Myself and the Service Dealer team spent a very enjoyable and highly worthwhile two days at the Birmingham NEC for IOG SALTEX this week.
And the impression I overwhelmingly received from both exhibitors and visitors I spoke to was that the exhibition was truly working for them too.
The space the show now takes place in is a decent size, but compact enough to make it feel buzzy and busy most of the time. It's easy for visitors to get around and find who they are looking for. And once on a stand you can have long, productive conversations without being inhibited by whatever the British weather chooses to throw at you that particular day.
The first day of the show on Wednesday felt particularly well attended. The halls became very busy, very early. When my train got into the International station at 9.30, by the time I got across to the halls large queues had formed waiting to gain entry.
Speaking to exhibitors, many told me they had started having their first serious business conversations with visitors on their stands by five past nine on Wednesday. And most said they didn't really stop to catch their breath until around four that afternoon!
The second day took noticeably longer for the halls to fill. Perhaps this might have had something to do with the late night many of the groundsman visitors would have had the night before at the IOG Awards ceremony?! That event has grown to be huge, with around 800 visitors and a list of awards to be presented as long as your arm. So its little surprise that proceedings were a little slower to get going yesterday.
But by lunchtime the halls did indeed feel pretty packed out once again.
And crucially, packed out with quality, decision-making visitors. Time and again stand holders told me how pleased they were with the calibre of contacts and leads they were making. The top people who are in positions to specify machinery at facilities and businesses across the country were making plenty of genuine enquiries.
The proof of how successful these leads will eventually prove to be will of course not be known until visits and demos are made after the show - but as the first step in the process, SALTEX is certainly providing an excellent forum for business relationships to get underway and develop.
Also plenty of dealers made the trip to the Birmingham. Various companies I spoke to were delighted by the number of specialists they had seen come through their stands. There were plenty of franchises on show at SALTEX who were very interested in expanding their dealer networks. Of course all were talking about finding the right partners in the right part of the country - but there's no doubt that there's opportunities out there at the moment for dealers to expand their offerings if they so desire.
I genuinely believe that in its third year in the new format - which many would say would be the crunch year for the show - SALTEX hit its stride. It seemed to achieve its two key obligations - to satisfy both exhibitors and visitors.
Was there anything which didn't work? I guess I've just got a couple of slight grumbles
Firstly, the 'outside area'. I'm not sure why they are still bothering with this? There were only about four companies on small patch of grass on an island between a road and the disabled car park. I think the IOG should have the confidence in their show by this point to say we are 100% an indoors show now and knock this on the head.
The other concern I have is not really anything to do with the show's organisers, more with a tiny minority of exhibitors who are still clinging on to outdated marketing techniques of yesteryear. Considering just how progressive and professional an image the show as whole was projecting, for a couple of companies to still use scantily-clad young women to promote machinery doesn’t really fit anymore. The industry has moved on.
But those thoughts aside, genuine congratulations to the IOG, the exhibition organisers and the exhibitors for putting on a fantastic couple of days. Roll on next year!
