2015 South Texas Oilfield Expo attendees show resiliency

Oil and gas professionals fight back against market slump

On the morning of July 29th, 2015, hundreds of attendees lined up inside the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Centre in San Antonio, TX, overflowing stanchions as they waited patiently for their turn to get into the 2015 South Texas Oilfield Expo, a sold-out show that has been the region’s largest oil and gas trade event for four consecutive years. As the day progressed, thousands more joined them, and soon every aisle of the facility was filled with oil and gas professionals eager to network and do business.

Judging from the turnout, it would be hard to guess that the industry was in the middle of the worst downturn in over a decade. However, the strong attendee response came as little surprise to show organisers, Texas Classic Productions, LLC; for months they had been promoting a message of resiliency to oil and gas professionals: “Come to the Expo, and fight back against the downturn.” The response was strong.

“This year we broke our record for pre-registered attendees, even though the market is in a slump,” said Michelle Manningham, Vice President of Marketing for Texas Classic Productions, LLC. “Everyone we’ve talked to is saying the same thing: just because the price of oil is down doesn’t mean we’re going to stop doing business – we’re here for the long term. So, the focus has shifted towards maximising cost efficiency, but industry professionals are still getting out there and doing business.”

This phenomena was echoed by Matt Blomstrom with Texas Gauge and Controls, which exhibited in booth 203. This was the company’s first time exhibiting at one of Texas Classic’s Oilfield Expos, and they were showcasing a series of fluid system products for use the oilfield.

“If I’m being honest, I really didn’t think that there was going to be much opportunity – the market’s kind of slow,” Blomstrom said. “But I’d say it’s been really good. We got a lot of good leads, a lot of good face time… I think that there’s some really potential large accounts for us, and to get those in multiples at a show is pretty rare, and I think we’ve gotten quite a few here.”

In 2014, the South Texas Oilfield Expo was ranked as one of the top ten fastest-growing trade shows in the country by Trade Show Executive. This year’s Expo featured 398 companies exhibiting in over 600 booths. Registrations for the 2016 South Texas Oilfield Expo are now open; for more information or to reserve your company’s space today, visit www.SouthTexasOilfieldExpo.com.

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/special-reports/19082015/2015-south-texas-oilfield-expo-attendees-show-resiliency/