American Cranes & Transport - November 2013 - page 22

INTERVIEW
20
ACT
NOVEMBER 2013
she says. “The biggest shift is that we are
purchasing more things needed for the
booth as opposed to renting. Some of the
issues we’ve had in the past had to do with
floor solutions. What do you cover the
parking lot with? What do you put on the
deck? Rain can ruin carpet and undo a lot
of things. Finding solutions for things that
can throw you for a loop, that’s what we’ve
worked on this year.”
Her team has purchased furniture,
fixtures, flooring and walls – pretty much
everything but the building, its foundation
and the HVAC system. Welders and
others at Link-Belt’s plant have fabricated
some of the things needed.
“It’s really nice to imagine something
and have someone who can create it for
you, to say the least of manufacturing a
crane,” she says.
For Creasman, the biggest challenge is
planning for the unknown, and of course,
the weather.
“You could be dealing with snow, rain
or heat,” she says. “When we show up, the
space is an empty parking lot. A day or
two of rain can really suck out there.”
Each show is a new learning experience,
although Creasman has honed the process
down to a science. On her desk she has
framed a handwritten list written many
years ago by her mother.
“My mom wrote out this list of qualities
of a good leader,” she says. “It has a lot
of good things on the list like delegate
authority, make decisions and the last one
is ‘never assume.’ As far as this type of
planning, you can’t assume anything. You
have to have everything planned for to the
last nth of knowledge.”
Even though it’s a long and arduous
process, Creasman loves the challenges
that come with pulling it all off.
“I enjoy the research and trying to figure
out how to do something better, and it’s
not always a standard solution,” she says.
“You may come up with a completely
new thing that was designed for another
purpose. I also enjoy the aftermath when
you get it all done and realize, ‘I sketched
this out on a piece of paper.’ When
you see your team using the space, it’s
rewarding.”
Expert juggling
Amanda Barbarossa, Americas marketing
manager for Manitowoc Cranes, has
worked on elements of the last two
ConExpo shows, but this will be her first
time to be primary show manager. She was
show manager for the recent ICUEE show,
which she says gave her a “small taste of
what my job will be like for ConExpo.”
Barbarossa’s first task was to work
with senior leadership to identify her
company’s presence at the show.
“It has involved working with AEM to
meet all major deadlines, work with our
staff to make all major planning decisions
including space placement, look of the
stand, products on the stand, marketing
initiatives, staffing, hotels, every detail,”
she says. “I also served on the AEM Space
and Rules Committee.”
Her biggest challenge is all the juggling,
she says.
“Planning ConExpo is not my only
job,” she says. “I manage all marketing
efforts for Manitowoc in North and South
America. So it is very challenging to work
on this major project – which could be a
full time job in itself – in addition to all
my other responsibilities like managing
the development of product literature,
advertising, public relations efforts, dealer
communications and other tradeshows
(like ICUEE and other smaller ones). But
I’m enjoying it all.”
She says she hasn’t felt any anxiety about
the planning thus far.
“I know that in the end, everything will
get done and turn out great. We have
a great and experienced team putting
this show together,” she says. “The most
challenging period is probably going to be
the setup of the stand in the month before
the show.”
She anticipates spending about six weeks
in Las Vegas, on and off, prior to and
including the show.
“During this time I will manage the
arrival and setup of our products on
the stand, the building of the stand,
coordination with suppliers, even cleaning
cranes,” she says. “Then of course,
managing what happens at the stand
during the show.”
For Barbarossa, the most interesting part
of the job has been to develop and shape
the Manitowoc ConExpo experience.
“The ability to create a Manitowoc
experience for our dealers, customers,
potential customers, the market…it’s very
interesting to develop and shape this,” she
says. “Plus, it’s in Las Vegas. How much
more interesting can you get?”
The hard part of the project has been
the thousands of decisions that have to be
made.
“Gathering consensus and managing
expectations within the company is not
always easy,” she says.
As for what she likes the most, it’s
“literally taking a (large) slab of concrete
and transferring our entire business to this
one place for a week,” she says. “It is so
amazing to think about.”
Teamwork is key
Sven Ebinger, director, global
communications and brand management,
Terex Cranes, is no stranger to planning
large-scale tradeshows.
“The team behind the scenes is planning
multiple trade shows around the globe
every year,” he says. “Everything from
smaller conferences with a few square
feet up to the big shows like ConExpo
or Bauma with more than 60,000 square
feet.”
He says the goal of the team is to deliver
an outstanding experience to customers
and visitors.
“To do so requires a large team and a
lot of collaboration,” he says. “At Terex,
we’re organized into different business
segments. For a show like ConExpo, we
have a cross-segment team that draws
resources from each business and works
together toward our common goals. I
wear two hats on that team: I represent
the interests of the Terex Cranes business
I know that in the
end, everything will get
done and turn out great.
We have a great and
experienced team putting
this show together.
AMANDA BARBAROSSA
Americas Marketing Manager
Manitowoc Cranes
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