CE Pro October 2021 - 4

From the Editor
by Arlen Schweiger
Score One for the Smaller Guys
CEDIA Expo
is always
loaded with
success stories of
integrators and
manufacturers
that grew from
innovative ideas
and only a
handful of folks
believing in them
at one point or
other.
MAYBE I'VE GOT BASKETBALL on the brain
with the start of the new season on tap
and my Los Angeles Lakers loaded for bear.
You'll find a pretty cool NBA connection to
our cover profile (see page 28), but for this
month's note I wanted to cover last month's
CEDIA Expo and take a detour from the normal
show floor " hoopla " that fits the hoops
theme as well.
After all, Indiana and basketball go handin-hand.
It's classic smalltown Americana,
it's the lore of Indiana University, Notre
Dame, Purdue and other collegiate hardcourt
history ... it's Hickory High and
the legend of " Hoosiers " depicted in the
award-winning 1986 film.
There's no sugar-coating it, this year's CEDIA
Expo at the Indiana Convention Center
in Indianapolis was not quite what we anticipated
it would be when the industry was
clamoring for a return to in-person events.
The show floor looked sparse after many exhibitors
decided to drop out, and with them
many of their dealers who had otherwise
planned to attend.
This was a CEDIA Expo where the small
companies had their chance to shine, had
their opportunity to hold attendees' attention
for longer than a typical tradeshow, had
their moment to stand out from the shadow
of the industry's big boys.
CEDIA Expo is always loaded with success
Arlen Schweiger is
executive editor of
CE Pro. He can be
reached at
arlen.schweiger@
emeraldx.com and
@ArlenSchweiger
stories of integrators and manufacturers that
grew from innovative ideas and only a handful
of folks believing in them at one point or
other. Just like the " Hoosiers " team based the
real-life 1954 Milan High School title run.
In conjunction with my trip to CEDIA Expo,
I had a chance to visit Draper, a smalltown
company that's made a big impact in the custom
industry for many years and as the main
employer in Spiceland, Ind., less than an hour
outside Indianapolis.
Draper, like many of the companies in the
4 | CE Pro October 2021
industry, were all small companies at one
point - just like the majority of this year's
exhibitors that did populate the show floor.
Draper invited a handful of media members
to tour its nine-building, 400,000-squarefoot
facility, which of course was not always
nine buildings. And the company, established
in 1902, did not always employ nearly 800
people in a town that according to the 2010
census had a population of just 890.
The manufacturer arguably brought the
richest industry heritage and residential/
commercial product reach to this year's show,
appropriately enough for the locale. Penny
Sitler, director of marketing at Draper, mentioned
how she and others in the company
go back generations. On name plates of office
walls going down the hall leading from the
company's reception desk, experience at
Draper in numbers of years - in the 30s and
40s - speak to the company culture and
local impact.
Meanwhile, Sitler chauffeured a few of us
from downtown Indy to Spiceland and decided
we had enough time for a quick detour. The
memorable " Hoosiers " basketball scenes were
shot in Knightstown, and that was just a short
way off the main road we took to Draper.
As she mentioned the filming, she recalled
the efforts and challenges behind bringing
Hollywood to the tiny town. Bottom line,
she said, was that procuring the production
essentially saved the town as it revitalized
the local economy.
Draper was among a handful of companies
whose representatives told me during the
show that they enjoyed spending extra time
with the attendees this year. I'm glad they
did, as well as the other exhibitors who might
be small now. And who knows, maybe just
like Draper those companies will be around
119 years from now in 2140 to share the same
kind of success story.
Hope to see everyone next year in Dallas!
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CE Pro October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CE Pro October 2021
