Expo Bound: One-Stop Shopping, Demo Center, and Inspiration
PRINTING United Expo is set to take over Orlando, Florida, October 22-24. Attendees are gearing up for three days of learning, networking, and inspiration.
As a lead-up to the Expo, we are sharing a series of Q&A interviews featuring attendees from a variety of backgrounds explaining why they are attending the Expo, what they hope to learn, and what excites them about the upcoming event.
From left, Seema and Fahim Mojawalla, co-owners of Island Ship Center.
Fahim Mojawalla
Vice President
Island Ship Center, Grand Island, NY
Printing Impressions (PI): Tell me about your company.
Fahim Mojawalla: Island Ship Center hasn’t always been the greater Grand Island, Niagara Falls, and Buffalo area’s premier shipping and printing company. We actually started out as a leather goods importing company in 2006, gradually taking on FedEx Authorized ShipCenter status, and growing into a full-fledged shipping, mailbox, and freight center. With multiple expansions and lots of team growth over the years, nearly 20 years in, we’re now also a full-fledged business center with printing being one of our largest profit centers and focal points.
We are proud to be a PRINTING United Expo Bound spotlight as well as one of the top three FedEx Authorized ShipCenter spotlight stores in the country (out of 4,600!) You can read more of our story here and learn more about Island Ship Center’s owners.
PI: What made you want to attend this year's Expo?
Mojawalla: Every time we attend a PRINTING United Expo, we are blown away — not just by all the toys and new technology we get to witness in operation, but even more so by the collaboration, innovation, and motivation that the printing industry provides. We’re reminded at each Expo about how much untapped potential there is in our own market, and how our geography doesn’t define our market anymore. As we continue to grow print, the Expo will be a not-to-miss event on our annual calendars.
PI: If you're a first-time attendee, what are you hoping to learn? If you're returning, what brings you back?
Mojawalla: We love that the PRINTING United Expo is at easy-to-get-to locations each year, whether Las Vegas or Orlando. This makes travel a breeze … and more importantly, because of the ease of access, the time we take away from our business is minimized. We come back because we’ve never been to an Expo where we didn’t prove its value ten-fold in changes and additions we’ve made upon returning to our business. Our participation at these events and our takeaway notes, samples, contacts, and so much more is beyond value to our business, our team, and our clientele.
PI: What products or services are you most looking forward to seeing this year?
Mojawalla: We’ve learned that the PRINTING United Expo will always exceed our expectations. We go with lists of vendors we want to talk to, products and equipment we want to explore, and experts we want to learn from, though also find that the surprises that inevitably delight us at each Expo are what we look forward to the most.
PI: Why is attending the Expo better than going to a vendor’s demo center to see equipment?
Mojawalla: There’s little need to go to a vendor’s demo center, because hundreds and hundreds of vendors bring their demo centers to the PRINTING United Expo! It’s amazing and, even though we’re in the shipping and freighting business, we’re always amazed at how these outstanding companies bring in so much heavy equipment for the Expo. It’s truly one-stop shopping, one-stop demo center visitation, and one-stop inspiration.
PI: Is networking with industry peers an important reason for attending the Expo?
Mojawalla: Networking with industry peers is essential, and the PRINTING United Expo provides opportunities for this in droves. We always make advance plans to meet up with our industry colleagues whom we know will also be in attendance (as most also make a priority to attend Expo), but also love taking advantage of Expo-planned networking opportunities, classes, demonstrations, and talks in order to grow our network circles. It’s imperative in a 21st century relationship-based business economy.
PI: How do you hope attending will impact your business moving forward?
Mojawalla: We don’t just hope our business will be impacted moving forward by attending PRINTING United Expo, but rather we count on it. It’s a guarantee; it’s a given. We’ll make important new contacts, understand what equipment we need to invest in next, learn better and more streamlined processes, discover what we can and should outsource and what we can and should bring in-house, and also learn pricing strategies that keep us on top as our area’s "#PalaceofPrint."
Editor's Note: If you are attending PRINTING United Expo this year and would like to be featured on our Expo Bound series, drop me a line!
