“Interzum was a terrific opportunity to experience another culture, meet people from all over the world, and position C³ as an international player in the foam industry,” described Jordan Horak, Account Manager.
Nestled in the heart of Kolsch country, we set up our compression folding machine at Interzum 2017 in Cologne, Germany. Over the four-day trade show, our machine attracted onlookers from foam pourers to mattress retailers.
“One of the things that stood out to me is how big the global market in this industry really is. There is a lot of business out there,” reflected Mark Desjardin of Business Development.
As we engaged in conversations with our booth visitors, we enjoyed hearing where everyone traveled from and the opportunity that was out there in the mattress industry.
At the Booth
The main event of our booth was the crisp-white compression folding system packaging mattresses live.
“The machine proved its durability and reliability which did not go unnoticed by several large international players attending,” Josh Vande Hey, Project Manager explained.
After running the machine over 100 times each day, we never had a glitch or snafu. The machine was performing! It proved that high-quality equipment lives up to expectations.
“I was impressed with the amount of people from across the world who are beginning to get into the mattress compression and e-commerce industry. It seemed like every person I talked to owned a mattress company producing thousands of mattresses a day,” Jeff Van Handel, Mechanical Engineer described.
“It was fun to see the expressions on people’s faces who have never seen a bed compressed before,” recalled David De Haai, Electrical Engineer.
We also displayed a compressed and rolled foam block. We caught glimpses of a lot of raised eyebrows when onlookers realized it was an entire block rolled into the package. The block was packaged with our block compression machine, which has the only linear pass-through design on the market. This allows it to package over 50 blocks per hour depending on the product. With stacks of foam plates, there’s almost no loss after recovery.
“We walked away from the show with a sense of excitement, knowing that our machinery is something that the rest of the world needs,” described Jordan. We even started dropping hints of our newest machine… an auto-bagger that will push a rolled topper directly into a bag.
Enjoying the Ride
“The show was an incredible experience, from a personal level to a professional level. It’s always refreshing to spend some extended time with the C³ crew and be reminded of the fun-loving and caring people we work with and for,” said Josh Vande Hey, Project Manager.
With an abundance of delicious German cuisine and the World Hockey Championships in Cologne that week, it was easy to bond as a C³ team after show hours. We watched USA vs. Slovakia, climbed all 551 steps of the cathedral, and cheers-ed to a group dinner along the Rhine.
As the Germans say, Dienst ist Dienst und Schnaps ist Schnaps… “Work is work and liquor is liquor.” While we had high goals and expectations of our performance at Interzum, we also took advantage of the local culture while traveling.
“There’s nothing better than relaxing with your team after a job well done. It’s like the post-ride beer after a long bike ride!” Mark exclaimed.
See you in 2019, Cologne!