It's June, a month when the oil industry's fancy turns to tradeshows.
And a booming energy sector means there's no business like show business.
"This is the biggest one we've ever produced; the number of exhibitors is well above what we had two years ago, which I believe reflects all the activity that's happening in the oilpatch these days," says Justin O'Connor, director of marketing for dmg, the organizer of Go-Expo: Gas and Oil Exposition 2005, under way at Calgary's Stampede grounds this week.
O'Connor says about 530 service and supply companies are on the grounds this year, compared to just shy of 400 at the 2003 Go-Expo. Only the dmg-run Global Petroleum Show, which attracts an average of 1,500 exhibitors and is held in the even-numbered years, is larger.
The show organizer expects that between 15,000 and 20,000 buyers will wander through the displays this year.
But while soaring oil and gas prices mean more companies have more money to spend at events such as tradeshows, O'Connor says the good times can be a doubled-edged sword.
"With $50-per-barrel oil, the (explorers and producers) are so busy it's sometimes difficult to get their attention and say, 'We need you to come to Calgary for a few days to do some shopping.' "At the same time, many of the service and supply companies have had to downsize their space or even cancel ... They just can't make it because they can't afford to send the equipment or the people to stand in a booth for three days because they're still working in the field."
Nevertheless, a number of Alberta companies brandishing recently-minted technologies are eager to flaunt their wares.
"We're in a pretty big marketing push," says Nick Donohoe, chief operating officer of Lloydminster-based ICI Solutions Inc., which manufactures small but powerful hydraulic pumpjacks that bolt directly onto the wellhead, used in heavy or conventional oil production or for removing water from coalbed methane.
"The product is fairly new to the industry; it's only been out in the field for two years and more and more people are seeing them, but the shows are perfect to get more people used to them."
Donohoe says so far, every tradeshow the company has entered has "more than paid for itself. We've come away with a few clients from every show."
The company hopes this year's Go-Expo will help give it a foothold in the international arena. The smaller, more regional shows (Donohoe spent last week at an exhibition in Estevan, Sask.) are a focus for making individual sales, but this year's Calgary show will hopefully lead to deals with distributors and big clients abroad.
"We actually have a few meetings set up already - we were over in China in April and now they're coming to the show to check out the technology. It's the same with some individuals from Kazakhstan, who will be coming to check out the technology," Donohoe says.
Flowstar Technologies Inc., which a couple of years ago developed an innovative electronic flow meter to measure gas production using a turbine, says the technology is just emerging from the introduction phase of the marketing cycle, and the company is now looking at chalking up some big sales.
"We're looking to develop business relationships with the industry, but more specifically we're targeting instrumentation and measurement people," says Mel Rogers, sales and marketing manager for Calgary-based Flowstar.
"We have been in three other shows this year and now we're seeing some results from those."
This is the second go-round at Go-Expo for Canadian Mat Systems Inc.
The Edmonton manufacturer of rig mats and ground cover for the oil and gas sector likes the fact the show is based in Calgary, where most decision-makers from Canada's energy sector industry are located.
"A nice thing about it is you'll get upper management and the decision-makers coming by and taking a look at your product, whereas if you're in the field you're not necessarily dealing with the guys who are authorized to buy," says Canadian Mat co-owner Shawn Beamish.
Like always, this year's Go-Expo features an outdoor area where the really big equipment will be on display.
Among this year's big exhibits are ABCAN Environmental, which is displaying its new In-Viro-Drum environmental spill-recovery equipment, and Pipe Wranglers Canada, which is showcasing a hydraulic catwalk for drilling platforms.
In addition, each lunch hour during the three'-day event will feature high-profile speakers: On Tuesday, former provincial energy minister Murray Smith, who is now Alberta's representative in Washington, discusses the province's role in the U.S. energy industry and Ed Byrne, Newfoundland minister of Energy and Mines, talks about oil and gas opportunities in that province. On Thursday, Geoff Best and Mark Tonner, two senior vice-presidents with GE Commercial Finance, address financing for activities in international markets.
Meanwhile, the Petroleum Society is presenting a conference on new technology at the Round-Up Centre to coincide with Go-Expo.
(John Ludwick can be reached at ludwick@businessedge.ca)
