Episode #16 - Catalyst Connect - What Can Attendees Expect at the Event?

This episode helps attendees learn more about the launch of a new industry event - Catalyst Connect. Hear from Catalyst CEO, Joe Lupone, and Catalyst CMO, Jennifer Chagnon, to discover the details about what you can expect when attending.

Catalyst Connect is a highly focused networking event that brings together a dynamic community of professionals in the acoustics space. Enjoy keynotes and for-credit seminars, learn more about the best-in-class brands that make up Catalyst Acoustics Group, and connect with key industry organizations.

To register for the event, please visit here: https://catalystacoustics.com/events/connect/

 

 

Adam Hritzak, Content Marketing Manager, Catalyst Acoustics Group

So, I want to say hi, welcome to our webinar today, where we're going to cover what you can expect at Catalyst Connect. My name is Adam Hritzak. I am a content marketing manager with Catalyst Acoustics Group, and I also help to serve as a presenter and moderator during webinar presentations we have like today's session. We're excited to have you join us. We're going to have Jennifer Chagnon and Joe Lupone joining us as well, as we'll talk a little bit more about everything you need to know for this event.

We recognize some of you may have registered already and just want to learn more about it, or maybe some of you are considering attending the event. We're really here today to help fill you in on all that's going to happen during the day of Catalyst Connect and answer any questions you may have from there.

All right, so we'll get moving here now. I want to bring in Joe here to do a quick overview to tell you a bit more about who Catalyst Acoustics Group is.

Joe Lupone, Chief Executive Officer, Catalyst Acoustics Group

Thanks, Adam. Good morning, everyone. So first off, Catalyst is really the parent of a group of eight independent businesses that all provide solutions in the acoustical space. And I want to tell you a little bit about the evolution of it. In 2014, started when Sound Seal started to acquire a number of businesses to add to their portfolio of solutions in the acoustical space.

And at that time, a business would become a division of Sound Seal. As we saw that there was a lot of value in bringing these independent businesses together to fill the portfolio of solutions. As we saw that was a path we were going down, we decided that Silencio would be better off being a brother and sister instead of the parent of a whole bunch of So at that time, it was 2019.

We developed Catalyst Acoustics Group as the name of the parent company. And then each of the brands, the businesses that are within Catalyst, stands independently. They leverage back office and technical resources, and various marketing resources and things like that. So, they can be efficient, but they remain unique in bringing solutions, all with the goal of controlling noise in every environment. So, that's who Catalyst is.

Adam Hritzak

All right, thanks, Joe. So next, I wanna take a moment here just to walk you through what is Catalyst Connect?

Obviously, the reason we're here today to go over this event, Catalyst Connect is a first-of-its-kind event in the acoustic space, where we're looking to bring together a really dynamic community of industry professionals altogether. This is gonna take place in Irving, Texas, at the Astoria Event Venue, which is a really neat, cool spot that's fairly new. And this location is just 15 minutes away from the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

We know a lot of people that are going to be in attendance are local to the Texas area, but we're going to have people flying in from around the country as well too. So really conveniently located if you are flying in that way. So, for the event itself, know, Catalyst Acoustics Group is the one hosting the event. This is all going to take place in one day and is entirely free for you to attend. We'll get into more specifics with the agenda and go through, you know, really what the flow of the day is going to look like as we talk through this presentation further.

But a few highlights that you should know are, you know, we're to have a keynote speaker. We're going to have for-credit seminars available to give you some more value while you're attending. It's going to be a great opportunity to spend a lot more time with and learn more about all of the brands in the Catalyst family. You know, like Joe just spoke about, it's really a great chance to get a better understanding of all the different types of industry-leading solutions that are available across acoustic, seismic, vibration, and noise control, all the different solutions that are available throughout the catalyst family of brands. And then you'll also get to have face-time with a lot of top organizations in the industry, something we're really proud of. We're going to have a lot of great folks there, like SpecLink, Dodge Construction, and AEC Daily. So, a lot of value that'll be packed into this one day for you.

All right, so why Texas? I'm gonna turn this over to Jennifer here to talk a little bit more about the location.

Jennifer Chagnon, Chief Marketing Officer, Catalyst Acoustics Group

Thanks, Adam. Hi, everyone. So, as you can see on the map here, we've got some arrows that identify the various manufacturing facilities associated with Catalyst. And so, when we made the decision that we were going to have this event, we talked a lot about what additional value we offer to our constituents and to the influencer community. So, we really decided on that the hope and the intention is to do this on an annual basis.

And the goal is to have it in close proximity to a factory within the catalyst family, because we want to give the audience access back, you know, end access to our manufacturing facilities so that you can get a tour, walk through it, understand it, touch it, feel it. And Fräsch is one of our, you know, most exciting brands. So, for the kickoff of this new annual event, we decided we were going to do this in Texas. And part of the included in this event will be transportation back and forth to the factory so that you guys all get a chance to get in there, meet the team, see the manufacturing process, and see how we develop and manufacture PET.

Adam Hritzak

All right, thanks a lot, Jennifer. Joe, turn it back to you here to talk a little bit more about why we're doing the event and what the audience will look like.

Joe Lupone

Yeah, sure, Adam. So, first of all, I believe that we're uniquely qualified to put on this type of thought leadership program in the acoustic space. That unique qualification is due to the eight businesses that we have that each work with influencers, engineering firms, architects, acoustical consultants, and designers.

We're working with those influencers like yourselves across those brands every day. And so, we have a very good feel for what the problems are and how to address those with solutions. And quite frankly, our people learn from the influencers, and I believe that the influencers learn from us. So, this is a networking event. It's people who address the similar problems in various industries coming together to share ideas, to learn from each other, and really talk about what's happening in the industry. And to facilitate that on top of just being there all in one location, we have four CEU presentations that will go on from people from our company who are holding relevant presentations and sessions that are more of a formal piece of learning besides the networking side of things. And as many of you know, we own the Riverbank Acoustics Lab, which is a world-renowned acoustical testing lab. And in one of those presentations will be from Eric Wolfram, who is the director of that lab, who is just amazing at presenting and talking about technical acoustical information and putting it, packaging it in a fun, easy to learn way. So, it's speakers like that and we're really looking forward to that aspect of the event.

Adam Hritzak

All right, so now let's take a pivot here and start to work through the agenda. So, Jennifer, if I could turn this back over to you to fill everybody in about what will be taking place throughout the day.

Jennifer Chagnon

Sure. So, our goal was to really capitalize on every aspect of value that we respect and appreciate that it's going to require you guys to kind of take a day out of the office to come spend time with us. So, we wanted to pack it with as much value as possible. So, as Joe mentioned, each brand will be represented at this event. So, you will have the opportunity to directly connect with all of the sales leaders across the business by brand.

So, Kinetics will have a table, Lamvin will have a table, and each and every brand will have a table and representation so that you can go and touch and feel the products and speak with the folks that run those businesses. As Joe mentioned, Eric Wolfram, he'll be doing a keynote speech on acoustical testing methodology, which I think brings a lot of value to those that leverage testing and want to understand it better. The CEU presentations are obviously very valuable to the architectural community.

You can gain credits while you're at our event. So, you're earning credits while you're also networking with valuable brands within the industry. As I mentioned on the Why Texas slide, we will be providing transportation back and forth multiple times throughout the day so that you can go to Fräsch and you can see the facility and you can see how they manufacture and cut PET, which I think is a very exciting and valuable opportunity for those that have never been to an acoustic manufacturing facility.

And then last but not least, and Adam made mention of this at the beginning, we'll touch on it again. I've been overwhelmed by the excitement and the support we've gotten from industry partners on this event. So, we know and understand that you leverage these partners for value as well.

So, if you're an architect, you're likely an AEC daily participant. If you're not, AEC Daily will be there, and you can go over and speak with them about the value of being a partner and how to gain access to online CEUs. We've got Dodge Data that will be present. So, we certainly rely on Dodge Data for forecasting information and to really understand the landscape of projects. We know that several of you subscribe to their services as well. So, this will be an opportunity to learn more about what they offer and if it's something you're interested in. And then Spec Link for those that specify, this is a certain certainly very valuable tool that provides ease of use when you're trying to specify new products. So, they'll be there to explain the services that they provide, should you want to take advantage of those.

So, it's a fun-filled, packed day, know, lots to do. It's not just, you know, we didn't want this to be a trade show type event. We really want it to be a conference-type event where you have the opportunity to spend time where you think it's most valuable. So, as I mentioned, those are our vendor partners. So, they'll have their own separate section within the venue that you can go and access.

And then also, I think it's important to note, you know, while these folks won't be having any type of table or presence, they're important in the industry and they're supporting our event through communicating it to their network of audience, right? So, we've got IIDA. They speak with interior designers constantly, right? So, they've been promoting the event on our behalf. NCAC, the National Council on Acoustical Consultants, has presented this opportunity in their newsletter and shared it with their audience. And then AIA has been great, specifically the AIA Fort Worth Regional Office. They've been very supportive in trying to promote and bring visibility to this event. And so that's important to me as the Chief Marketing Officer because you know, the industry partners that we have also see value in this event. So, it feels very good to be supported by these really respected, incredible connections.

Adam Hritzak

Okay, so the keynote speaker, we've touched on a little bit so far, but just to expand on that a little bit more. So we're gonna have Eric Wolfram from Riverbank Acoustical Laboratories there. As Joe mentioned, Eric is the laboratory manager at Riverbank. You may have seen Eric speak and present before. He does a lot of presentations, he'll speak at conferences, he's done a lot of and podcasts, an expert in the space, really well regarded. Very passionate about the acoustics industry. I think if you listen to him talk for about 30 seconds, he'll pick up on that. Very well-rounded and can get really in-depth about a lot of details, and an expert in the testing space. He's also currently the chair of the ASTM E33 committee.

If you're not familiar with Riverbank, and I know Joe touched on it before, just to say it again, Riverbank is recognized worldwide as a source of valid acoustical data and supports clients with certified and accredited testing of building materials and consumer products. And again, Eric really leads the way in the organization very much out there and upfront with the speaking agenda. If you're curious to learn more about Riverbank or hear from Eric, know, ahead of the show, strongly encourage you to go to the Riverbank website. There are several different resources and webinars listed on the website there where you can hear from Eric and maybe get a feel of what you might be able to expect when he's speaking at the conference.

Okay, so the CEU presentations, we've highlighted these a bit throughout, but just to provide a little bit more depth from a Catalyst Acoustics Group standpoint, CEUs are something that we take a lot of pride in being able to publish. We put new resources out each year and have a lot of engagement from the community. You know, the credits are valuable for people to earn, and we really try to come up with a diverse range of topics that suits all of the different aspects of acoustics and noise control and really strengthens, is strengthened by the brands that make up the family here. Each of the courses that are going to take place during Catalyst Connect will provide attendees with credits for participating, and they each should run about an hour long. We'll have them broken up, so you would be, if you wanted to attend all four, you would be able to do that. They're not going to run over top of one another. We'll have those spaced out appropriately throughout the day.

It's going to be a fun, dynamic group here of presenters that you see on your screen and topics. We tried to pick some of the newer, more relevant, popular industry topics, ones that we see are accessed the most by the community. So, looking at these from top down, just a real quick overview of each of these.

The Data Centers presentation is a new course that we have that was just released at the beginning of this year. Obviously, data centers are a massive topic and really across many different industries, but within the acoustic space, particularly more and more of this is being spoken about with how do we control noise both inside and outside of facilities. They are popping up everywhere across the country, moving their way closer and closer towards neighborhoods. So, things like how we control the noise around those city ordinances are becoming more important lately. Excuse me. That's going to be presented by John Sofra from Kinetics. You may have seen John speaking over the course of the past year. He's been very involved with webinars and podcasts. He's actually going to be speaking at the Data Center World Trade Show next week in DC, if you're heading out that way. So, check him out there. He's going to have a similar data centers session going on, but he'll be leading that course.

Next up, we have the Sound and Noise Control and Hospitality Facilities course that's going to be presented by Slavi Nightingale from Fräsch. Again, like we mentioned, Fräsch, where the facility tour will take place. So Slavi will be going to present this course, which is really going to hit on a bunch of different topics and unique solutions that are available to be best prepared for how you would work with these spaces.

The Division 9 Finishes session is one of the most popular courses that we have available. That's going to be presented by Aaron Duncan from Sound Seal, where he's going to take you on a course going through all the different wall and ceiling treatments that you need to know about.

And then finally, we have the Acoustics and Noise in Building Design presentation, which is going to be presented by Ben Vause at Kinetics. And this is going to cover all the noise control and room acoustics across many different project types for you to be aware of.

Okay, so now that we've covered most of what's going to happen for the day, we want to spend some time just to quickly run through how you can register for Catalyst Connect. So, I'm going to in a moment just going to go over to the page and show you, but at a high level, if you go to the Catalyst website and go to the events page, you'll see that you'll come to this page right here to register.

This page is also linked across all of the Catalyst brand's websites. So, if you're on Kinetics’ website or Lamvin's website, you'll see a banner at the top of each of those to register for the event there, which you can click on and take it to this page. We try to make this really simple. Again, this is a one-day free event, and we want to have a really simple form for you to go through to fill it out. So only takes a moment to go through and complete that process. And when you do, if you're traveling from out of town or need to stay the night over for another reason. We do have discounted rates available at hotels, too for you to check that box and be able to take a further look into. So, I'm going to just quickly jump over to the registration page now, which you should be able to see on your screen. And if you can't see the screen here, we're just looking at this page, which is catalystacoustics.com slash events slash connect. You could look through, like what's the agenda, who's invited.

When does this take place? Again, this is June 25th. It's going to take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. And again, where the event is located. Over to the right, there's just this quick, easy form field. It's less than 10 fields. It's your basic standard information. Again, you can click this checkbox on the form if you are interested in receiving information about the hotel discounts that are available to you for attending. And then you can keep scrolling through the page and see more about the partners, a little bit more information about all those CEU sessions that we talked about and gain a little bit more insight about some of the perks that will come. We're to have some raffle giveaways. We'll have, again, there's this kind of room race and some of the networking opportunities that are available to you, a lot of different ways to access this page across the Catalyst family of brands, on the Catalyst website. You can see this, and we have posts all through our social media accounts as well. So, a lot of different ways to make sure you can get there and get through this quick, easy form fill.

Jennifer Chagnon

Okay. I think important to note also, you know, it is a full-day event. So, we will be offering food and beverages throughout the day at no cost to the audience.

Adam Hritzak

Yes, thank you for reminding me about that. All right, so now on to questions. Like I mentioned at the beginning of the presentation, if you may have missed it, you can enter any questions you have through the questions feature in your GoToWebinar control panel. We have a few questions that have come in so far. And please go ahead and submit anything else you may have. OK, so taking a look at the questions that we have here. First up, I'll take this one. I just mentioned this before. But the question came in about how much does it cost to attend the event again?

As we mentioned, it's free to attend. So, there is no cost at all. We are really just trying to bring this community of thought leaders and professionals together. So, there's no cost for you to attend the event.

All right, next question. Jennifer, I'm going to pass this one over to you. We had a question come in wondering, are we allowed to invite our connections in the industry to this event?

Jennifer Chagnon

Sure. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, in fact, we encourage it. You guys are the credible audience in the industry. And if you have contacts or people that you think would value participating and joining you in attending, please feel free to share this message with all of them. And I think, Adam, you had noted at the beginning, there's a handout section within your GoToMeeting panel. There's a bunch of sales tools right there available to download that and shoot it out to someone. We've also done a lot of social posts. So, if you follow us on any of our social platforms, please feel free to tag yourself, tag people that you think would find value in this. You know, the goal is to really just give value and bring the right people together under one roof to be able to have an exciting and valuable day. This is our first time. So, we really got to make it count if we want to continue to do this year over year.

I promise you and I assure you this will be a valuable day for you and for anyone that you think should join you. So please feel free. If you have any questions, you can also contact me directly. I'm happy to help.

Adam Hritzak

Yeah, I would add to, you know, the handout section that we have here again, download the information that's available. You can share those. We mentioned those before, but I think that's a great way to give people more information about what's All right. Next question that we have, I should be able to take this one. How will attendees earn credit for attending the CEU sessions?

That's a great question and one that we get often. If you've attended any in-person CEU sessions through any of the catalyst brands, you may be familiar with this or other CEU sessions in general, but we will have a sign-in sheet available for all attendees who go to each session where you just put in your contact information, your AIA member number, and then after the event's over, we'll gather all those sign-in sheets. Our team, this is one of the things that I'm tasked with as well, is we'll take those sign-in sheets and then we process all of attendee information through AEC Daily, who's an accredited provider for these courses, and then

That will all run through their system and then you'll get a certificate for your participation and then also it's usually within about 10 business days those credits will show up in your AAA account as well.

Okay, Jennifer, I'm gonna throw one question your way. We had a question about reps attending. If you wanna tackle that one.

Jennifer Chagnon

Sure, happy to. So, I think Joe mentioned it in the introduction, but we have a broad-based, very valuable channel program. So, we sell through channel partners and reps across the country. Again, the real value in this event is to take a time out and give the influencers the opportunity to learn about what we do and how we do it with the ultimate goal of growing a relationship, working together, and pushing those opportunities out to our valued channel partners.

We will have some limited channel partners at the event that are local in proximity to where the event is being held, should there be any opportunities that arise on the spot. But outside of that, reps really don't need to take time out of their day at this point to attend this event. The value that will result from it will be handed directly to our valued partners.

Adam Hritzak

All right, great. Well, I'm not seeing any other questions coming in, so I think we can wrap things up for today. So again, I wanted to thank you all for taking the time out of your day to attend this and send your questions along. And obviously, thanks to Joe and Jennifer for joining us today and providing all the insight about what we can expect there.

If you haven't yet registered and are interested, on the screen here we have a QR code available along with the URL, which again is catalystacoustics.com slash events slash connect. And again, that's available across all the different brands in the Catalyst family there too, where you can find those links available on their websites. You can also, again, use that handout section to access the PDF version of this presentation and a couple other related resources.

So, we hope you found this informative today, and we'd love to see you at the event in June. Thanks, and have a great day, everybody.

Jennifer Chagnon

Thank you.