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Fuel Oil News
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T
here were a lot of questions about how the new Eastern Energy Expo would turn
out. This combination of the Oil and Energy Service Professionals, Atlantic Regional
Energy Expo and Pennsylvania Petroleum Association shows was meant to address
rising concerns about the impact that numerous competing tradeshows were having in
the industry, particularly dwindling attendance and complications for manufacturers that
were exhibiting at multiple events with similar audiences.
There had been plenty of talk, most of it subdued, about the need to do something
about the situation. OESP had previously made some bold attempts to address this, but
this combined approach finally seems to have found the right formula. Educational ses-
sions were well attended and when the doors to the show opened, the floor was packed.
Conversations with attendees and exhibitors indicated, generally, a high degree of satisfac-
tion with the turnout and the quality of the education and the tradeshow experience.
It was an interesting and entirely functional blend of both the oil and propane heat-
ing fuels side of the equation, the heating appliance side and even a smattering of motor
fuels marketing content. The primary parent organizations, OESP and AREE (which is
largely driven by the Fuel Merchants Association of New Jersey) integrated things where it
made sense and kept other traditional activities separate. For example, the tradeshow was
integrated, but various meetings, such as the AREE Hospitality Reception and the OESP
Awards Ceremony, were broken out. We will have more in-depth coverage of the awards
ceremony in next month's issue.
The location, the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn., is an accommo-
dating venue. While not readily accessible via air travel (requiring a 45-minute drive from
the Providence, R.I., airport), the regional nature of the industry traditionally sees most
attendees arrive via car or chartered bus. In fact, in my estimation it is much easier to fly
in and attend than the traditional home of AREE, Atlantic City, and no more challenging
than attending an event in Hershey, Pa.
The fact that it was held in a casino raised some concerns over distractions, but it was
difficult to see those concerns play out. In my observation the casino was never crowded
during show hours, and unlike a location such as Las Vegas there were few ancillary
distractions beyond the casino that would compete for attendees' time. There was a fine
selection of food venues, and certainly shopping opportunities for family members who
might be attending.
The one commonly noted complaint was that the tradeshow was split between different
levels with some additional spillover into side hallways. My observation was that the side hall-
ways seemed to have plenty of activity, and while the upper-level space was less active than the
lower, the amount of traffic still seemed fairly impressive. In fact, even the exhibitors in that
room who complained were—mostly—not particularly upset. While split shows are always
difficult, and often unavoidable, in the future a more aggressive approach to signage and per-
haps some creative incentives could go a long way toward alleviating that issue.
Congratulations are definitely in order for all of the organizations involved, and it will
be interesting to see how readily this success carries over to next year when the event will be
held in one of the cornerstone locations for the industry—Hershey.
l F O N
Keith Reid
8 JULY 2016 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com
The Eastern
Energy Expo Delivers
