The Plan Goes Array Before We Start!  Because the NPE is huge, vendors are given a target date when the machinery must be delivered.  It's best to be there that morning so you can have the nice fork lift operator put the machinery where you want it--rather than where he wants to put it.  So, we booked a flight for the afternoon flight the day before the target date.   But, by 10 AM that flight was cancelled due to thunderstorms in Newark.  Our trouble with stormy weather was not over.
Rain Inside McCormick Place?  See that big door on the right?  It's about 40 feet from our booth.  But, when the wind started up from an afternoon storm, the rain was so fierce that our blown film line got soaked.  We turned on the 230 volt line (see Testing in the Wind), the next day with mild trepidation!
Ever test a Blown Film Line in the Wind?  That door was no end of trouble!  When the wind blew, the  bubble moved.  When that happens, you get a wrinkle.   Not the way to make sure the line is running right.  Low tech carboard and duct tape to the rescue!
On the Spot Training! Susan is not looking too comfortable with the idea that she might have to string up extrusion lines just like everybody else during the morning startup.   But, by the second day, she'd proudly mastered starting up the tubing line as her speciality.
Why Cert-ainly! Wanting to make all our visitors as comfortable as possible, we see our John Reitz leaving the morning staff meeting with the daily issue of Certs.   (That's pretty much the high point of those meetings except for the coffee.)
What do customers think?  So, it's Wednesday, about mid morning and all the lines are up and running.  Keith, is sitting in the booth with a potential client who seems impressed with Randcastle Technology.   Suddenly, Keith sees Susan scampering to the tubing winder and winding by reel by hand.  Conversation continues.  Next Joe is making tracks to the blown film line where the winder has stopped and the blown film is wrapping around the nip roll.  Conversation continues.  Paul draws a bead on the Micropelletizing line where the pelletizer has stopped but the extruder is blithely pumping away.  Now the customer has noted the robust booth activity.  David, is gently pushing his way through the gathering crowd at the fiber line.  The conversation stalls as John asks if we can move aside so he can get to the 115 volt power under the rug below our feet.   No 115 volt power!  It turns out that the people who vacuum had plugged in where they weren't supposed to.  The customer said, "That was pretty impressive."   As Keith started to explain what happened, the customer interrupted saying, "It doesn't really matter what happened.  Your team knew what to do!"
No Water?  No Problem!   What do you do when you lose water on the bottom roll of your three roll stack on the second day of the show, material is sticking to the roll and you have no spare water supply?  David promptly split an air line with extra capacity, appropriated a spare regulator, valve and some duct tape.   In no time at all, he'd deftly created an air cooled roll sufficient to continue for the rest of the show.
A Touching Moment.  The line we had to most trouble with was the fiber line.  It seems that people just couldn't believe it was running so they naturally felt compelled to reach out and touch it--thus bringing down the line.   The person who had to keep stringing up the line decided to guard it more carefully.   Unfortunately, a petite lady with big brown eyes quickly reached out and brought the line down before the guard could stop her.  Frustrated, our erstwhile guard said, "Why did you do that?"  Head down, obviously contrite and chagrinned, she lowered and head saying only, "I'm so sorry."  Our guard looked at the doe eyed young lady and promptly abandoned his post.
"Genius."  That comment came not from a customer but a fellow vendor when she learned that we had installed and stocked a refridgerator under one of the tables --and we were willing to share.