The second SALTEX at the Birmingham NEC closed its doors yesterday afternoon and probably the biggest compliment one could pay it is to say that it felt normal and that the show belonged there.

The show was bigger this year and it honestly had a very upbeat and optimistic atmosphere. It did seem to be working as organisers, exhibitors and visitors would like it to.

Well, the inside halls did. The outside area . . . not so much.

I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me if this experiment was quietly dropped for next year's edition. It was a tiny area and pretty well hidden. I didn't see any signposting for it within the main exhibition halls - and precious little in the atrium you had to walk through to get out to it. Once found, it could barely be described as a demonstration area. Nothing was really being cut or dug or chopped. It was more like some machines were parked up outside as opposed to being parked up inside.

I pity the poor reps who had to spend a couple of days stood outside in the cold November chill, but at least it stayed dry for them. When I went out there, despite the halls being very busy, there were very few visitors to keep these reps company.

I of course admire the IOG for responding to visitor feedback and trying something new this year, but it just feels like the NEC isn't geared up for this sort of thing. Hopefully now the show has established itself as an indoor exhibition, the organisers can be confident enough in its success to just leave it at that. I would suspect that feedback on this outside area this year will mostly be along the lines of 'thanks, but no thanks'.

But not to dwell on the slight negative, the show without a doubt felt buzzy and vibrant with business being carried out across the stands.

I spoke to many exhibitors and a common theme became apparent - the show in its new format is attracting a high calibre of visitor. It was, in the main, decision makers and purchasers who were coming through their stands, often in their droves. Windsor might have seen a greater volume of attendees in the past, but it was often used a day-out, tyre-kicking event for the whole team. Now it very much appears that it's the top guys from their place of work attending. Which is fabulous news for the companies who've paid to exhibit.

Also significantly, these quality visitors are now attending from across the country, not just the south-east. Its travel links really are a big tick in favour of the NEC (despite an accident on the motorway on day 2 which seemed to delay the halls filling up until about 11.30).

Dealers were also there in great numbers this year. This must have been helped in part by Hayter holding a couple of very well attended meetings where they were launching their new Harrier 41 Pro mowers. A number of manufacturers remarked to me how pleased they were with the number of dealers who had come by their stands.

In the next issue of Service Dealer magazine, we'll look at some of the new products launched at the show, but there did appear to be a great many innovations around the show which were catching visitor's eyes.

Thank you to everyone who came by the Service Dealer stand to say hi to the team. We received many great compliments about the mag and this Weekly Update. We very much appreciate all your comments and continued support.

Finally, I think that a big well done is most definitely in order to the IOG team for organising and establishing this new version of SALTEX. Next year it should feel even more like a normal, valued fixture in the calendar.