The abundance of trade shows, both national and regional, in North America can be daunting to produce professionals of all levels. Despite that, Kurt Zuhlke, president of Kurt Zuhlke & Associates Inc., headquartered in Bangor, PA, told The Produce News that every show the company exhibits at has value, but on different levels.

“Some regional shows have a strong retailer draw, while others attract more growers and packers,” explained Zuhlke. “Visitors to the Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference tend to be more on the grower and supplier end, rather than the retail side.”Angela Zuhlke assits her father, Kurt Zuhlke, president of Kurt Zuhlke & Associates, at the Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference.

Kurt Zuhlke & Associates’ customers are in all categories of the fresh fruit and vegetable industry. It is a leading supplier of a wide line of Polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, packaging. The company is fully dedicated to Earth-friendly packaging.

“Growers and suppliers use our packaging products to pack according to their customers’ specifications, but many retailers today repack at the store level in order to customize their offerings,” said Zuhlke. “That means that all levels of the industry are important to us.”

Zuhlke noted that the event, held Jan. 7-10 in Savannah, GA, drew visitors from the Carolinas, Louisiana, northern Florida, Tennessee and Virginia.

“The event had a good turnout,” said Zuhlke. “It reported about 7 percent more visitors than the previous year. The first day was very crowded, the second day was very active in the afternoon because conferences were held in the morning. The third day was for other events, such as tours.”

He said the company was getting a nice response as early as a week following the conference.

“Orders began coming through nicely right after the show, which I attribute directly to it,” said Zuhlke. “This is the proof of the value resulting from regional shows such as this one.

“The big news at this show was about the ways growers are now extending their growing seasons with field tunnels, plastic mulch film and other techniques. This means they have need for high quality packaging products for longer periods of time every season.”

Zuhlke’s daughter, Angela Zuhlke, joined her father at the Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference to greet and assist customers.