Mining for opportunity: MINExpo provides golden networking opportunities.

• Author: Kelly, Lindsay
• Position: MINING - MINExpo International trade show

When MINExpo International kicks off later this month, it will have a slightly Northern flavour.

Convened every four years in Las Vegas, MINExpo International is considered one of the premier trade shows for mining supply and services companies because of the volume of information and contacts accessible in one setting.

Being held Sept. 24-26 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, this year's edition features more than 1,800 exhibitors from 35 countries, occupying more than 850,000 square feet of space. A number of Northern Ontario businesses are expected to have a presence there, said Dick DeStefano, executive director of the Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Services Association (SAMSSA).

"MINExpo is the motherlode because it contains a worldwide presence," DeStefano said. "Much of what goes on in a trade show is just meeting with people who you haven't met with before, or talking to customers you haven't had face-to-face meetings with."

Despite living in an age of technology that facilitates many long-distance business transactions, there is still value in making inperson connections, he emphasized.

Participation in trade shows allows Northern mining supply and services companies to create awareness around their brand, products and services, gain sensitivity to what competitors are doing and renew contacts, as well as gain awareness of new technologies being put forward by competitors, DeStefano said.

For Tom Palangio of WipWare in North Bay, MINExpo provides an opportunity to meet with distributors, . interview potential agents, discuss projects with customers, renew old friendships and see what's new in the industry. This will mark his fifth time at MINExpo.

"Everyone we wish to see is usually at the show," Palangio said. "This makes it a convenient, cost-effective way to see them all on the same trip. I'm thinking it is one of the most well-attended mining shows in the world."

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Palangio said the steady growth of WipWare can likely be linked back, at least in part, to its appearance at trade shows like MINExpo. "Our products are universal and I know of no other venue where I can reach so many at one event," he said.

Andre Ruest, general manager at B&D Manufacturing in Sudbury, will also be there. This marks the third consecutive time B&D has made an appearance at MINExpo, an arena that allows the company to achieve several goals in one setting.

"Since this is an international show, it gives us the opportunity to...