Customers, prospects and partners come for a hard look, with loads of questions, at the Minneapolis ABB LVP Roadshow

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, March 11, 2008 . . . Attendees to the ABB Low Voltage Products Roadshow, held here at the Convention Center downtown March 5 – 6, came for one thing: to learn! Nearly 200 prospects and customers piled into the workshops and exhibit hall on Day 2, Customer Day, to see and learn; and the 130 channel partners, attending briefings a day earlier, were just as focused in concentrating on what is new in automation solutions from ABB, a global leader in technology for industrial and commercial applications.

Complementary Solutions

“The cross-pollination opportunities – helping customers and prospects find complementary solutions – at this event was tremendous,” said Boyd Janny, the district manager for the ABB Power and Control Sales Team, who oversaw the invitations and local participation in the event. “The excitement was everywhere, with up to 60 attendees packing into each workshop, which ran 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, every hour on the hour.”

The nearly 200 customers and prospects pouring into the venue also crowded the exhibits, with a hands-on opportunity to see the latest products and services – and talk with experts representing some 30 product lines. Workshops offered “must-know” expertise on a host of automation-related information, ranging from UL and NEC standards, to harmonic mitigation in industrial environments, to sizing motors correctly to drives, to a profile of motor types, and PLC installations, and efficient, energy saving control panel designs.

“A venue with that many solutions on display facilitates very meaningful discussions with existing customers, who get a deeper sense of the breadth of solutions at their disposal,” said Janny. “The evidence is everywhere you look – and that gives this kind of vertical show tremendous credibility with customers ABB already serves, and prospects we are building relationships with.”

Train Trainers

The day prior to customers’ arrival is Distributor Day, and focuses on briefing electrical distributors’ personnel (partners with ABB) on what is new with each of the product lines on display. “ABB has never been more committed to delivering product and service solutions to end users through channel partners such as electrical distributors,” Janny noted. Distributor Day readies these personnel to take customers around to the experts and product solutions that can help them most.

“How can attendees not learn a lot about a host of product solutions as you move around through a rich mix of workshop content and exhibits?” Janny asked.

Improve Energy Efficiency and Productivity

The show offers visitors a close-up look at a wide berth of low-voltage products (drives, controls, and motors), automation, power, medium voltage and instrumentation solutions -- and the chance to talk with the product experts on all the lines.

It’s at least 30 sales calls – all in one day. The Roadshow resumes its tour, stopping next in Cincinnati. The schedule of venues and dates will be available at www.abb-events.com.

See Full Story at Right for more photos of event . . .