If there is one thing you can count on at most trade shows in Las Vegas, it’s that you’ll see a lot of fun, often Vegas-themed attractions to get attendees to stop at different booths. Throw a little curve in that an event only happens every three years, and you’ve got a pretty good guarantee most exhibitors are going to go all-out to let attendees know they are serious manufacturers but also have their fun side too.

That is most definitely the case at IFPE, which is the largest fluid power show in North America and is only held once every three years. Some of these companies only have this one opportunity to really get their products and technologies in front of potential users and buyers, so they make the most of it.

Walking the show floor, you’ll find lots of cool things within exhibitor booths, ranging from games, free food and drink, to small and big demos highlighting hydraulic and pneumatic technologies.

For example, if you check out Eaton’s booth 80230, you can see—and perhaps operate—its demo excavator, which I had the chance to try my hand at while I was its annual distributor meeting last year. It highlights the company’s components and how they make the lift and shovel functions of an excavator operate more smoothly. Luckily, the video below does not show my mediocre skills at handling the controls (although if you look closely at the intro photo, you can see I did try), but you can see a seasoned pro take the helm.

The technologies highlighted on the excavator enable equipment manufacturers to optimize machine performance and cut fuel costs. They include DuraForce piston pumps, high performance Aeroquip Triple Crown hoses and Eaton’s patented LifeSense Hydraulic Hose Condition Monitoring System that continually monitors for internal fatigue and external damage.

Bosch Rexroth will also have its life-sized, functional model in its booth 80216, which highlights all of its components and technology used on a mobile machine. Check out a video of the functional model here.

Or, you can stop by World Wide Metric’s booth 82218 to play its Mini Forklift Game for prizes. In addition, the folks at World Wide Metric will also be hosting a complimentary “Metric Bar” in their booth on March 5 – 6, between 1-5 pm.  Attendees can get a Metric Bar pass here, for access to the bar.

Another company, Webtec, will be celebrating its 50th year in business by offering giveaways throughout IFPE at its booth 81742. In addition to showing its hydraulic flow condition monitoring and diagnostics tools, Webtec will be showing a special edition ‘golden’ portable hydraulic tester and giving away a limited number of golden merchandise every day at IFPE to the first visitors to the booth.

This is just a small sampling of some of the cool things you can expect to find at IFPE this year. Make the time to see all the booths you can, because you won’t won’t to miss any of the fun.