Medtrade East exhibitors rolling out red carpet for visitors

ATLANTA – With pandemic-induced virtual meetings dominating the past year-and-a-half, Medtrade East exhibitors are greatly looking forward to seeing “live” visitors at their booths during the trade show, Oct. 18-20 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. 

“Even though our industry has done a tremendous job expanding our use of digital communications, , there is nothing that can replace in-person networking and the conversations that are held on the expo hall floor,” said Barry Hassett, vice president of global marketing for Ball Ground, Ga.-based CAIRE. “This engagement with our peers and partners is the cornerstone of why Medtrade matters to the industry.” 

With public safety measures like masking and distancing being enforced, an abundance of caution should be sufficient to keep exhibitors and attendees safe, Hassett said. 

“Within our business, we have scaled back travel significantly over the past year-and-a-half, and we continue to follow safety protocols at all of our offices and manufacturing facilities globally,” he said. “We are just now beginning to attend in-person shows, but are closely watching show locations in the event we need to back out of our participation because of safety concerns.” 

In July, Raleigh, N.C.-based Motif Medical exhibited at Medtrade West in Phoenix, a positive experience that prompted the company’s appearance at Medtrade East, said director Brandon Fonville. During the Phoenix show, Motif won a Gold Provider’s Choice Award for its new BiliTouch Phototherapy Blanket, designed for infants with hyperbilirubinemia, commonly known as neonatal jaundice. 

“It was a great success for us,” Fonville said. “We were thrilled to pick up new business as well as to solidify relationships with existing business partners.” 

Supply chain kink 

It’s no secret that the pandemic has stressed supply chains in various industries, including HME. But while gaps exist in the channel, Medtrade East exhibitors don’t expect any major obstacles. 

“Like everyone, Motif Medical is feeling the crunch from supply chain issues,” Fonville said. “We’ve been lucky to have a great team who has worked tirelessly to minimize interruptions in inventory. Throughout all of this, we’ve thankfully had no major disruptions.”  

Hassett acknowledges that “the oxygen equipment market continues to get pressed harder and harder to turn out equipment to support critical needs related to COVID-19 globally,” but contends CAIRE has not seen any type of slowdown since the beginning of the pandemic. For Medtrade East, “We do plan to highlight our full portfolio of oxygen solutions, and our new myCAIRE telehealth solution designed to digitally transform the way providers care for their oxygen users.”