OsBlog

July 22, 2009

AWFS Recap

Filed under: Shows — Melody @ 8:36 am

The Osborne team is back from our recent trek to the AWFS fair.  Though it is true that numbers were down from previous years, we felt that we had a really good show, all in all.  We had the opportunity to meet many of our customers face-to-face, getting great feedback and learning more about what you need!  We gave away copies of our CAD Catalog on DVD, and demonstrated the various software programs it could be used with.  We were so thrilled to be present at the show, and also glad to chat with everyone who stopped by to visit us.
We brought some new products along, such as our  new line of metal corbels, and everyone was so helpful in letting us know specific applications they saw for such products, as well as offering insight as to what they would like to see along those lines in the future.

We also brought several potential new products along, and again were blown away by the responsiveness of customers and prospective customers alike.  Adjustments in the methods for mounting new corbels, materials they could be offered in; great suggestions were made across the board.  And now that we are  home and getting back to work, we are eager to put these ideas into action!

The CAD presentation made by Christian went very well, and in fact he had opportunities in the next few days to help various cabinetmakers put some of those principles into action by beginning the process of choosing a good design software program.

We were so excited to spend the time chatting with those of you who were there, and are grateful for your insight and of course also for the appreciation expressed.  We are truly seeking to see how we can better serve our customers, and love opportunities (such as tradeshows) to learn how to do that more and more.

Here are some pictures from the show:

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Above: Leon speaking with customers
Below: Christian assisting a customer

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Above: Liz explains some new products to current customers (and tells them about the bamboo combs we were giving away)
Below: Haden is writing down some customer suggestions (which we go over and turn into action points, later).

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Above: Dennis (L) and Nathan (R) both display their knowledge of Osborne products and processes to eager listeners
Below: Haden discusses new products with a visitor to our booth

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The following pictures are the CAD demonstration Christian did for a customer.  We were able to demo six different software programs to customers who want to see how our DVD imports into their particular program.  The programs we were able to demo are AutoCad, Cabinet Vision, 20 20 Design, Rhino, Pro100USA, and Google SketchUp.  The booth was set up in such a way as to allow for the customer to look on with Christian or Haden (both were doing demos), and display the drawing on a screen above as well, so passers by were also able to see.
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And last, though certainly not least, here is our team photo:

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L-R Back: Liz, Dennis, Nathan, Haden
L-R Front: Christian, Leon, Melody

July 10, 2009

AWFS Press Release - Capitalizing on CAD

Filed under: Shows — Melody @ 1:08 pm

So, this week we are finishing up preparations to head out to Vegas for AWFS.  Our team includes company CEO Leon Osborne, as well as members of the office, shipping, and production (listed alphabetically): Christian, Dennis, Haden Liz, Melody, and Nathan.  You can find us at booth 1419 (which also happens to be the part number of this popular island leg).  The following text is a press release that will be featured in our local paper in the upcoming week.


Osborne Wood Products to Present in Tradeshow

The tradeshow season in the woodworking industry is underway, and the team at Osborne Wood Products is preparing for the trek out to Las Vegas, Nevada; the site of this year’s Annual show for the Association of Woodworking and Furnishings Suppliers (AWFS), which is convening July 15-18.  This is a big year for Osborne, as they not only have a booth, but also have an employee making a presentation at the show.

Christian Smedberg is giving a presentation entitled Capitalizing on CAD; Enhancing Sales and Choosing Software.  Smedberg will be drawing upon the experience from his position as drafting engineer, in conjunction with his relationships with various software companies.  He has seen firsthand how CAD (Computer Aided Design) can be utilized in marketing and sales, as well as in design.

The presentation will be geared toward cabinetmakers; and intends to educate the attendees on how to use cabinet software to market and sell their products.  Smedberg also deals with important design issues involved with using CAD programs, such as which software program to use, techniques such as photorealistic rendering, and how to display the digital representations of their work to their customers.

Smedberg will be demonstrating six different CAD software programs and discussing what to look for when deciding to purchase a program.  He will also address the fact that in the last five years manufacturing and design software have merged into one package, and that importance of having both in that same package.

Smedberg is looking forward to the show, commenting, “I am privileged to be a featured as a speaker at the upcoming AWFS Fair. I hope to continue the education of many cabinetmakers as they learn more about integrating their software with sales and marketing.”

On the tradeshow floor, the team from Osborne will be getting to meet customers face-to-face and get feedback on current products, as well as new product ideas.  While they hope to hear about the things they are doing well, a significant reason for this type of customer interaction is to learn what they can improve on as a company.  In fact, the driving force behind creating a full DVD catalog of their items as CAD images was the feedback they received from customers at a prior AWFS show in 2007.

Company CEO Leon Osborne is looking forward to the trip as well as Osborne’s opportunity to make this presentation.  He remarked, “This opportunity to provide needed information to experts in the architectural design field is timely.  I am delighted to see Christian Smedberg to be selected as an educator assisting cabinet makers to learn how to effectively present their products.”

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