Organizers say more businesses appear to be coming out of survival mode and looking at purchasing new equipment or expanding products. Christopher Reyher, a sales representative for the Waipahu-based cleaning chemical and equipment supplier ABC Corp., said more buyers from the medical and nursing home industries stopped by the company's seven booths yesterday. Buddy Novak, director of sales for Omaha Steaks of Omaha, Neb., also reported good turnout from rest homes and schools. Kanter said institutions outside the hotel or restaurant industries tended to stay away in previous years even though they were invited. Douglas Trade Shows changed the show's name and aggressively recruited representatives of related industries to attend.
Churches buy a lot of food for fund-raisers, social functions, weddings and funerals.
Kanter said hospitals can use reservation system technology applicable to hotels just as pagers used by doctors are handy for waiting restaurant diners. Hotels and restaurants will continue to be the focus of the expo, from which a portion of proceeds benefit the Hawai ' i Hotel Association and Hawai ' i Restaurant Association. The two-day expo continues today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Honolulu Advertiser, a division of Gannett Co .