six months and be much more costly."