# FRIGAIR2018
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
Photos by IMD
Continued from page 1
# myFRIGAIR – an ( in ) complete account
When I drove off at 19:02 on the Friday night after FRIGAIR , part of me almost felt like crying . Not because of how exhausted I was . No — because I was so overwhelmed by the sheer epicness of the event my industry had just pulled off . This is what it feels like to be part of something great . And I was “ proud ” — a word I used so many times over the five days I spent at the Gallagher venue in Midrand .
But # myFRIGAIR started long before those five days of “ show time ” …
I tend to exaggerate ( apparently ), but this time I can say for a fact that I have never worked this hard . # FRIGAIR2018 took over my life , but it was amazing . I saw so many things , spoke to so many people , experienced so many moments . I just wish that I had more time to talk to everyone I encountered .
But even if it was a fleeting handshake while I was mid-interview ( thanks , mister Spoormaker ) or whether we sat on that black couch at the Evapco stand while they broke down and packed up the show around us , discussing the future of refrigerants in South Africa ( to be continued , mister Amschwand ), every person I interacted with , made my experience of the show what it was .
So much energy , so much excitement . It kept me going through the exhaustion , the long days , the taxing schedule that I myself had colour-coded on Excel one morning , thinking it would make life easier .
Catching up with Margaret Molefe of DEA at our stand .
Visitors streaming in from all over to attend FRIGAIR 2018 .
As I sit down to finally try and piece together this show , I fear that I won ’ t be able to remember all of it . The one thing I ’ ll never forget though , is the last thing I said to my operations director as he left on the Friday night : “ It was all worth it .” It really was .
BUILD-UP TO BUILD UP
I don ’ t know how many hours our sales rep , Paul Engelbrecht , and I spent in the car on the way to some meeting or event , talking about FRIGAIR . Our build-up started so long before they started offloading the trucks . It was more than just selling the floor space . We had articles running from a year before , every month . We spoke to anyone and everyone about the show . Our social media accounts were a non-stop flow of invitations to the amazing show we were putting together .
And as we got closer to the date , the more things got added to the bill as the show just kept growing . The ASHRAE speakers , the ATMOsphere networking event , the South African Institute of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning ( SAIRAC ) free-to-attend seminars — we were gathering something for everyone . After all , our number one mandate has always been the dissemination of knowledge and uplifting the industry . Build it and they will come . Well , and then send them lots of emails and SMSs and make a radio advert that will get stuck in your head seemingly forever . (“ It ’ s hot . It ’ s cool . It ’ s FRIGAIR 2018 !”)
The content dream team , from left : Ntsako Khosa , Ilana Koegelenberg , and Candace Sofianos King . Still fresh and ready for day one .
ACTUAL BUILD-UP
On the Saturday before ( 2 June ), some exhibitors already started moving in their equipment . I only made my way to Gallagher for the first time on the Monday . By now , some team members had already spent their entire weekend making sure build-up was going as smoothly as possible . Please note “ as possible ” — because there will always be operational issues .
Yoh , I ’ m not going to lie … it was a mess when I got there . You could hardly navigate any of the aisles without fear of being impaled by some pole or being run over by a forklift . Things were all over the place , pieces of a massive puzzle , scattered over the still bare floor in a seemingly chaotic manner . I had no idea how this was going to come together eventually in the “ world-class exhibition ” we promised industry .
Equipment trickled in piece by piece as hundreds of stand-builders hammered away at the various stands . The hall smelled faintly of paint . I never quite appreciated just how much work goes into putting a show of this nature together . I always saw the finished product and sort of assumed it just ‘ happened ’.
For a week , all life outside FRIGAIR stopped for me . I didn ’ t even have milk in my fridge . But it was magical !
T MINUS ONE DAY
Tuesday ( 5 June ) was the last time I would stop by the office before officially relocating to Midrand for the week . With enough business cards and notebooks to see me through the week , I headed off to the Midrand Conference Centre for the SAIRAC national committee meeting . Hall 5 was still a mess of pieces-in-progress and I was starting to really doubt that this was going to be finished in time . On this day , it wasn ’ t just the stand builders on site but most of the clients as well . It was great to catch up with familiar faces and old acquaintances . But tensions were still high .
I finally met the three ASHRAE speakers who we ’ ve been organising to present the short courses . Faces I had seen so many times in pictures . They had come to check out the venue and familiarise themselves with the set-up . It was an honour to meet such distinguished experts .
That evening I headed to the TCL launch event while Ntsako Khosa covered Gree . Events season was officially open !
Tomorrow it ’ s time , I thought as I fell asleep that night — something that was very difficult to do with all the excitement .
SHOW TIME !
As I walked in the doors on the Wednesday morning , still a few hours before opening , I was so proud , overwhelmingly so . The hall looked almost unrecognisable — the stands were finally fully assembled . It looked worldclass indeed . As someone who has been to a couple of these international shows , I can honestly say , we had nothing to stand back for . The hall looked like a mini Chillventa or small-scale MCE . The grandeur , the creativity of the stands — I can ’ t believe it was finally ready !
Apparently , some stand builders worked throughout the night , until 06:15 , to finish . But they finished and that is the important part . Commitment .
As I walked around the still relatively quiet ( but ready ) hall , I was so happy . It was finally real . Everything we had all worked for , it was almost time to show it off to the industry ( and the world ).
Some stands I couldn ’ t even recognise from the mishmash of pieces I had seen the day before . The carpets were in , the paint was dry ; it was show day !
I quickly helped set up our own stands . Not exactly my forte but it was all-hands-ondeck for FRIGAIR and whatever needed to be done , you did your part . We all had the same goal : to make it the best show ever !
From this moment on , time flew . It was as if someone had set the world to fastforward and it didn ’ t stop until Friday night . Things just happened . So many familiar faces , so many quick conversations , so many photos , so many steps clocked on those Fitbit thingies .
This day was busy — an understatement of note . With two ASHRAE short courses scheduled for day one and people still trying to book last minute ,
6 www . coldlinkafrica . co . za COLD LINK AFRICA • September 2018