The energy industry may be facing lower-for-longer oil prices and rising costs, but according to the organisers, positivity flowed like the proverbial geyser at this year’s SPE Offshore Europe Conference and Exhibition.
Torque quizzed two exhibitors – Milwaukee Tools and Heico Fasteners – for their take on the industry and on the Aberdeen-set show…
On the show floor with Milwaukee Tools
What were your expectations for Off Shore Europe?
Keith Armour, Area Sales Manager, Milwaukee Tools: The objective was to gain awareness of the Milwaukee brand in the UK offshore industry.
Did the reality meet the expectation? Was your stand busy?
KA: Stand location is key for footfall. Our stand was in a quieter part of Hall 3 but despite this footfall was OK for the first three days.
Since the show we have had one good end user conversion from Makita and lots more enquiries from Aberdeen-based dealers who previously tended to prefer other brands, so I know that users are now asking to be quoted on the Milwaukee range.
What products/services were you showcasing at the show?
KA: Most of the interest was from on shore processes as we do not have ATEX rated tools.
We showcased Onekey / Fuel, Trueview, High Force Logic, handtools and accessories.
Highforce got a lot of attention keeping Joe Faulkner our Utility Specialist busy with plenty of leads to follow up on with JSS visits. Onekey also got a lot of interest from the tool tracking and customisation functionality. Hand tools and accessories received a lot more attention than I anticipated.
The show was a great opportunity for Milwaukee to showcase its range and I do hope that we will return in 2019 to the new AECC with a more focused and interactive stand to build on this year’s event.
On the show floor with HEICO Fasteners UK
What were your expectations for Offshore Europe?
Paul Windsor, National Sales Manager, HEICO: To make new contacts and showcase our exciting product range including the new HEICO-LOCK® Combi Washer and our innovative HEICO-TEC® tension nut.
Did the reality meet the expectation? Was your stand busy?
PW: To be truthful the first day was pretty disappointing and we hoped that this was not setting the pace for the rest of the show. How wrong was I! We were extremely busy for the remainder of the show and made many new contacts and renewed old acquaintances. The general consensus was that after the oil price crash things were starting to pick up in the industry. I just hope that all the talent within the industry has not moved on as this could be another setback for the sector when trying to recruit.
What products/services were you showcasing at the show?
PW: As previously stated, we were keen to show the industry our innovations in wedge locking technology, in particular the new Combi Washer that has great potential, especially where dropped objects are a safety priority.
We were also looking to showcase the new HEICO-TEC® tension nut and we had a great deal of interest in this technology because of its ease of use and the fact that no additional calculations need to be performed, as it matches the current din 898 standard.
This is an excerpt from a fuller show review that was first published in the November 2017 edition of Torque Magazine. Subscribe to Torque Magazine here.