I hope to use this forum to keep you updated on the latest breaking news from our industry. The few trade journals that cover our industry are quite weak and almost all the reporting is simply manufacturers bragging about color changes or repackaged products.

Here’s a few tidbits from CEDIA.
First, the Filtex brand name is back. The name began in the late 40’s I believe as a portable vacuum sold door-to-door. Originally based out of Los Angeles, they added central vacuums on in the late 50’s. They actually used to make a few parts for us in the early 60’s and we made a few parts for them also. They company was sold a few times to VSI, Nader Mfg, M&S, and Chamberlain. Chamberlain sold out their central vacuum division to Linear late last year and apparently everyone forgot about the name. Well Lindsay Manufacturing noticed the gap and wisely picked up the name. So we now have a re-invented central vacuum called “Filtex” that looks just like a Vacuumaid. It is blue and silver will likely be sold to the builder/installer market.

Beam had their new”Prism” RF (Radio Frequency) hose at the tradeshow. I believe it contained two-way communication verifying that the power unit was operating with a led light on the end of the hose. (Something MD has had for 4 years). They really weren’t showing off the hose at CEDIA and no one we spoke to said they demonstrated it. Also they had their Electrolux Power Brush at the show but we noticed that the neck was completely broken off of the mount. They state that this was only a sample piece and not a production item so it will ikely be strengthened before they introduce it. Maybe they can’t slam it on the ground like we do when we demonstrate our Stealth Brush?

Also Beam had a new Electrolux Solaire unit at the show. It was an aqua green color and rather small. We’ll be posting the stats of it on our website as soon as we can.

Nutone displayed their new style unit that is egg-shaped and plastic. It looks cool but we really doubt that it will improve their performance. Somebody has to teach their booth design crew to install vacuums. This is the second show in a row where they installed their tees completely backwards! No one coming to our booth even mentioned that they saw it.

Of course MD, as always had a ton of new things. Their 5.0 version of the AirForce was a big hit turning off when the phone or door bell rings, but this version now offers a fool-proof way to check all the communication before you leave the job site. Simple test procedures are now built into every device to determine background noise, signal strength, and if any devices are not on the same phase. A laptop computer can also be used to run a series of tests to determine fluxuations over time. All this, without having to run low voltage wires. They even demonstrated turning the unit and or the power brush on and off from any laptop that had the software installed! MD also has it’s new CentraMop attachment that essentially gives you a “swiffer” on the end of the central vacuum wand. It’s pretty cool. And then they introduced their new website with new graphics and a far-easier means of drilling down into the tons of info found there.

Hope this helps bring you up to speed. I’ll be telling you more as the weeks progress.

Well CEDIA 2005 is now ended and already we look forward to Cedia 2006 in Denver. Where else can you find a compilation of 15,000 high-end custom AV installers all in one location ready to lap up our latest technology?

The show ended yesterday in Indianapolis and thankfully we received the crate for our booth before 11:00 PM this year. We always judge the results of the show by the degree that my voice has been lost. This year you can hardly hear me talk so I guess it was a great show!

It is such a joy to see the faces of these professionals light up. Most of them have never heard of MD Manufacturing and they are currently purchasing through a supply house such as ADI, AVAD or Worthington. When they hear that they can receive our products at or below their current pricing level, including all our bells and whistles, they go crazy. They had no idea anyone could do what we are doing with central vacs! They stand outside our booth mildly interested in our products but soon realize that our products are so superior to their current brand and always end the conversation saying: “Now make sure you get back to me right away!”

Having additional support personnel has also been a great pleasure. In the early shows 20 years ago, it would just be Wayne and me. Then, when we lost Wayne, I would do the shows solo for years. Ten hours of standing and talking was gruesome! The last few years have been so much easier having Mike, Andrew, Grant Jr. and other support personnel. This year Rebecca joined us at the show and she was a real trooper. She even helped tear down the booth. At one point she was moving too slow and got shrink wrapped! You’ll have to ask her about it!

The real highlight of the show; though, is seeing all of our existing enthusiastic dealers. They always are anticipating our new products and certainly weren’t disappointed this year. The CEDIA dealers especially care so much about quality so we displayed the new 5.0 software including the UPSTART tool. Imagine doing full diagnostic tests on the vacuum at the jobsite with your laptop computer. It was so cool!

So dealers, make CEDIA 2006 in Denver next September a priority. You’ll be “wowed”. To all those who purchase our vacs, these shows only help to fuel the flame of creativity that MD Manufacturing can bring you!

Well it’s off to CEDIA tonight. The Custom Electronic Distribution Installation Association trade show is an awesome showcase for our AirForce central vac. Sure there are other central vacuums at the show but none of them have the rich features of our AirForce units. They are still the only central vacuums to tie into the Home Automation system and have automated doorbell and telephone shut-off features.

So I won’t be posting possibly for a few days but will report to you any new occurances in the industry. This show is so exciting because our competition just sits back in unbelief as we wow these high-end installers.

Mike Kretsinger, and Grant Olewiler Jr. will be joining us again as well as a relatively new representative, Rebecca Nosaka. Rebecca has gained huge respect at our company quickly learning our entire operation and a vast sum of technical knowledge about the central vacuum industry. So stop by our Booth #500 and welcome Rebecca to the show. You’ll be quite impressed!