GLEE machinery exhibitors at the NEC in September reported good quality visitors and busy stands across four halls.

Handy Distribution managing director Simon Belcher said: "The new layout was very good with easy avenues through furniture, garden products and machinery stands giving our central location plenty of access to visitors.

"We had good quality customers on the stand, made many good new contacts and did plenty of business."

They launched a new Webb 16-inch alloy deck rear roller mower at the show.

Hyundai head of sales John Rushby said: "While it was quiet on the Sunday the other two days really picked up and we developed some good new contacts with real quality visitors to the stand."

Barrus were out in force with a central stand promoting their Wolf Garten, Wilkinson Sword and Energiser brands.

Tim Hart, director of sales and marketing, said: "A central location put us in a good position to meet many new customers and we made a great many excellent contacts.
"It was very busy on the stand for the last two days of the show."

GLEE director Matthew Mein said the show had been "revitalised, refreshed and energised" and that they had received much positive feedback during three days of business activity.

"Going into this year's Glee we felt confident that the changes we had made would be right for the industry, but little did we know just how positive the response would be," said Matthew.
"Suppliers and retailers have been telling me just how successful they feel these changes have been.

"We've also seen a significant re-engagement between retailers and suppliers, with meetings, orders and leads far exceeding expectations for many."

"The quality of visitors this year has also been high, with top retailers - from garden centres, builders' merchants, multiple retailers, and DIY stores - sending large sales teams to the show to source the latest product innovations that the industry has to offer.

"We've no doubt that the future for Glee is looking bright, and hope that the industry continues to work in partnership with i2i and our supporting trade associations the HTA and GIMA, to strengthen our 2015 offering. It is an exciting time."

Geraldine Poulton, GIMA administrator, said: "This was a good year for our members at the show and they reported much business done with good quality visitors over the three days."