An independent audit has confirmed that the combined attendance over the two day exhibition totaled 8,909 - the highest ever since SALTEX moved to the NEC, Birmingham.
After two successful days, the 72nd SALTEX exhibition came to a close on 2 November. Over the past two years the exhibition has recorded an encouraging and consistent flux of visitors on each occasion, but this year, say the organisers, a boom of visits seemed to be apparent.
The show’s debut year at the NEC in 2015 saw 8,714 attendees, 2016 recorded 8,754 and this year saw a record 8,909 - which the show's organisers say didn’t go unnoticed by exhibitors.
“An excellent show in 2017,” said Jeremy Hoyle, director at Earlsmere. “Enquiries on the stand were up 15% on last year, and we gained a number of significant leads with sports turf professionals, schools and colleges featuring heavily within our stand attendee list.”
“We were really impressed with the amount of customers visiting our stand this year! SALTEX TV was excellent too, perfect for promoting a new product,” said Holly Jones, marketing manager for Reesink Turfcare.
Price Turfcare, a newly established business founded by Ransomes Jacobsen's former sales director, Rupert Price, was another exhibitor that achieved all of its objectives. “As a start-up business which has only been in existence since the beginning of the year, our first visit to SALTEX has been a very positive experience. One of our aims at SALTEX was to look for new dealer partners and this worked well for us. I can safely say that SALTEX ticked all the boxes,” said Rupert.
Chris Wood, pitches consultant at England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), suggested that SALTEX is a place where some of the greatest industry ideas are born. “The value of a show like this is being able to talk to colleagues from other codes of sport and share ideas. Not only that, it is a place to challenge exhibitors about new technology and that is how new innovation comes about.”
He continued; “I’ve been in this business for 50 years and the opportunities for young groundsmen now, compared to when I first started, are profound.”
SALTEX 2018 will take place at the NEC, Birmingham on 31 October and 1 November.
