Medtrade Spring Sees Attendance Bump
Western mid-year conference and expo up 2 percent over last year.
- By David Kopf
- Apr 16, 2012
A total of 4,250 industry professionals attended last week’s 2012 Medtrade Spring Conference and Expo, representing a 2 percent gain over last year's attendance at the Las Vegas event.
“The decision makers with buying power were well represented at this year’s show,” said Kevin Gaffney, CEM, group show director for Medtrade. “It’s a modest jump over last year, and it shows that providers are continuing to keep a positive approach as they search for solution in the wake of competitive bidding”
“For us, it was the best show ever,” enthused Michael Sperduti, president and CEO of N.Y.-based HME sales training firm Emerge Sales. “We have so many qualified leads that we have a lot of work to do when we get back to New York. It was pleasantly overwhelming. Why so many? I think people came to Medtrade looking for solutions. They want to make changes and reduce costs.”
“The quality of the leads has been better than last year,” said Jay Williams, national sales manager for HME software company QS/1, which made the trip from Franklin, Tenn. to exhibit at the show “But the overall quantity seemed a little down.”
Providers attended the event for a variety of reasons, including networking and developing business strategies to cope with Medicare funding pressures. On the expo floor, various product showcases helped providers looking to beef out their inventory, such as Benjamin Sabio from North Hollywood, Calif. Sabio acquired an HME business a few months ago, and was looking for products.
“We are short on supplies and equipment,” he said. “Medtrade is a great way to see what is available.”
Similarly, Caitlin Clarke, head of community development at Med-Allies-World (Warrenton, Va.) and two colleagues attended Medtrade Spring to gain industry insights that would help them launch a new company.
“We came for everything, and so far I really enjoyed the social media session,” Clarke said “We also realize now how important it is to choose the right software. It’s a long-term financial decision with so many different options.”
In fact, Clarke’s commitment to building the business through social media led to Medtrade management awarding her with an iPad 3 for participating in Medtrade Spring social media efforts. Two other lucky winners of the electronic tablet were Robert Miovsky of ShowerBuddy (Pacoima, Calif) and Henry Kelley, CEO of Cobalt Blue Inc. (Destin, Fla.).
About the Author
David Kopf is the Editor of HME Business.