Canton Fair Phase 1: a preparation brief for HVAC and appliance buyers

Write a one-page brief before you travel

Hundreds of exhibitors can show a wall-mounted split unit or a portable air conditioner. What separates a productive week from a stack of brochures is a short written brief that every conversation follows. It keeps your questions consistent, so the answers can be compared later.

• Product formats and the capacity range you want quoted.
• Destination market and the compliance route it requires.
• A realistic first-order volume and a likely second order.
• Packaging, accessories and documentation you expect in the box.
• Three questions every booth answers in the same format.

Brief test: could a colleague who was not at the fair compare two booth notes using only your brief?

Know the compliance route for your market

For the European market, an air conditioner typically needs CE conformity under the relevant directives, ecodesign and energy-labelling compliance with registration in the EU product database (EPREL), refrigerant handling in line with the F-gas regulation, and WEEE and RoHS obligations. The exact set depends on the product and on who places it on the market.

At the booth, ask which of these the factory has already covered for the exact model family, and which reports name the models you are discussing. A test report for a different model family is a starting point for questions.

Use the booth to qualify, the follow-up to quote

Booth time is short and the showroom sample is the factory's best unit. Use the conversation to qualify the supplier and save detailed pricing for a written request afterwards, when every supplier answers the same brief.

• Is this a manufacturer or a trading company, and which processes are in-house?
• Which brands or markets does the factory already supply with this product family?
• What are the MOQ, lead time and payment terms for a first order of your size?
• Who will be your technical contact after the fair?

Sort contacts within a week of returning

Momentum fades quickly after the fair. Within a week, sort every contact into three checks and send one identical written request for quotation only to the suppliers that pass all three.

• Identity: the business licence confirms the company type and matches the name you would pay.
• Product scope: test reports and documents name the exact model family you need.
• Commercial fit: MOQ, lead time and payment terms match your first-order scenario.

Four comparable quotations give you a decision. Forty brochures give you a sorting job.

Plan the samples before you order them

Order samples only from the short list, and decide in advance what each sample must prove: build quality, performance against the declared data, packaging, documentation and the exact configuration you would buy. Record the sample revision so production can be checked against it later.

If you cannot attend this year, the same brief works remotely. Many exhibitors take video calls during and after the fair, and the written request for quotation is the same document either way.