Hi everyone,
I'm reporting to you "live" from the Hearth, Patio, and Barbecue Expo at the Reno/Sparks Convention Center in Reno, NV.
I have spent the last few hours browsing the indoor display area and the outdoor "burn area", checking out the latest grilling and barbecue products for 2007.
What I mainly wanted to share with all of you was my discussion with Mike Kempster, Sr., Executive Vice President of Weber-Stephen Products Co.
As some of you may recall, I cornered Mr. Kempster at this same trade show in Anaheim, CA back in 2004 and asked what the future holds for the WSM. He was non-commital at the time, only saying "Stay tuned."
Well, this year he definitely took much greater interest in talking to me, so I think sometime in the past three years he's learned about TVWB.
He spent about 10 minutes talking with me about all things WSM. Here's what he shared with me:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>There is something new planned in terms of the WSM over the next two years. He said that at this trade show next year, he would be prepared to talk about it, although probably not be able to show it at that event. I pried for details, but he would not share them, as he "didn't want to potentially disappoint anyone."
<LI>He said that there is the possibility of doing a special edition color of the WSM, although he wouldn't say exactly what color. But in discussing this, he took me over to the new Weber Genesis in copper-colored porcelain enamel and showed that as an example of what would be possible.
<LI>I asked about the recent discussion brought up by one member of this BB about Weber not renewing the "Smokey Mountain Cooker" trademark in 2004. He said that Weber was having trouble defending that trademark, and thus decided to let it go. They trademark these terms all around the world, at great expense, so if you can't easily defend the trademark, you might as well let it go and save substantial money. I asked if they might rename the product in conjuction with any design revision, and his first answer was "No", but then he mentioned that they might use different names for different levels of product. That is a very interesting comment! Could the current WSM be getting a big brother or a high-end companion?
<LI>I asked about product packaging and all the bent bowls that people seem to get. He said that they keep close track of those numbers, and that it's more cost effective for Weber to replace damaged bowls occasionally that to spend a ton of money on bullet-proof packaging. He did say that the current box meets an ANSI standard for drop strength from 4 feet on the bottom, each side, and each corner, and UPS will not accept boxes for shipment unless they certify their packaging to the ANSI standard.
<LI>Mr. Kempster asked for my business card, so hopefully this will give us some "preview info" if things evolve with the WSM in the next couple of years.[/list]On another note, I checked out the new line of Genesis and Summit grills. They are very substantial, almost truck-like in looks and design. They also have that new copper-colored porcelain finish available, which Kempster says was very difficult to develop. Solid colors are easy, metallics extemely difficult, but they've come up with something that works and looks good, so perhaps we'll see more metallic colors in the future.
I did notice that the stainless steel grates in the Genesis were much, much less substantial than those in the Summit.
Finally, I had a chance to say hello to Dr. BBQ, Ray Lampe. He's doing his thing at the Big Green Egg booth, schmoozing with customers and preparing grilled samples. He's got a third book coming out in June 2007, this one more about his barbecue travels and lots of info on barbecue restaurants. I asked if he'd like to come back to TVWBB to do another Q&A session to promote that book, but he said he thought his original Q&A was really good and he didn't think he could improve on it!
He was glad to hear that Jamie Purviance will be joining us to promote his new book at the end of this month.
If I come across anything else of interest here, I'll be sure to post it. I'm going to see if Steven Raichlen is at his booth.
Regards,
Chris
I'm reporting to you "live" from the Hearth, Patio, and Barbecue Expo at the Reno/Sparks Convention Center in Reno, NV.
I have spent the last few hours browsing the indoor display area and the outdoor "burn area", checking out the latest grilling and barbecue products for 2007.
What I mainly wanted to share with all of you was my discussion with Mike Kempster, Sr., Executive Vice President of Weber-Stephen Products Co.
As some of you may recall, I cornered Mr. Kempster at this same trade show in Anaheim, CA back in 2004 and asked what the future holds for the WSM. He was non-commital at the time, only saying "Stay tuned."
Well, this year he definitely took much greater interest in talking to me, so I think sometime in the past three years he's learned about TVWB.
He spent about 10 minutes talking with me about all things WSM. Here's what he shared with me:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>There is something new planned in terms of the WSM over the next two years. He said that at this trade show next year, he would be prepared to talk about it, although probably not be able to show it at that event. I pried for details, but he would not share them, as he "didn't want to potentially disappoint anyone."
<LI>He said that there is the possibility of doing a special edition color of the WSM, although he wouldn't say exactly what color. But in discussing this, he took me over to the new Weber Genesis in copper-colored porcelain enamel and showed that as an example of what would be possible.
<LI>I asked about the recent discussion brought up by one member of this BB about Weber not renewing the "Smokey Mountain Cooker" trademark in 2004. He said that Weber was having trouble defending that trademark, and thus decided to let it go. They trademark these terms all around the world, at great expense, so if you can't easily defend the trademark, you might as well let it go and save substantial money. I asked if they might rename the product in conjuction with any design revision, and his first answer was "No", but then he mentioned that they might use different names for different levels of product. That is a very interesting comment! Could the current WSM be getting a big brother or a high-end companion?
<LI>I asked about product packaging and all the bent bowls that people seem to get. He said that they keep close track of those numbers, and that it's more cost effective for Weber to replace damaged bowls occasionally that to spend a ton of money on bullet-proof packaging. He did say that the current box meets an ANSI standard for drop strength from 4 feet on the bottom, each side, and each corner, and UPS will not accept boxes for shipment unless they certify their packaging to the ANSI standard.
<LI>Mr. Kempster asked for my business card, so hopefully this will give us some "preview info" if things evolve with the WSM in the next couple of years.[/list]On another note, I checked out the new line of Genesis and Summit grills. They are very substantial, almost truck-like in looks and design. They also have that new copper-colored porcelain finish available, which Kempster says was very difficult to develop. Solid colors are easy, metallics extemely difficult, but they've come up with something that works and looks good, so perhaps we'll see more metallic colors in the future.
I did notice that the stainless steel grates in the Genesis were much, much less substantial than those in the Summit.
Finally, I had a chance to say hello to Dr. BBQ, Ray Lampe. He's doing his thing at the Big Green Egg booth, schmoozing with customers and preparing grilled samples. He's got a third book coming out in June 2007, this one more about his barbecue travels and lots of info on barbecue restaurants. I asked if he'd like to come back to TVWBB to do another Q&A session to promote that book, but he said he thought his original Q&A was really good and he didn't think he could improve on it!
If I come across anything else of interest here, I'll be sure to post it. I'm going to see if Steven Raichlen is at his booth.
Regards,
Chris
