by Emily Olson
Aluvision specializes in modular systems for indoor and outdoor events. The company focuses on creating systems with simplicity in mind so that the pieces can be endlessly mixed and matched into unique environments for tradeshows and other events. Another major focus for Aluvision is training the people who use their systems because the more familiar they are with the products, the better they can explore all the possibilities inherent in them. To that end, the company regularly invites their customers to AluvisionLive!, a multi-day training and networking event that allows industry professionals to connect, learn and have a little fun in the process.
From August 24 to 26, more than 70 people, including designers, project managers, detailers, sales representives and members of the media, headed to Duluth, Georgia, the headquarters of Aluvision USA, for the second AluvisionLive! since COVID put the training event on hold. For this edition of the event, the US home team, which included Joe Guerrero (sales manager) and Melisa Burrell (sales and marketing coordinator), Jan Dumont (COO) and owners Ann Vancoillie and Dirk Deleu, updated guests on the latest innovations.
Vancoillie says, “We don’t view AluvisionLive! as a sales opportunity. Instead, it is an opportunity to listen to our customers and other specialists in the business. Our research and development team particularly likes having this kind of access to our clients because by listening to how they use our products, they can come up with ways to improve upon them.”
Vancoillie continues, “Apart from ‘the products,’ we also find it important, together with our partners, to think about the future of our industry on a broader level. This could be about possible innovations, the increasing importance of cooperation within the business, regionally but also on a global scale, but certainly also about sustainability.”
“And of course, an important part of this event is training to further educate our customers so that they become more familiar with the system and its novelties, work more easily within the system and better understand the system in general,” Guerrero adds.
The whole event was kicked off by a welcome reception on Wednesday night that took place at Good Word Brewing and Public House in Duluth. “We love working in the downtown Duluth area,” Burrell says. “It’s only a 5 minutes east of our headquarters.” Burrell says she likes mingling with attendees at the welcome reception because she gets to witness the evolution of relationships over the course of the event. “It’s so exciting to see how the attendees almost become a little club. They’re partnering, exchanging email addresses, discussing their challenges and getting to know each other on a social level.”
But before everyone got social, there was some serious learning to be done. After breakfast, everyone took part in a Meet the Team session. “It’s so nice for people to be able to put a face to a phone call,” Burrell explains.
Then after a couple of general presentations on products and capabilities, attendees were treated to a focused presentation on Aluvision’s Hi-LED 55. “Our LED 55 tiles are the hottest thing,” Guerrero says. “Our Aluvision framing system is the backbone, but LED is what everyone is talking about. You certainly can see that by walking a tradeshow floor, but we can tell because of the response we’re getting from our customers.”
After lunch, guests were treated to a showroom tour, which was the highlight of the day. “I think our showroom is very impressive,” Burrell says. “It’s one thing to see a product in a catalog or watch a presentation, but the showroom really highlights our system. I often start my appointments with a tour of the showroom, which is much more enjoyable than beginning around the conference table.”
But can they really be sure that all this training is sinking in with their clients? Burrell has a story. “One gentleman who attended the tour was super nice, sat in the back of the room and was kind of quiet. He didn’t ask any questions. But a week after the tour, he came back to the showroom with his boss to do a little test fit with our LED tiles. And I sat back and watched him give the AluvisionLive! tour to his boss! He had really been listening and had taken our training to heart.”
Tammy Fernos, VP of operations at Skyline Exhibits Craft says the training was extraordinarily useful. “Our days were full of information-packed sessions with ample time for Q&A. My focus was to leave with a better understanding of how the hardware connected and it was a success!”
After all that listening and learning, Burrell knew her guests would be ready for some fun, so she had a boat ride on Lake Lanier all lined up. “It was a huge hit,” she enthuses. “We had terrible weather that morning, but the sun came out that afternoon, and we saw a beautiful sunset on the lake.”
The next day was devoted to tech tools Aluvision offers its clients to make working with the company and its products simple. Genius for SketchUp is one such tool. It is a plugin that allows Aluvision clients to import the entire Aluvision product range from their 3D warehouse and use those products to design a virtual booth for their clients. This tool helps not only with planning, but with fast and accurate quoting. The Aluvision app also is a favorite among clients. “The app has 20 videos that show how key parts of the system work together. They’re designed to make things easier, possibly for an I&D company setting up, a detailer determining how to make certain connections or for a designer to create a project,” Guerrero says.
In the name of making everything as easy as possible, some time on the last day also was devoted to teaching attendees about how Aluvision works as an organization. This was a new addition to the agenda. “We’ve found that it really helps our customers when they understand how we work and understand each person’s role within the company. Joe [Guerrero] and I work with the customers and present the product, but all quoting is handled by our account management team. The account managers work hand-in-hand with our technical designers to interpret our customers’ designs into our Aluvision system,” Burrell adds.
The Aluvision team is currently in the planning phase of the next iteration of AluvisionLive! “Things in the industry used to slow down in July, but you can’t really count on that anymore. We are currently considering hosting another event in June 2023.” Mark your calendars!
