Two Conferences in Two Months with the MAT table
We spent the past two months visiting two Physical Therapy conferences in our area—the APTA Next conference in Chicago, and it was an interesting weekend for sure! We just returned from Chicago.
Here’s what it took to get there…
May 2019
Back in May 2019 we were still working on building the first Multiple Applications Table (MAT), but we took the idea and pictures of our ongoing progress to the MPTA (Michigan Physical Therapists Association) conference in Lansing, Mich. and the feedback was very positive. With that ammunition, we went back to the engineering “drawing table” to make the first Mat table the best it could be!
We didn’t have the table quite ready, but we got a lot of good feedback at the MPTA in Lansing Michigan.
June 2019
In June of 2019, after a great deal of work, the MAT table was finished and ready to hit the road! So we did.
Our next event took the brand new Multiple Applications Table (MAT) to the APTA Next conference in Chicago…but not without a few learning experiences! This conference was the official launch of the MAT table—now available for purchase to practice owners. At the APTA event (sold out, with 2000 PT in attendance) we planned to set up our booth and meet with people throughout the two days.
The first challenge was finding a place to park a truck and trailer in Chicago! We found several suggested parking lots, but they were all full…so it took us almost four hours to finally find parking and get our stuff ready to unload for the event. But we were there…and the MAT table was there, so we were optimistic.
We had a great booth location at the APTA Next – right inside the door where the most people would see us! On day one, we didn’t see too many people, but were able to browse around with other vendors and make sure everything in the booth was right where we wanted it.
As most everyone knows, there are wonderful places to eat and visit in Chicago, and, based on the suggestion of one of our local (Paw Paw, Mich.) clients, we sought out The Chicago Diner (meat-free since 1983). Believe it or not, we found this place while looking for parking on day one so we just went ahead and dined while we were there. And the food was GREAT! So good, we went back a second time. We actually bought the person who recommended The Chicago Diner a set of Diner cups as a gift.
Parking was a challenge with this big trailer in Chicago but we got the MAT table there and set up in time to see a good portion of the 2000 attendees at the conference..
Day one was definitely NOT an indicator of how the rest of the weekend would go.
On both days at the conference, the MAT table booth saw a good percentage of the 2000 physical therapists in attendance and did (at least) 25 interactive demonstrations.
It was so much fun to be able to actually play with the MAT table’s functions and controls!
People were surprised the MAT table could accomplish so many functions with one piece of equipment. The most popular features were the 45 degree incline and the separate foot panels for single-leg treatments. Other functions for exercise and rehab like body-weight-resisted squats, and ankle dorsi plantar flexion were set up for other demos and appreciated by those looking for the flexibility and adjustments.
Most who tried it were encouraging with their comments and suggestions and many agreed they could use the MAT table to replace up to five of their existing machines—and save space in their clinics! Several were interested in our referral program and took our literature to share with their clinic practice manager or owner.
The MAT table at a full 45 degree incline for rehab and physical therapy treatments.
We showed the MAT table to more than 200 physical therapists, occupational therapists, clinic and therapy practice owners, DOs and chiropractors from all around the country.
Many were certain the MAT table could meet their needs in multiple ways (hence Multiple Applications Table – MAT).
All in all, we felt very satisfied with our exhibit and the conference on a larger scale, but we would be remiss without mentioning our engineering partner, Singh Automation, for their tireless efforts in producing such an amazing final product. The top-notch staff at Singh Automation worked a lot of overtime to finish the MAT table in time for this conference. Several people worked over the weekend and until the wee hours of the morning to put the finishing touches on the MAT table and we appreciate it.
So that’s our foray into the physical therapy conference arena with the MAT table. We’re confident we’re on the right path in providing an alternative to the Total Gym or Moveo XP for rehabilitation clinics and hospitals—a more versatile and stable platform for manipulations, workout platform, traction table, pulley system, and tilt table functions. All five functions in one machine—the MAT table.
