This sort of goes along with my thoughts on the keynote addresses in the last post, and I’ll have a fuller story on this trend after I’ve done a proper group of interviews, but the way to make an impression at SPAR is to move the needle. Me too doesn’t get many people’s attention here. It’s not that attendees are jaded, but that they’re desperate to be wowed. MDL did a pretty good job of that.
A few months back, when we were discussing the acquisition of Thomas Engineering, MDL chairman Steve Ball said to expect something disruptive. Well, he delivered. On the show floor, MDL has a piece of hardware that allows you to use the Focus3D terrestrial scanner as part of a Dynascan mobile mapping system, with IMU and GPS, and then easily pop it out for use on your tripod a few minutes later. And it starts at $115k if you’ve already got a Focus3D.
Yes, LidarUSA is doing something similar with its ScanLook, but sometimes you notice a big booth full of red carpeting, ya know? Also, it’s good to make sure you provide journalists with opportunities like this one – Faro’s Bernd Becker demonstrating the unit’s portability (actually, this was sort of just good luck on my part):
That’s MDL’s Travis Reinke in the background. He’s happy because he’s holding a Shiner Bock. Those are good drinking beers.
