by Matt Konkle
Torque Editor-in-Chief
LAS VEGAS — When you go to an event, whether it is an auto show, conference, expo, or even some kind of program like college day at the local high school, something every one of those things has in common is that every organization has a booth.
Some are wild and over the top with 100-foot HD monitors or speakers cranking out decibels that would make an audiologist cringe. Some are more modest with just stacks of paper, catalogs, or giveaway stuff.
But they are all in a booth. And those booths don’t set up themselves.
For this year’s annual Specialty Equipment Market Association event at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Quadratec is moving to the inside of the carpet and exhibiting many of our house brands, as well as shining a light on our ever-growing wholesale program.
We are also officially unveiling our amazing YJL build and, incidentally, it is something that you are not going to want to miss. We’ve already added that custom YJ front grille, fold-down rear gas filler and a few other YJ-style items. But our great fabricator friend Greg Henderson has been toiling away at his shop in Michigan for the past several months and has added a ton of other fantastic features that, honestly, have never been seen on a JL before.
But back to the booth. And getting there.
If you’ve never been to SEMA before, it could really be summed up in one word. Walking. Lots of walking. So much so that your Apple watch may scream at you and ask “It looks like you are really working out. Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
Yes there are amazing builds and new products, and all kinds of other wild stuff, but between the three vast halls — and now the west which is a bit further away from the others — you will definitely get your walk on going anywhere you need to go.
And unless you are lucky, your booth won’t be right at the front of one of those halls either. Ours is almost smack in the middle of the West Hall, so by the time we get there, we’re already way past our daily walking goal.
Once you get to that booth, you may think it will already be set up and just need a few small adjustments. Well, if by set up you mean a bunch of boxes and crates perched atop that carpeting then, yeah, it will be set up.
SEMA booth prep really begins months before the event when questions like ‘what are we bringing’, ‘what tools do we need’, ‘what is the booth size’ and ‘how are we getting it all there’ need to be answered.
When all the products arrive, the local Freeman company handles moving it all to your booth, as well as setting up the electrical, carpeting, tables and chairs, and other stuff like walls or computers if you require.
When it reaches the booth, it then becomes your responsibility to set up.
And set up we did Saturday. Bumper, lighting and wheel displays went up. Signs were hung. Catalogs and die-cast YJ replicas got unboxed. Room was made for two Jeeps to park, as well as a bunch of other boilerplate stuff.
Additionally, this year we are entering over 30 products to be judged in SEMA’s New Product category. Among other things, we have new Lynx-branded wheels that you’ll see soon, Quadratec Inner Fender Liners and Rubicon Xtreme Fender Flares, Lynx Suspension Shocks, Control Arms and Track Bars, as well as Gladiator sidebars and bumpers.
Oh yeah, that involved walking back to the South Hall, where the new products are based, in order to ensure everything arrived and was properly set up.
Nope, you might think SEMA is a ‘fun in the desert’ time, but after miles of walking and hours of booth and new product set up, you may almost miss cutting the grass at home, weeding, or any other home projects.
Almost.
Because when the red light goes on Tuesday and crowds fill each of those four LVCC Halls, then you tend to forget about the setup stuff.
For your feet though, well, that is a different story.
