TMEIC Upgrades Brand, Expands Flexibility, and Lowers Ongoing Costs with New Hybrid Custom Modular Exhibit

TMEIC, a prominent leader in industrial electric and automation systems, recognized that their previous exhibit was ready for an upgrade. While their previous booth had been reliable for a decade, it featured bulky, stark, and rigid structures that didn’t fully showcase their innovative spirit. Embracing a fresh, dynamic exhibit was the perfect opportunity to better highlight TMEIC’s cutting-edge solutions and engage with their target audiences in a more impactful way.

As a global company that serves many different markets (Cement, Ports, Metals, Mining, Oil + Gas, Paper, Renewable Energy, Rubber + Plastic, Testing), TMEIC needed a versatile exhibit able to adapt their presence to several vertical market trade shows.

“We were trying to use one solution for all of our industries and it just wasn’t working because we have different goals for each show,” said Tricia Downie, TMEIC Senior Marketing Communications Manager.

To give TMEIC everything they wanted on their wish list, Holt Experiential designed, built, and installed a hybrid custom modular exhibit that better reflects their leadership technology brand. The hybrid custom modular exhibit blends 20% custom elements that create unique shapes and appeal, and 80% modular exhibit components for greater flexibility and lower operating costs.

Greater Brand Impact from Hybrid Custom Modular Exhibits

TMEIC branding flourished with the new exhibit. TMEIC designed a more vibrant and contemporary color palette that easily stands out from the more predictable and common colors at their industrial shows.

To better appeal to USA show attendees, TMEIC changed their graphic approach from the engineering mentality of covering every square inch with text, to a higher-impact, streamlined visual approach that quickly conveyed their product and marketing messages.

“Show attendees only have 3 seconds to grasp what we do and offer,” said Jessica Smith, TMEIC Marketing Specialist. “Now with our new exhibit, they understand right away. The branding aspect has improved. We’ve noticed a change in our brand recognition at these shows. People are talking about us and leaving compliments. They are coming by.”

Their new hybrid custom modular exhibit creates a more cohesive and sophisticated brand experience on the show floor. The exhibit features several inviting exhibit components, including:

One or two bold, yet elegant “C” shaped towers (using two for their larger booth sizes)
Up to three rooms for meetings, covered with large seamless graphics for more branding impact and product promotion
LED video wall with a custom shroud for visual impact and a more modern brand
Custom reception desk whose shape echoes TMEIC’s logo
Graceful bar-height table laminated to match the “C” shaped tower and flooring
An elegant coffee table with smart phone charging and hidden refrigerator for visitors’ drinks
Modular red bar chairs that can adjust to bar or counter height, owned rather than rented, to avoid issues with faulty rental contractors
Red upholstered chairs that invite valued customers to linger and chat with TMEIC salespeople

To reinforce TMEIC’s Japanese origin, they hosted sake (Japanese rice wine) tastings with branded sake cups visitors could keep as a souvenir. The sake and cups are stored in the tall tower.

Greater Flexibility from Modular Exhibit Components

The modular exhibit’s greater flexibility allows TMEIC to reconfigure their exhibit layout, not just for different island exhibit sizes ranging from a 20×30 up to a 30×50, but even swapping out components that better align with TMEIC’s exhibiting objectives at a specific show.

That’s important for TMEIC, because they are a global company that sells into multiple industries, and they sought an exhibit that could adapt to the market dynamics of the different industries they serve. Holt creates new layouts for each TMEIC show, based on the needs of each show’s goals, audiences, and booth size.

For example, at Clean Power 2024, TMEIC wanted to host many private meetings behind closed doors, so that exhibit included two fully-enclosed conference rooms. But at AISTech 2024, TMEIC’s goal was to create a comfortable, branded space for visitors with long-standing relationships to mingle and dwell. Therefore, the AISTech exhibit was completely open and featured more lounge seating.

“One of the biggest selling points was that we can scale it to different needs,” said Smith. “Because our exhibit assets can do different looks and sizes, those assets should last us a lot longer and still be functional.”

Plus, TMEIC can easily change the exhibit’s fabric graphics to create large-format marketing visuals targeted to each show’s specific audience.

Moreover, the modular nature of their exhibit assets lets TMEIC add Holt Experiential’s rental components that match their owned assets when needed. For example, TMIEC exhibited at two major shows on the same days, May 6 to 9, 2024, at both AISTech 2024 in a 20×30, and CLEANPOWER 2024 in a 30×30, renting much of the exhibit for AISTech.

Lower Operating Costs from Modular Exhibit Components

“Freight costs are going up, up, up, up. So how do we scale down?” said Smith. “Our old booth was solid wood, it was heavy and bulky, and it just wasn’t worth shipping all over the place for what we were getting out of it.”

TMEIC’s previous exhibit was so cumbersome, the 20×30 exhibit shipped in 8 crates and took 4 people to set it up over 2 full days plus a Holt supervisor. By comparison, the 20×30 configuration of their new exhibit ships in only 4 crates and only requires 3 people 2 days to set up.

The savings on freight, drayage, and I&D allows TMEIC the choice to exhibit at more shows, exhibit in larger booth spaces, reconfigure their exhibit to better fit the goals of each show, add to their owned assets over time, or simply pocket the savings.

A Partnership for Trade Show Success

The new exhibit has enhanced TMEIC’s presence at trade shows. “The sales team is much happier, and the customers are definitely much more engaged,” said Downie. That success is driven by the strong partnership with TMEIC and Holt.

“I absolutely love working with Holt,” said Smith. “They’re so easy to work with, they have great ideas. Holt always does a great job with project timelines and keeping everything on task. Communication is always clear and there’s no surprises. Everything goes very smoothly.”

“We’ve been a great team. Everyone I’ve worked with at Holt has been incredible,” added Smith. “Everyone’s so nice and kind and knowledgeable. Everyone’s helpful. We gave Holt our whole wish list, and they made it happen, and made it look good.”

“The power of partnership,” concluded Downie.