Business Booms Around the World At PRI Trade Show
Crowds descended on the show early Friday and continued throughout the day – as buyers and exhibitors from around the world were on hand.
“We’re here to support our customers and display a ton of new product," said Ainsley Hyman, of Precision Turbo & Engine. “Given the current economy, business has been going surprisingly well. Product is moving and people are definitely buying."
Similar reports were common throughout the show.
“The show has been great for us," said Bucky Gregory, of Roush Yates Engines. “The traffic has been really good. We’ve seen a lot of people who have interest in buying. The atmosphere of the show drives people to do business."
High sales the past two days have, in part, been attributable to a strong international contingent, as well as attendees from all 50 states.
“Every year, the show seems to have gotten better for us," relayed Scott Weney, President of S&W Race Cars. “We’re finding more and more customers here every year. As the U.S. dollar gets weaker, foreign currency gets stronger and the international buyers find it more affordable to buy direct from the people that created drag racing here in the U.S. Our Canadian customers are buying more. We’re shipping more stuff to Australia than we ever have. The show’s been excellent this year. A lot of serious buyers and they’re here for a reason."
Large contingents from Canada, Australia, the UK, Argentina, Brazil, New Zealand, Italy and more are in attendance as international exhibitors also have found success at this year’s show.
“We started coming here 21 years ago," said Yves Morizot, CEO of Stand 21, with global sales and headquartered in France. “This show has really grown over the years and has truly become an international show. We have attendees from all over here. We need to meet people from around the world. Racing isn’t just America or Europe. Racing is a community and in this community, you need to have a place where everyone can meet and this is it."
And they’re not only meeting, but also buying.
“We’re here to exhibit and sell our products," said Michael Konstandinou, of ICE Ignition, an Australian-based company. “The first day was exceptionally busy and traffic has remained steady today. The quality of the attendee is very good. People are here looking to buy. Circle track and drag racing are our biggest markets and we don’t even have a drag strip in our capitol city of Melbourne, so we have an international clientele and this is the show to come to."
That sentiment was shared by Charlie Gough, Future Fibres of Spain.
“It’s been a very positive experience here at PRI. What we do is a very small and very niche side of motorsport. It’s very important for us to stay in touch with our end client and this gives us a lot of visibility with our clients that we normally wouldn’t have. Traffic has been very good – at times, we’ve been two or three people deep, but overall it’s been steady."
Over 35,000 racing business people from all 50 states and 65 countries worldwide are expected to be in attendance this year’s PRI Trade Show to get current with the latest in racing technology courtesy of the 1,000 motorsports companies introducing their new lines in racing products, machining equipment, motorsport engineering solutions and more.