Episode 7 - "Gearing up for the GSE Expo": Inside the GSE Expo with Bill Baumann & Josh Smith

Matthew Weitzel: 0:16

This episode of the GSE podcast is brought to you by Xcēd ground support equipment leasing your trusted partner for GSE solutions. We specialize in tailored operating leases for ground handlers and airlines, offering top notch equipment and flexible terms to suit your needs. partner with industry leaders, we're committed to bring in new new equipment offerings that keep your operations running smoothly and efficiently. Choose Xcēd for competitive rates and exceptional customer service, visit xcedgse.com today, and soar to new heights with Xcēd ground support equipment leasing. All right, welcome to a special edition of the GSE podcast. We're just weeks away from the GSE Expo, the ground support equipment industry's premier event. I'm Matt Weitzel, host of the GSE podcast and today I'm thrilled to have with me, Bill Bauman, aviation group publisher and Josh Smith, editor of ground support worldwide. Gentlemen, how are we both doing? Really great, Matt, thanks

Josh Smith: 1:28

for having us on. Yeah,

Bill Baumann: 1:30

thanks a lot, Matt. Doing good.

Matthew Weitzel: 1:31

Not a problem, guys. I'm very excited about the show. We are we're back in Vegas after having a year off. And we've moved to a larger venue. We So in 2021, we were were not at the Rio

Bill Baumann: 1:49

2021. That was an interesting year we were we were planning to be at the Rio until two months ahead of time and then some COVID things happened in the World Series of Poker. And we ended up at the at the Caesars. Caesars forum.

Matthew Weitzel: 2:04

Yes, the Caesars forum? Yes. And actually, I love that. That venue is it was it was great, actually. And it was nice to see everybody.

Bill Baumann: 2:12

It was a beautiful location. It was tremendous. I think the the other thing that they hosted that you might know is the Super Bowl draft party. So it was an upscale venue, beautiful location, but really didn't give us enough space. That was one of our challenges that year was it was a little bit confined. And we had to do a lot more exhibitors inside than was traditional for this show. Typically speaking, it's about two thirds outside. And that was kind of a 5050 split and really didn't give us enough room to expand.

Matthew Weitzel: 2:42

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And obviously, this year, we're going to be the Las Vegas Convention Center. And that is going to offer you plenty of space.

Bill Baumann: 2:51

Plenty of space we do we do have a lot of space. So I will say even with our limited space. Last year, we had about 85,000 square feet of space. So it was one of our biggest shows ever. Even with that amount of space. This year, we've got about 95,000 square feet of space. With over 250 exhibitors, we're going to be at the convention center at Hall See, see one and also at the silver light outside and you'll see it when you come down the monorail. We're right there where the big space right outside.

Matthew Weitzel: 3:20

Okay, now, just so I can kind of get the lay of the land here. Sure. Can I go right outside? Or do I have to walk through the inside Park to get to the outside part?

Bill Baumann: 3:30

A good question. So registration is in an inside area. So inside to register. Once you've done that, what's happened

Matthew Weitzel: 3:40

I said thank God, we're not gonna be seen and out in the heat registering. Alright, go on.

Bill Baumann: 3:45

With the big long line, we expect maybe you'll have to stand down just know you'll be able to go inside the register, get your badge and then from that point on, you'll be able to go into either venue, there'll be a split, to be able to go either way you want to go. So there's a lot of accessibility. It's a lot closer than it was last year. It's literally just a short width of a street apart one to the other, the inside to the outside. So there'll be a lot of access and ability to go back and forth.

Matthew Weitzel: 4:11

Oh, that's fantastic. I love that. That's perfect. So what I have

Bill Baumann: 4:15

to say, Matt, if you come if you come on the monorail as you come off that platform right at the top, if you look to your left, you'll see the vista of about 70,000 square feet of GSE Expo outdoor exhibitors, so it'll be pretty impressive that way as well. We won't have the first wheel that we had last year, but we'll have this tremendous Vista the look over everything. Yeah,

Matthew Weitzel: 4:37

that sounds it sounds awesome. I'm very excited about it. What is the what is the food look like at the Las Vegas Convention Center? Are we going to we're gonna have anything special there.

Bill Baumann: 4:48

Well, you know, convention center food is always the best.

Matthew Weitzel: 4:52

As long as they have coffee really is all I'm looking for.

Bill Baumann: 4:56

Right right. So we we took some feedback from the exhibitors over the years and the attendees over the years. And we actually are trying something a little bit different this year, we're doing a food truck area. So it'll be a barbecue and food truck area that will be outside and will feature two or three different vendors that will give you kind of a different selection of food than you're used to. So it won't be the typical hot dog and slice of pizza, you'll be able to get barbecue hamburgers, you know, tacos, some, some different ethnic foods, it'll be, we hope it'll be a much, much appreciated upgrade in the food opportunities.

Matthew Weitzel: 5:31

I am very impressed with this. And I you know, before I asked that question, I was kind of thinking, I thought I remembered hearing something about a food truck. And I wasn't sure if that was exactly right now, I'm very excited to hear that, that that was not just a dream of mine. And in fact, you all have done that. And you've upgraded the food for this year's event. I'm very impressed. Thank you so much for that we're, we're all going to be very excited about that. Yeah, I

Bill Baumann: 5:55

have to say it's always one of the challenges when you go to a trade show, right? It's how you're going to eat. So it will be something definitely unusual. And there's also a barbecue guy out there too. So an outdoor barbecue guy.

Matthew Weitzel: 6:07

Okay, awesome, actually. So this will be my so I've been in the industry for 16 years, I've been going to the show for a really long time. I've always really loved going to the show. But you know, the food has always been a sticking point for me, obviously, it's always brought it up. And the other thing that would happen is that I would get stuff, you know, in variability, it's stuck in my teeth, right. And you know, what you don't want to do is you don't want to have to go back to your room to go and like, you know, make sure that you're good in the mirror and all that stuff in your head barbecue sauce on your face, or you know, pork in your teeth. So last year in 2012 and 2021. Not last year 2021. I sponsored Xcēd sponsored the bathrooms, and I put flossers in there in toothbrushes so that way, nobody had to worry about that. And we'll be doing that again at this show. So yeah, so all the sponsorship. Yeah, just so the exhibitors know, Matt has taken care of you, and you will no longer had to worry about talking to a customer and having something in your teeth.

Bill Baumann: 7:08

Yeah, that is an important thing. And we appreciate the sponsor. It's a unique one, and we really enjoy it.

Matthew Weitzel: 7:15

Man, so All right, and then what else? What else should I know this year, that's different from 2021, other than the venue and the food?

Bill Baumann: 7:24

Well, I think the venue is going to be a big part of it, there's going to be a lot more space outside to get around, obviously, we're going to still be doing the demo area, the The grounds are set up a little bit differently, there's both a main aisle. And then there's a large what we're calling the runway that leads out all the way through the entire outdoor space out to the demo area. And we have seven different companies out there demoing products where you can actually get hands on with products. Now the way that works is, and I think they did this in the past, but we've kind of expanded the area a bit is that you make an appointment or visit the the sponsor at their booth. And then they'll bring you out there to their equipment, and you can actually go out there with them get on the equipment, move it around driving around a big area. And so it gives you a real unique opportunity to get hands on. It's one of the experiences that we think that makes the GSE Expo International in Las Vegas. Much different than anything else out there.

Matthew Weitzel: 8:19

Yeah, no, I completely agree. I think that's one of my favorite parts of the show is just being able to go and touch and feel the equipment. And then not only that, right, you can drive it around. And it's not all the time that you get to do that kind of stuff. It's very rare. And so I think it's it's a very unique thing that you all have that nobody else has. And you know, it helps the customers make decisions, buying decisions, and it allows these manufacturers to show off new products. And actually, I've been talking to a lot of the manufacturers about that demo area in about bringing equipment and what they're bringing in a lot of these manufacturers, you know, really target this September, you know, GSE Expo to launch new products. And that's that's got to be exciting for you guys.

Bill Baumann: 9:03

Sure there are and we know of a number of those opportunities that are coming up, most of them are embargoed, so I can't tell you about them right now. But there are going to be some exciting announcements and throughout the show, especially first day leading off so there'll be exciting things across the board when it comes to. And don't get me wrong, too. When we talked about that demo area inside of everyone's booth, you'll still be able to raise them lower, they'll still be a lot of action going on in the booths themselves. So the demo is primarily for moving things around. So it's a hands on show, you know you've been there enough to know Yeah, what goes on?

Matthew Weitzel: 9:37

Yeah, but there's gonna be some some hopefully well hopefully there's gonna be some first time people there and it's always great to let them know that kind of stuff. But yeah, you can definitely get into deicers and go up in the boom and all that kind of stuff and it's it's a ton of fun for people and Alright, so we got the demo area, we got the food we got the new venue, anything else that we want to cover off on the show Well, I

Bill Baumann: 10:00

should also say that right now our attendance is up as well. So people are pretty excited about it. Typically speaking, we say that there should be between 2020 500 people, it's not the largest show in the whole world. But it's really the key people who are buying, making buying decisions. And this year, right now we're sitting at over 3200 people who've registered to attend the show, which is significantly up over the past two shows that we've done, we expect it could get as high as 3500 people there. So it will be an exciting opportunity to really network with pretty much everyone out there, there's also going to be some opportunities out there, we brought in, there's a military group meeting, it's going to be doing some custom meetings off to off on the inside location. So there's a lot of groups and we're trying to make it the show kind of grow out of out of the out of the needs of of what the attendees are looking for, you know, there's a lot of trends in the space that are changing these days, a lot of technology that's coming along. And we want to make sure we're touching on all those bases. So there'll be a lot of opportunities to see what's going on and to see new vendors and new types of equipment that that the attendees are looking for, you know, that are part of their jobs these days.

Matthew Weitzel: 11:11

Yeah, I didn't know that. That was a that was a thing. That's great. That's great to hear. Yeah, thanks for providing that information. So So Josh, you you have a podcast right now, the aviation Pros podcast, will you be doing anything at the show?

Josh Smith: 11:24

Yeah, of course, we're going to be, you know, just running around like crazy as an editorial team, which is not unusual for a trade show, especially the GSE Expo Expo. But, you know, recording podcasts at trade shows and conferences isn't really a new thing for us. But we're really excited that in our booth, we've got some dedicated space, just for podcasting and shooting video, I think it's going to lead to some really compelling conversations, you know, everybody's there with new ideas and new solutions to kind of overcome some of those challenges that are taking place in the industry. So with everybody there with that top of mind, I think it's going to make some for some really good conversations, I think we even have a little bit of room in our booth kind of around the recording area, so that if people are wandering by come checking out the latest stuff, they could even pull up a seat and not necessarily have a full on live podcast. But you know, if you want to, if you want to drop in and kind of hear what we're working on, you know, we'll have that access available to the people in attendance. So the other really exciting. Part two is our our editorial team has grown in recent years. So we're going to have the most editors we've ever had on hand at a GSE Expo, our whole team is going to help facilitate the podcast recordings, conducted interviews, make those booth visits and really, you know, just compile all of that new breaking news that's taking place across the industry, I think it's going to yield some really comprehensive coverage. And I can feel myself talking faster as I go here, because we're just really excited to get out there on the grounds and hit the floor running.

Matthew Weitzel: 13:07

Yeah, I'm in the same way. And like I said, I've been going to the show for a number of years now. And it is there's always everybody's there. Everybody that you want to see in the industry, all the decision makers are always there. And it sounds like this year, it's going to be even more than than what I've ever seen. So this is this is really exciting. I think that we're finally 100%, back after COVID. And that mean, the 2021 show was was honestly great. And it was it was a huge relief to get back in front of everybody. And I think a lot of people showed up, you know, because they felt comfortable. And you all made it made it a comfortable space and had the hand sanitizing solution, all the stuff. But this year is going to be I think it's going to be no holds bar here. And I'm very excited about it. Right. Yeah.

Bill Baumann: 13:55

And I have to say I wanted to add something to Josh too, because he's a he's holding back a little bit. The one other exciting thing we're gonna be announcing at the booth this year is the Ground Support Team of the Year. So that's a new award that we've just introduced with ground support worldwide magazine. And we're going to actually be giving that award to to a team of people. We won't know who that is yet, but on day one, we'll be making that announcement in that presentation at our booth. So I did want to make that point to

Matthew Weitzel: 14:22

how will you be giving away that award and letting everybody know that's happening? Yeah.

Josh Smith: 14:29

Well, we can start by letting your listeners know that, you know, on that first day, that Tuesday, round ball three o'clock but an hour before the show closes. You know that's when we're going to start gathering our award winners in the booth. We'll we'll be making announcements ahead of time to try and get some people over to help recognize these winners. And then yeah, that that'll be part of our podcasts recordings after we get a chance to recognize them and give them the the You know, the the honor they deserve for all the hard work they've been doing, we'll get a chance to sit down with them and talk a little bit more in depth about, you know, how they've been able to cultivate, you know, this strong team and gotten the best work out of their colleagues and kind of push each other to, to kind of raise the level of service that they're able to offer. So I think it's going to be, you know, a really good way to kind of kick off some of those podcast recordings. And, you know, I hope some folks will be able to join us, you know, in our, in our booth, when we're ready to hand out that recognition, you know,

Bill Baumann: 15:38

and, Matt, I have to say that the idea behind this, this Ground Support Team of the Year Award, goes back to one of the trends we see are the challenges we see in the industry, right personnel and keeping staff and making people happy, and bringing them along in the industry. It's one of the big challenges our industry faces all the time is to keep people in the industry. And I think this is an opportunity for us, as a show and as a as a media organization, to champion the employees and the people who make everything work. And the idea was in his premiere event, we went out and solicited nominations. And I have to say this is one of our most successful awards we've ever done denominations, it was amazing how many nominations we got from different organizations. And it was a very difficult decision to make. There were there were dozens of companies that could have easily have won this award. So it was a difficult decision. But we could see the industry really enjoyed it, and really liked it. So there'll be something you'll see more and more from us in the coming years. So I just wanted to make that point that, you know, it really was we thank everyone for being a part of nominating and part of that will obviously be they'll know that that'll that'll promote it also on let people know what's going on in the market, or at the show to be able to come and visit the booth. So we're excited about it.

Matthew Weitzel: 17:01

Nice. So a lot of announcements on day one, it sounds like any special things that are going to happen on day two,

Josh Smith: 17:08

I think it's going to be so much catching up. You know, I think everybody will come into the show with a lot of enthusiasm. But as Bill alluded to, there's just so much space to cover in so many individuals to meet with. I know everybody really likes to kind of kind of load up the front end of their schedule there. But I think just honestly, logistically, we're not going to be able to do everything. Day one. So I know we there are a few things planned there. But I think so much business is going to take place on day two, really, you know, the day one is a lot of good feelings, you know, saying hi to folks you haven't seen in a long time getting that initial momentum underway. And then, you know, day two is really down to business and making sure you're you're getting those meetings with key people across the industry. Yeah, I

Bill Baumann: 17:59

think typically trade shows, you'll see that day one is the announcement date. And then day two is the get to business day. You know, there'll be there'll be big drapes pulled off of new pieces of equipment that show on day one. And then on day two, it'll be the people getting an opportunity to really kind of get hands on with that equipment and see what's going on. So we expect it to be pretty busy. We'll be doing interviews and and meetings in booths and at our different booth locations throughout. So there's a lot going on, it never slows down as you know that the when you get there you feel like the shows along and but by the time you get to day three, you're like, we could do this for another two or three days. So

Matthew Weitzel: 18:39

yeah, that's exactly it. Yep. Well, this has been so informative. I you know, Josh, I think the only thing that I wanted to ask you about was so you're doing the podcast. And I know aviation pros, Reese, I guess what is like a year or two ago launched a new new website. So you know, what are you doing, like, as far as like with the rise of digital media and online platforms? So you're doing the podcasts and you got the banners and all that kind of stuff that people can get on the on the website? What else? What other kind of cool things are y'all doing over at ground sport worldwide?

Josh Smith: 19:17

It's been a lot of fun. And, you know, it's been challenging at times, but always in a really positive way to continue evolving. You know, with the media industry. You know, at this, especially for me in particular, I'm kind of an old newspaper guy, that's where I came from. So getting into some more of this, of the multimedia opportunities has been a real joy. And as the media industry continues to evolve, people still need important information to help them do their jobs and live their lives. So really, the overall goal hasn't really changed. We're still out there trying to serve our readers, but how we serve them has kind of changed over time. So, you know, some people prefer to digest their news with traditional print magazine. So that's, you know, we still have that available to our readers, but other people liked the format of the magazine. But, you know, we'd rather just have it in their pocket on their phone. So we have the digital flipbook for them, for example. So other people, you know, like the digest their news, you know, with a podcast or by watching video clips. So we've figured out a way to do all of those things. So that we can write directly to our audience, whether it's on aviation proz.com, or through the ground support worldwide magazine. But really, when it comes to, you know, how to how the industry prefers to consume their coverage, we can deliver it that way. Like I said before, it's really just about serving our readers. And from that perspective, we're medium agnostic, the key is just to be a service to the reader. And, you know, that's always been the top priority and will continue to be so as as we move forward.

Matthew Weitzel: 21:04

Nice. So I think that's

Bill Baumann: 21:06

a good way to put it. Media agnostic is the thing that we've always strived to strive for. So as things come along, we serve them, I think the other thing to look at when you look at the Endeavour aviation group is that we are a broad group. So we have airport business, we have ground support, we have a empty magazine. And with that, we cover the entire airport space. So that's really the way we look at it. While we're called the aviation group, I really look at us as the airport group, we cover everything that has to do with supporting the airplane, and everything in that space. And so the nice thing about being on that aviation pros platform, is it gives us the opportunity and the audience the opportunity to dive into different stories that they might not normally see specifically in ground support. Maybe they're interested in some other equipment stories or some other airport business stories, some maintenance stories, that kind of thing. So it gives them the opportunity to see that entire story. And that's really what we're looking to, to provide to the audience as a whole.

Matthew Weitzel: 22:05

Oh, yeah, for sure. And so I heard that you're going to do video, is that right? So do you all have a ground support worldwide YouTube channel? Or do I have to go to aviation pros to get all my digital, like video content,

Josh Smith: 22:20

you'll find it all at Aviationpros.com. So if you if you're new to the concept, that's probably the easiest place to go to just head there. That's where all of our stuff is. But But no, we do have an aviation pros, YouTube channel as well. So if you're familiar with the YouTube platform, you'll be able to find us there and even subscribe, so you can get some notification when our videos come out. You'll also get notifications. When are our podcasts published as well, those get pushed through our YouTube channel, as well as you know, out to all our usual podcast locations, Spotify, Apple, music, Amazon music, etc. So if you're trying to discover some of these new avenues that we're using to get information out there, go ahead and come to the website. If you're already out on Spotify, or using YouTube on a regular basis, you know, go ahead and find us there. We have a Vimeo landing page. Basically, we're everywhere we need to be to get in front of the GSE audience in the ground handling space.

Matthew Weitzel: 23:23

Yeah, for sure. And I think so the show starts on September 26, and runs to the 28th. And it's going to be the Las Vegas Convention Center. Now, is it too late? If if somebody's listening to this podcast, and they haven't signed up for the show, can they can they somehow attend the show?

Bill Baumann: 23:44

You short, not only could you attend but you could actually exhibit to if you were very if you're very agile, you I think we still have two booths inside, but you could have so we're we're close to sold out. But you can attend and you can go to GSE expo.com, to just register to attend right there. If you're a company that's purchasing and evaluating ground support equipment, it's$25. To attend, you can sign up right there. You can also sign up right at the shop. So you can come to the show and signup day of the show as well. So we're always available to attendees, you can come in anytime you want. We're always open to new people coming. Hey, Matt, there was one thing I did want to call out as well. Evolution of the show, you know, Endeavor launched our version of this show IEMA, which is the company the association that we do this in partnership with launch their version has shown and a number of years ago, we came together to form GSE international GSE Expo. I did want to make a call out to them too, because we're just partners with this show with IEMA. They're doing a great job in putting this show together as well. It's the association of the large ground support equipment manufacturers. Their board, you know is critical in this show coming together and being at the at the forefront of equipment, so I didn't want to if it's okay, just make a call out to the board that works with us on putting the show together. And that's Jennifer Massey, who's the board chairman. Brock Crocker has at best to guard Ben Reeves at power Sto. Justin Brennan at Textron. And they come together and we really work hard to put this show together. So it's it's as much I ima as it is ground support worldwide putting the show together. And I just wanted to put a special call out to them make sure that we're giving them up all the credit for the great work that they do.

Matthew Weitzel: 25:32

Yeah, they deserve it. I know all those. All those folks. And we are IEMA members Xcēd is and yeah, they do a fantastic job. And we just we appreciate everybody that has anything to do with the with the GSE Expo vendors and and any of the airlines that come and the ground handlers and all the people that attended that they they are what make the show possible for everybody and make it such a success every other year. So. So yeah, it's a great call out. And I appreciate that. So this is last call. I think we've got a lot of information out there. But if there's anything else that we want to cover, go right ahead. I think

Bill Baumann: 26:11

from my perspective, that's it, what I would like to say is thanks for doing thank you for doing this, I It's great to see great partners in the marketplace, great companies like yourself, like Exede out there doing these sorts of things. We really do appreciate it, we appreciate you supporting it, we also appreciate you being a member of IEMA. So thanks. Thanks all around. Yeah, no, not

Matthew Weitzel: 26:29

a problem. Yeah, man,

Josh Smith: 26:30

we really appreciate the opportunity to share a little bit more about the show. And I think I assume I speak for a lot of people when I say we enjoy talking about the show and what's coming up. But when it's two years in the making, to put the show on, you get to this point of the process, and it's, you know, you're you're so anxious to get theirs, you're ready to stop talking about what's going to happen and just get to the event and, you know, connect with everybody that you haven't seen in a while and just you know, enjoy the the three days of networking, and and learning so I am just eager to get there and actually enjoy the show a little bit.

Matthew Weitzel: 27:10

I agree I'm getting in on Sunday. So that way I'm ready for you know, for setup on Monday morning and then golf with your with your with your golf thing that you all put together and in a fantastic course it looks like it's well.

Bill Baumann: 27:25

Yeah, it is. It is a tremendous course. And it's much closer to to the strip than we've ever been before. Yeah, so you can look at from the Valley High golf course. And you can see, you can see the Raider stadium sitting right there in the distance and you have the view of the strip. So this year, it's gonna be a little bit different we are, we're doing it a little bit earlier, and we're not going to have a full dinner afterwards. So the nice thing about it is you can come, you can enjoy the networking opportunity, you can hit a golf ball around a beautiful course network again and have some drinks and then be off for the night to go. You know, go enjoy Las Vegas on your own or with clients or with all the people that you meet at the golf event. So we look forward to seeing you there.

Matthew Weitzel: 28:07

Yeah, man. Thank you all so much. This is This has been Matt and Bill and Josh, for the GSE podcast. Thanks a lot you. That's a wrap of this episode of the GSE podcast. A big thank you to Bill and Josh for sharing information about the GSE Expo with us today. If you're as passionate about the ground support equipment industry as we are, please hit that subscribe button and share this episode with fellow GSE enthusiast. Your support means the world to us and helps us bring more of these enlightening discussions to you. Now for those attending the GSE Expo from September 26 to the 28th. Here's an opportunity you won't want to miss. Visit Xcēd at booth 617 and take the mic. That's right, you can record an intro or an outro for the GSE podcast. Who knows? You might just hear your own voice in an upcoming episode. Thanks for tuning in.