By: Davies Hood, Induron President
Last November, I drove down to The Grand Hotel in Fairhope, Alabama not knowing what to expect from the inaugural Contractor Connect meeting that Induron agreed to sponsor. Hosted by The Journal of Protective Coatings & Linings (JPCL), PaintSquare and Paint Bid Tracker, Contractor Connect is a three-day “Hosted Buyer” event for the protective and marine coatings industry that brings together qualified buyers (contractors) and sellers (suppliers) through a variety of networking activities and prescheduled individual meetings. As it turns out, I enjoyed last year’s meeting so much that I:
- Blogged about it.
- Immediately renewed Induron’s sponsorship and committed to participate again at the 2nd Annual Contractor Connect!
- Heck, I even convinced my wife to attend with me this year!
Not only was this a fun event, but the networking among business owners who genuinely want to grow their respective business was also unmatched by any other industry event that I’ve attended.
You see, the contractors that take time out of their busy schedules to go to a three-day conference to learn about new products, tools, regulations and meet other leaders in the industry are exactly who I want to meet and who Induron wants to work with. Yes, there was a fishing trip and a golf outing. Yes, there was food, drinks and even Cuban Cigars. But, as they say, “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
BUT, more importantly, the event featured informative seminars on new coatings products, pending governmental regulation, innovative surface preparation techniques and more topics that could impact our business. Attendees were also able to schedule one-on-one meetings with suppliers of everything in the industry—from materials to blast media to cutting edge surface preparation devices to personal safety equipment. The list goes on and on.
In summation, the ‘gumbo’ that was created by putting a lot of innovative business owners who want to continue to learn about the industry they work in and the challenges their customers face, creates quite a tasty dish! I’m looking forward to the 2nd Annual Contractor Connect next week, Nov. 6-9, at Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Florida!