Dave Kasper, CalCo’s Senior Consultant, Has ALL the Answers

CalCo has been in business for almost 60 years. The reason – the people who work here and their dedication to getting a job done right and on time.   Dave Kasper, our Sales Manager, is a key component in our success.  Dave has been with CalCo for 9 years and has become indispensable due to his ability to come up with new and innovative ideas and to work with our customers to make sure they get exactly what they want.  Talking to Dave on the phone can turn a project around completely because he not only quotes, coordinates and communicates with you about your project but he also develops new ways to display them.  Recently he designed a large pedestal with multiple levels of display space which we constructed based on his designs.  He also developed a waterjet cut acrylic fire hydrant for a display which was lightweight and easy to transport.  He has designed many point of purchase layouts and has helped customers develop animation, 3D models, prototypes, displays and cutaways of every type. Although we have an archive with all projects we have completed it is sometimes easier to go and pick Dave’s brain.

Some of Dave’s ideas are shown above and some of his beliefs are explained below.

What is CalCo’s first priority?

Customer satisfaction.

What makes CalCo different from its competitors?

Honestly CalCo is one of those places that is more like a consulting firm for your marketing, sales and training departments. It is difficult to know about so many technologies and possibilities for your displays, and it is nice to be able to speak with someone who can offer suggestions that you may have never thought of otherwise.

What information do you need to know before beginning a project?

The first place we like to start is getting a good understanding of where your displays will be used, and in what context. Is this a training seminar, a trade show exhibit or a sales tool for road warriors, etc. . . Next is what story are you looking to tell with your project; how a product works, what the new upgrades look like and what they mean or even “We are number 1″! Once we get into the finer details and pricing/timing estimates, we will need some drawings or photos with dimensions to get started. From there we will take care of everything else, from asking additional questions, providing examples where needed and nailing down the shipping details in advance of that glorious day!

Whether you have a good idea of the type of display that you want or you need some good ideas, Dave can help.    For a free quote or to discuss your next project contact CalCo at 847/638-3858 or click here for more information.

Motorize and Protect Your Trade Show Display

Do you have a display that could be telling a more compelling story than it already is?  That is what happened here.  Recently, a display was sent to CalCo to be upgraded.  We were asked to add a motor to the unit so it could be seen in action.

Often times, when a cutaway is motorized and in motion, it turns into a hazard to those viewing it. Protective shields are commonly added over the moving parts to protect the unit from being handled and to protect the people around it from being injured.  This particular product was even tilted and elevated to make more of the working components easy to view.

The beauty of a motorized display is that it not only GRABS ATTENTION but it can visually demonstrate your product without a salesman or literature.  Sometimes a good look is worth a thousand words.

Reworking or repurposing an existing display can save your organization money and give your exhibit new life.  Do you have a seasoned display that needs to be updated or even motorized?  Give CalCo a call at 847/639-3858 right now to discuss the options available to make your display capture your customers attention and keep it!

Click here for further contact information.

Fire Hydrant Cutaway Poster, Great ISO Training Solution

Have you been looking for a Fire Hydrant Cutaway to fill a requirement for an upcoming inspection? Are you finding the $2,000 to $4,500 price tag for a full size hydrant cutaway to be a bit cost prohibitive? CalCo has just the solution for you:

A 6-foot-tall, full-color Fire Hydrant Cutaway Banner may be able to fill in for the real thing.  While the final decision ultimately lies in your inspector’s hands, many times this type of solution is valid, and at a fraction of the cost, only $195.00 with a portable banner stand included!

It has been found that a thorough understanding of the parts and relationships involved in your standard street corner hydrant can be critical when in an emergency situation. This knowledge is most effectively taught through the use of a full size, hands on hydrant, which operates the same way an installed hydrant does.  However, when this type of tool is unavailable, the Fire Hydrant Cutaway Banner is the next best thing.

All of the important internal features are prominently displayed in ‘close to full scale’ size, making understanding and visualizing the real thing easier than using a poster size photograph or drawing.

Be sure to check with your inspector or local ISO/State (or whichever organization is running the inspections) to see if this solution will qualify for your location, and then call 847-639-3858 and have your credit card handy to get as many on order as you need for your area.

In the cross section between safety education and budget requirements, the Fire Hydrant Cutaway Banner is the overflowing winner!

Click here for further contact information.

CalCo’s New Brochure is Now Available

Fresh for 2010 Calco has developed a new brochure showing all of the services offered and some examples of the quality craftmanship that is synonymous with the CalCo name.  CalCo has been offering quality tradeshow displays and cutaways for over 50 years, especially to industrial product manufacturers.   Now see some of the other services available such as 3-D models or prototypes, working models, special lighting, custom bases, corporate gifts, POP displays and other tradeshow or marketing products.  You can count on CalCo as a turn-key solution for your sales and marketing needs.

The front and back cover of the new brochure are shown below, and the full PDF can be downloaded here. (right click and choose “Save As”)

To get a look inside our new brochure please send your information (name, company and address) to brochures@calcocutaways.com.  You will receive one in the mail right away so CalCo can help you start the year right with some new ideas to show your product in its best light because “Your Product is Our Profession”

For more ideas visit our website at www.calcocutaways.com ,  click here for contact information or call 847/639-3858.

Customized Point of Purchase (POP) Displays

Are your products in view when it’s time to make a purchase?

Hire a POP display to be your full time sales tool.

Point of Purchase Displays can be used in traditional ways at retailers or distributors but they are also great sales tools.  CalCo can custom design a POP display for your product which can be utilized in many ways. A well done POP display can not only provide information about your product but it can grab attention.  It draws consumers to investigate your product first and ultimately buy it over your competitors because information and awareness make the sale.

POP displays are typically used to promote new lines or products but even an older product can benefit from the being in the spotlight.  People are drawn to POP’s because they are visually compelling but also because they tell a story about your product by showing its benefits.  Often this can be the deciding factor in making the sale.  The point is to get your product visible and show the unique attributes which make it superior to your competition.

POP displays are made from a variety of products and in a variety of ways.  Some are simple while others are very complex.   There are as many kinds of POP displays as there are products. We specialize in working with industrial products and making them accessible and easily understood. For this reason our POP displays are high quality and durable so they can withstand some of the different environments in which they are displayed.  Our POP’s have been used in warehouses, lobbies, distributors offices, and have traveled on sales calls.  There are a myriad of possibilities when it comes to designing your display.  Let CalCo know how you want to use it and we can help you come up with a great design that will attract attention, give your customers knowledge of your product and ultimately, make you look good.

To contact CalCo call 847-639-3858 or click here for contact information.

Signs of Economic Recovery -What should you do to get ready?

Now that the rays of a recovering economy are starting to shine on many industries, the time is right to get ahead of your peers and grab the lion’s share of the upcoming new business.

This means getting in front of them with your best and latest development along with a compelling offer or story. When telling your story, you need to present the information in an easy to comprehend manner in order to make a favorable and memorable first impression.

Many times industrial product sales require in person interaction or a trade show environment to engage the audience and to tell the full story. Both of these venues are expensive and time consuming so it is imperative that you have everything you need in advance to make your presentation meaningful.

When it comes to product presentations that are expertly crafted, CalCo can be trusted to convey the desired message for your product in the most professional manner. Whether a simple cutaway will suffice to show a hidden feature, or an interactive digital presentation is more suited to this end, CalCo has the tools to quickly and efficiently create a winning product exhibit.

Some of the most popular services by request are:

Product cutaways and painted displays
Motorized or hand actuation products
Passageway and part colorization
Internal and external lighting effects
3D animation and interactive online presentations
Full color scale modeling and prototyping
Plus YOUR IDEAS for the ultimate presentation

The past is behind us, and now is the time to move ahead and get that new market share before your competition does. Take advantage of the enhanced outsourcing capabilities available at CalCo to move with your best foot forward.

As we begin this upturn, get started while your competition is still recovering and build your sales and marketing program to take advantage of the many opportunities on the horizon. Get your customers, and the industry as a whole, excited about your new offerings with some innovative marketing displays or presentations for your next tradeshow or sales call.

For more information or to contact CalCo call 847/639-3858 or click here for contact information.

Finish Types and Options for Industrial Products

Let CalCo Finish Your Product

Sometimes pumps, valves, engines, bearings or other industrial equipment don’t start off as beautiful show pieces. With CalCo’s help that can all change. Imagine your product as a colorful, shining display pulling in potential buyers and selling itself. That is what a good display or cutaway can do. Your product looks exciting, new and its true function can be seen and admired.

Let CalCo take your product from plain to dazzling with the following options:

Our Standard Show Finish is durable, very attractive high gloss finish.  All parts are disassembled and prepped for finish and our standard paint finish is administered over an etching primer.  Cost-effective plating options are available for metal fasteners and key components .  Many additional options are available including clear coat finish as well as minor grinding and smoothing of casting seams and imperfections.

Our Euro-Deluxe Finish is used primarily for trade shows, product introductions and corporate lobby installations. All surfaces are ground and smoothed to remove imperfections from casting or welding. These surfaces are then prepped repetitively with several stages of filler and hand sanding. Finally, the display is finished with multiple automotive paint steps and a clear coat finish. Metal fasteners are carefully polished by hand then chrome plated and polished again to a mirror finish.

Training Finish surfaces are prepped and painted but not treated to remove casting imperfections. The finish is attractive yet durable and is easy to maintain. For displays that are needed for working models, we may recommend electro less nickel-plating to enhance component movement.

In addition to having the surfaces of your product ground and painted CalCo can take the hardware on your product and make it shine too with a number of plating options:

Anodizing is an attractive way to prepare aluminum and is available in a variety of colors.

Electro-less Nickel is durable, minimal-build plating that covers evenly with very good lubricity and hardness.

Metal plating – Copper, nickel, gold and industrial hard plating are also available.

Chrome plating is available in bright, polished or satin finishes and can be applied to any metal.

Black Oxide for steel or iron parts is used when a blue/black matte finish is desired.

Once your product looks great it can be mounted on a standard aluminum base or a custom base can be created.  We make custom shipping containers to protect your product in transit too.

Contact CalCo at 847/639-3858 or click here if you would like to discuss your product and learn how CalCo can help show your product in it’s best light.

A Spectacular Valve Cutaway Example

To most of the world a valve is a valve,  not too exciting or original.  But to those in the business a valve can be very exciting.  The small differences from one valve to the next can make a big difference in performance and wear.  What better way to show off these differences then by opening up your valve and showing the important internal components that make your product unique with a Valve Cutaway.  A cutaway can be used at tradeshows, sales meetings, investor relations meetings, for new product introductions and in brochures or ads.

It can be hard to picture how a product functions when from the outside it looks like a simple thing. A cutaway can provide the means to show off all of the complexity or simplicity of your product. By opening the product so that the internal parts can be seen you can show the true capabilities of your product.

CalCo has created cutaways for many types of valves including;
Control Valves
Check Valves
Butterfly Valves
Gate Valves
Diaphragm Valves
Needle Valves
Globe Valves
Pinch Valves
Solenoid Valves
Ball Valves

See the gallery below or visit the CalCo website at www.CalCoCutaways.com to see more examples.  If you are looking for a Valve Cutaway or any other type of industrial cutaway please call CalCo at 847/639-3858 or click here for contact information.

Looking for a Pump Cutaway?

A cutaway can be used for many applications;  at a tradeshow booth, in a training session for engineers and technicians, at a sales call with customers, in a lobby to show off your latest design or in an investors relation meeting to emphasize the uniqueness of your product.

CalCo has been supplying the top pump manufacturers with high quality pump cutaways for over 50 years. They have tackled every kind and every size of pump and are always up for a new challenge. From one pump for a show to one hundred for a distributor program they can handle your cutaway needs.

Look through the gallery below and you can see many kinds of pumps that have been cutaway to show the internal components and how the components interrelate. Your unique design is emphasized and with lighting or paint the main features you want to focus on can be highlighted.  Add a base and permanent shipping container, custom designed specifically for your pump, and your product is ready for anything.

To see more dazzling pump cutaways please visit www.CalCoCutaways.com and enter the Cutaway Gallery or call us at 847/639-3858. For more contact information click here.

What is so Amazing about an Engine Cutaway?

Much of the beauty of an engine is in the details. In order to see all of these details, such as the pistons, crank shaft and valve train components as well as how they function together, a cutaway is an ideal solution.

With a cutaway you can not only see how the individual parts function but you can see how they relate to each other.  From the exterior many engines may seem similar; but once the interior is exposed with a cutaway, you can see the unique attributes of the individual engine inside and its configuration.

These are the important elements that can mean all the difference in power, performance and efficiency.  Using a cutaway will clearly show where the advantages and benefits are and how a particular model can outperform the competition by showing the internal configuration and how the parts interrelate.

Even some of the external components, such as the fuel pump or alternator, can contain hidden features that benefit from a cutaway as well.

“Hands on education has always been, and will always be the best way to inform and educate an audience on products and mechanical relationships.”

View the gallery of engine cutaways below and you can see that CalCo knows engines and how to make them a work of art.

For more cutaway photos please visit www.CalCoCutaways.com and look in the Cutaways Gallery.  If you would like information on having your engine or any other product cutaway, please contact CalCo at 847/639-3858 or click here for contact information.