Visitors to Sumitomo Electric Carbide’s Booth W-2422 have the opportunity to win not only a free cutting tool, but also a trip for themselves and a guest to Hawaii, Colorado, Las Vegas or even Japan. All they have to do is get their passports stamped.

 

Of course, that doesn’t refer to the document issued by the State Department, but rather the “Passport to Productivity” the company is handing out at the booth entrance. Entering the drawing to win a trip requires getting a stamp at each of four distinct display areas themed according to the locations mentioned above. Hawaii is a fitting destination for milling products, given the promotion of the WFX cutter for 90-degree shoulder milling and the 90° temperatures that are common in the island state.

 

Likewise, the company’s hole-making products are displayed in a Rocky Mountain-themed pavilion intended to hearken back to an era when settlers drove west to drill for gold and other materials. Turning products fit naturally with images of spinning slot machines in the Vegas-themed pavilion, while the CBN/PCD products in the Japanese pavilion evoke the forward-looking nature of the company’s home country.

 

“Sumitomo is in so many different markets around the world, and we’re always growing, always changing, and always adding that next new feature,” says Eric Pescatore, marketing associate. “That’s the message we want to get across.” He adds that visitors who attend one of the hourly presentations at the booth can enter a raffle to win one of a selection of free cutting tools, which will be shipped to their facilities from the show floor.