* * * * * * * SPECIAL SPRING ISSUE * * * * * * *

No. 1 Manufacturer's Newsletter in the Industry - 42 Months at No.1!

EPC designs and manufacturers printers, data acquisitions systems, and print utilities for the geophysical, military and imaging marketplaces. Visit us today on the World Wide Web:
http://www.epclabs.com

In this Issue:

1. Quote of the Month

"In all of our years of exhibiting, this was the worst show ever."
Anonymous exhibitor overheard at the OIAmericas Conference

back to top

2. Show Review: The Death of Oiamericas

On Wednesday, June 4th the OIAmericas Conference opened in New Orleans, LA and was quickly determined to be in critical condition. Sometime on Thursday it was pronounced "dead" and with rigor mortis setting in on Friday, exhibitors donated their own money, hired a New Orleans Jazz band and held a funeral march. It is not often one gets to witness the death and burial of a trade show.

It's hard to say what went wrong? Maybe OIAmericas was the victim of being the last of five shows in the region over just seven months (Oceans - Biloxi, MS), (UNDERWATER Interventions - New Orleans, LA), (US Hydro - Biloxi, MS), and (OTC - Houston, TX). Maybe its the sluggish economy or the reluctant business traveler. One thing was clear, the OIAmericas was poorly attended leaving some exhibitors being overheard stating, "the worst ever", and "never again". Others looked at the lighter side, "they've determined next year's venue...it's in the phone booth in the hall", and "they've located the customer...he's at the airport and they're rushing him to the show". Other exhibitor's lamented as to how the $5,000.00 - $10,000.00 their company had spent could have been used more wisely.

Was there any redeeming value? Certainly not inside the convention. New Orleans lived up to the creed of never offering a bad meal and many revelers enjoyed the festivities in the French Quarter or came out on the plus side at the casino, Harrah's. The Benthos/FSI/RDI/Hydroid reception at Mulates, as well as the Thales night out at the Jackson Brewery were well worth attending, but the OIAmericas event was held at the Aquarium and, although nice if you've never been there, hardly worth the $45.00 for Coors Lite or diet soda and some hors d'oeuvres.

The EPC Monthly has never given negative badges for a show and won't start now. With the hall booked again for 2005, the question remains how long are exhibitor's memories and does "never again" mean never again. Out of a possible ten badges OIAmericas receives a generous 1 badge: #.

back to top

3. Sales: 2 For the Road and One of Those, and One of Those...

One big positive EPC was the sale of 2 X 1086s out of the booth at the conclusion on the OIAmericas Conference. Survey Equipment Services (SES) Houston, TX saved on the shipping expense and snatched a 1086NT and a GSP-1086-2 500 Series off the booth. Both 1086s are for the SES growing demand for their lease pool, but by the end of the show may already have been sold!

The EPC Monthly skipped a month (a rare lapse in procrastination - also known as laziness) and failed to announce the end of April flurry of sales. On the last week EPC shipped one each of: 1 X Model 9802 (British Antarctic Survey), 1 X Model 9206 (Government of Israel), 1 X MP-1086 (Fugro), 1 X 1086NT (Codevintec Italiana), and 1 X HSP-100 (SES).

back to top

4. FAQ: How Big Is EPC?

One of the most Frequently Asked Question is, "How big is EPC?" Seeing that EPC stands for the Owner and President Edward P. Curley, Ed is 5' 10" and about 165 lbs. Seriously, EPC employees around a dozen employees in a 5600 square foot facility.

back to top

5. Benefits Of The Network Interface

The Model 9206, MP-1086 and the 1086NT all incorporate an Ethernet Socket (TCP/IP) Interface. Why is the Network Interface such a good idea?

• The Application Programming Interface (API) provided by EPC makes interfacing the line of Network Printers easy.
• No drop out over long distances. With an Ethernet connection, cables can be as long as you want.
• It is also possible to export data out over the Network Interface. A user could collect data over the analog channels or parallel interface and export the data out over a network (in XTF format) to a storage device or another computer.

back to top

6. Holidays: Closed For"The Fourth"

Independence Day, also known as the birth of our Nation, falls on a Friday, July 4th and thus EPC will be closed in observation.

The EPC Monthly is a FREE newsletter provided to EPC customers, industry personnel and those who enjoy commiserating over poorly attended trade shows. If you have received this e-mail in error or would like to unsubscribe, please reply to this e-mail with "Enough already" in the subject line.

Next Issue: July 7th, Special Summer Spectacular

back to top