Did you go to ProMat this year? If you couldn’t make it, here’s a recap for you. The Industrial Forklifts team had a blast at ProMat, both in terms of meeting people and seeing the innovations coming soon.
The People – Talking the Market and Sales Cycles
The show was well attended. Some of us spent most of our time at the Heli booth, fielding questions and introducing people to the brand. We lost count of visitors to the booth at around 150 people!
What did they want to talk about? Not just Heli forklifts, but the overall market too. We learned that, among our dealer network and the larger attendee base, quote activity is up, but decision-making is down.
Will sales cycles keep stretching like this as 2025 continues? Hard to say, but it doesn’t seem likely. Some regions already show improvement, according to our conversations.
We had a Dealer Dinner afterward, with about 30 people in attendance. It gave us the chance to catch up with some of our dealers and talk with more East Coast dealers as well.
The Technology – More Automation, Variety of Equipment
Never one to disappoint, Heli brought some of its newest products to ProMat. Of these, several attracted a lot of interest:
- A man-up turret forklift
- New Generation 3 IC forklifts
- A warehousing automation robotics system
The last one was amazing to see. An automated pallet truck positioning itself to pick up loads off a conveyor. Talk about a boost to worker productivity.
Joining Heli on the floor, seeing these kinds of innovations coming to the U.S. very soon, makes us eager to share the Heli brand with more dealers nationwide. Judging by the attendees’ curiosity, they’re interested too.
Thank you to everyone who came by the booth or joined us at the dinner!