Cheshire AV has always been a proud partner of Apogee Exhibits when opportunities arose to work together.
When Justin Cheshire met up with Apogee owner Mark Taylor at a recent trade show, he discovered that Mark’s company and Cheshire AV are traveling parallel paths when it comes to a focus on sustainability and environmental concerns.
Apogee Exhibits was founded in 1991, and Mark bought the company about 13 years ago. Since then, the company has expanded services to provide exhibit design, fabrication services, management services, and interactive technology to clients globally, out of their offices in Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse.
When asked about their service, Emily Bennett, Apogee’s Marketing Communications Specialist, described the company as a boutique service house that creates every type of booth from pop ups to custom 50×50 exhibits. The company has the distinction of having created the Omega Watches exhibit, which was showcased during the 2018 Winter Olympics.
She explained that when a client comes to Apogee, the sales team meets with members of the company to learn about the business and its brand, its needs and messaging goals, as well as its budgetary parameters, to determine the best approach for the display. The proposal is developed, and once it is accepted, the designers get to work customizing a booth to fit those specs. After the exhibit is completed, the exhibit is set up in the service department so the clients can come in and view it prior to the trade show.
The majority of Apogee’s clients prefer to rent booths, allowing them to re-use or re-adapt their booth with different messaging. One of Apogee’s pluses is that the company prioritizes sustainability by working with suppliers and vendors that fabricate with reusable materials. Because the framework of most exhibits is metal, the frames can be used many times over. Apogee maintains an in-house wood shop, so cabinets used as part of an exhibit, and that are still in superior condition, can be re-laminated and re-used. Emily went on to state that all of the departments within Apogee seek vendors with which to partner that are environmentally conscientious.
Another way in which the company tries to reduce its carbon footprint is by sourcing elements of the booth structure from vendors at hubs near the locale where the show is taking place, whenever possible. That often allows Apogee to use smaller trucks, or to consolidate multiple exhibits for a show on to only one truck in order to reduce vehicle emissions.
Emily also mentioned that, within-house, the company is forward-thinking on sustainability, using LED lights throughout the buildings and recycling everything possible.
When asked whether sustainability has yet become a priority for prospective and current clients in retaining Apogee’s services, she shared that she feels the industry is moving in that direction.
“Many of our clients are medical or pharmaceutical companies. These bigger companies are interested in sustainability. Although it may not be a selling point yet, other smaller companies are beginning to ask about it and they expect to see something about sustainability in the proposal.”
The meetings and events industry is evolving to address climate change and environmental concerns, and Apogee Exhibits and Cheshire AV are proud to be at the forefront of this critical movement.
