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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Valley Business Expo ’09 Succeeds Despite the Deluge

Hundreds turned out for the Valley Business Expo ’09 at the Pickwick Gardens Conference Center in Burbank in spite of challenging weather conditions. Vendors began setting up before 7 a.m. and by 9 a.m. visitors were stopping by their tables and booths. A Green Pavilion was set-up in the garden area but had to be moved indoors when the skies opened and rain poured down. “It’s been a good event for us,” said George Kizis of the Green Print Alliance and Chromatic Lithographers. “We’ve gotten interest from a lot of people.” A wide variety of organizations and businesses were represented at the event which was arranged and presented by The Valley Economic Alliance. Healthcare and personnel companies, banks, insurance brokerages and manufacturers were lined up next to organizations like the SFV Employer Advisory Council and the Association for Operations Management. There was some confusion when vendors were told at 4 p.m. to start closing their booths down so a related event, the United Chambers of Commerce Mega-Mixer could be set-up. Most had thought the event was running until 5 p.m. “We had planned it that way,” said Bruce Ackerman of the Economic Alliance. “But I guess some people didn’t really understand that the second event was taking place in the same room.” Kenn Phillips, also of the Economic Alliance, took advantage of the gathering to host a meeting with companies he thought should get to know each other. One of those attending was a new venture, L/E Electric Automobiles, which is developing an electric car that will be made in Van Nuys. The vehicle’s name, ‘Intimate,’ refers to how quiet it is, said partner Louis Weiss. When questioned about its top speed of 40 miles per hour, Weiss said that the goal was that this would be second vehicle for most families. “All over America, families have a car they use just for short trips to the grocery store, the dry cleaner, to pick up and drop off the kids at school,” he said. “Los Angeles is very different, but we think that will change.” The project is a departure from Weiss’s existing business, Louroe Electronics, which manufactures audio equipment. The Mega-Mixer that immediately followed the Expo had very light attendance with even exhibitors finding traffic unmanageable due to the very heavy rain.

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