Calm resolve wins the day for tube fabricators and machine manufacturers

Tube 2022 was a welcome refrain from the isolation of the past two years. Image: Lincoln Brunner

If tradeshows like Tube 2022 in Düsseldorf reveal anything, it’s how people truly feel about their businesses right now—not in their press release quotes or what they say over coffee (or other beverages), but by simply showing up.

If you had been there (I hope you got the chance) and made anything more than small talk, you heard many common, and very real, woes:

Supply chain delays are pushing out lead times on equipment. One established machine manufacturer with a big presence at the show reported lead times on certain units have ballooned to two years because of unprecedented holdups on electronic components.

Steel price fluctuations make it hard to quote deals accurately.

COVID-hangover delays and the war in Ukraine make it difficult to source steel reliably because now every supplier is running full-out and still not meeting worldwide demand.

By just being there the week of June 20-24, the thousands of exhibitors and attendees that poured into the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre each day said something with their hands and feet more powerful than they could have otherwise: “We’re here, and we’re ready to do business.” All those people spending money on airfare, hotels, and meals—on top of lost time back at factories and shops and offices—conveyed a sense of resolve to get back to profitable work.

You saw it in booth traffic, which picked up remarkably from Monday to Tuesday and remained strong afterward. You also heard it in what quickly became common knowledge—traffic was down slightly, but a greater portion of the people who came had the authority to make decisions.

And they were making them. An executive from another industry heavyweight reported on Day 4 that earlier in the week, he met several unexpected visitors from Brazil, all of whom were ready to deal.

“They’re all about growth; they’re all about investment now,” the executive said of the Brazilians. “So, people have taken a two-year pause, and now they’re looking for investment. We’re on the fourth day. I think we’re on a good trajectory to have a very good show.”

Iconic business strategist and author Peter F. Drucker famously said, “Whenever you see a successful business, somebody made a courageous decision.” I don’t know how courageous spending a week in Düsseldorf is, but when so many businesses resolve to innovate, invest, and simply persist when so many factors seem to conspire against them, it is inspiring.

Despite a decrease in overall GDP in the first quarter, businesses here are optimistic, and rightly so. In the U.S., new orders for manufactured durable goods grew by $1.9 billion (0.7%) to $267.2 billion in May, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The increase, the seventh in the past eight months, followed a 0.4% uptick in April. In addition, the Institute for Supply Management recently reported a 24th consecutive month of growth as measured in its Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI).

All that is good news, but the challenges to business owners, and the call for their perseverance, remain. If the overt and tacit signs at Tube are any indication, we’re going to be just fine.