Along with hibernating animals, winter is also a time of dormancy as far as locksmith events are concerned. At just about this time with the beginning of basketball March Madness, the locksmith convention season starts to shift into high gear. Last weekend was the annual Clark show in Chicago. One vendor told me that he had to call back to his Chicago office and request an additional supply of catalogs. He claimed that attendees had requested twice as many catalogs this year when compared to the same convention last year. I have heard similar good attendance reports from other recent locksmith conventions.
In a few weeks the International Security Conference (ISC) will take place in Las Vegas. If you are interested in electronic security in any form, ISC is the convention to attend. Manufacturers already well-known to locksmiths plus hundreds of emerging companies from all over the world will be showing their latest products. Free seminars during the show provide a good chance to find out more about specific products. Several Locksmith Ledger writers will be roaming the ISC convention floor in order to obtain firsthand information for future Locksmith Ledger articles. Last year approximately 20,000 people attended the ISC convention. For more information on ISC West and other upcoming events, see http://www.locksmithledger.com/events.
The Security Hardware Distributors Association (SHDA) has a convention soon after the ISC convention. This convention is only open to locksmith distributors and manufacturers. Distributors meet with manufacturers to see their new products and to place orders for the coming year. SHDA has graciously allowed Locksmith Ledger to attend the convention and also meet with each manufacturer. Just as with ISC, we are able to discover what products are brand new and then report on these discoveries in subsequent issues of Locksmith Ledger.
If security conventions are busy, it can only mean that business is improving and locksmiths are prompted to either find new products to stock or to re-order existing ones. Introduction of new products means that manufacturers have confidence in the future business climate. The fastest way to find out about new products is by reading Locksmith Ledger and by attending every possible convention you can reach. Plan your summer convention schedule now.
