Vision - May/June 2008 - (Page 27)

CEAnewsline Fifth SINOCES Expects Record Numbers This is a big year for China, as the world tunes in to watch the 2008 Summer Olympics taking place in Beijing and Qingdao. The beautiful coastal city of Qingdao will not only host the 2008 Olympic sailing games, but from July 10–13, the city will feature China’s largest CE tradeshow, SINOCES. Sponsored by CEA, SINOCES features more than 400 global exhibitors involved in all facets of the consumer technology industry. Now in its fifth year, the 2008 SINOCES is expected to reach more than 37,500 square meters of exhibit space—the largest in event history —and will draw more than 65,000 global attendees. This growing international event is designed to help companies launch their new consumer technology products to the Chinese and international markets, network and conduct business with one another. It’s clear that Chinese technology companies play a major role in the global economy. In fact, China is home to more than 270 million cell phone users and 95 million Internet users. More, the Chinese CE market is forecast to double from $50 billion in 2004 to $100 billion in 2008. China is the third largest trading partner for the U.S. behind Canada and Mexico, making SINOCES an advantageous business opportunity. sbC member profile Tom Ardolf began Cybermation Inc., a Minnesotabased custom integration firm, in 1996 to fill a niche in his community. Capitalizing on networking opportunities at trade shows and through professional groups, he formed relationships with peers outside his area to share ideas and learn the business. He also opened his doors to other start-up business owners, sharing his experience and lessons learned in the field. Now as a leader within CEA’s Small Business Council (SBC), he wants to help create new learning and networking opportunities for the association’s aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners. Ardolf has been a CEA member for many years and recently became active within the SBC, including a volunteer leadership role on the networking committee. He sees value in participating with SBC members, a group who collectively represent nearly every aspect of the supply chain, to discuss larger industry issues. “In the SBC, you rise above the tactical work you’re doing in your company to deal with more business management issues,” says Ardolf. He values discussing product, industry, technology and social economic trends that affect how people are buying CE products. The greatest challenges Ardolf and his wife Susie, co-owner of Cybermation, face are staffing and education. Like many small business owners, they are completely responsible for recruiting and training new employees as well as the professional development of their staff. They also work hard to address their customers’ general lack of awareness of custom-installed technology, including investing in a state-of-the-art showroom to demo the solutions the company offers. “Integrated technology is a concept that few people have ever experienced,” says Ardolf. “It’s our job to foster awareness and value for the customer.” Ardolf advises those starting out to find a mentor and partner with others. “Trying to forge the path by yourself is a lot more difficult than partnering with someone,” he says. He formed a small board of advisors to help him build his company from scratch. “People are willing to help,” he adds. He believes volunteering on committees and working groups is more than an altruistic endeavor. “The work you do with people in these groups leads to long-term business relationships,” says Ardolf. To participate in the SBC, contact Deb Kassoff, dkassoff@CE.org, 703-907-7655. • CEA Technology & Standards Fall Forum October 20–24, 2008 Las Vegas, NV Digital Hollywood October 27–30, 2008 Hollywood, CA EHX Fall November 4–7, 2008 Long Beach, CA Liu Xiaoyang/Alamy CEA Events CEA Technology & Standards Spring Forum May 19–23, 2008 Nashville, TN International CES/hometech May 25–27, 2008 Dubai, UAE Digital Downtown June 12–14, 2008 New York, NY 12th Annual CEO Summit June 18–21, 2008 Playa del Carmen, Mexico Facts on China • China has 3,240 television broadcast stations and 259 FM channels. • Qingdao is the wealthiest city in China’s Shandong province, which has the secondhighest GDP of all China’s provinces. • The city of Qingdao invested 3.2 billion Yuan in the Olympic sailing center, completing construction on all its facilities in January 2008. Connections™: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase June 24–26, 2008 Santa Clara, CA SINOCES July 10–13, 2008 Qingdao, China Building Blocks August 4–7, 2008 San Jose, CA CES New York Press CEA Industry Forum Preview, featuring CES October 19–22, 2008 Unveiled@NY Four Seasons, Las Vegas, NV November 11, 2008 New York City, NY www.ce.org May/June 2008 27 http://www.ce.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Vision - May/June 2008

Vision - May/June 2008 Contents Shapiro's Spectrum In This Issue The Economist C4 Trends Visionary Making the Smartphone Truly Intelligent Shipping Strategies for CE Companies IP in BRIC Countries CEA Newsline Tech Speak Eye on Business Tech Policy Market Insider Just the Stats

Vision - May/June 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.