Since SALTEX 2017 took place at the NEC, Birmingham in November last year, a number of exhibitors are still generating business as a direct result of the show – re-affirming that the exhibition is the must-attend event for any company involved in the grounds care industry.
Fivesquared, a brand of Earlsmere, is a leading vibration management provider to the grounds care industry. After exhibiting at SALTEX 2017, the company reported a 15 percent increase in stand enquiries compared to the previous year with a number of significant leads coming from professional sports clubs, schools, universities and colleges.
The company now boasts a number of prestigious clients such as English Heritage, Southampton FC, Manchester United FC, Tottenham Hotspur FC, Manchester City FC, Wimbledon (The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club) and Merchant Taylors School – all of which were a direct result of exhibiting at SALTEX.
“Predominantly I would say that the majority of our overall business comes from exhibiting at the show,” says director Jeremy Hoyle.
“We have been exhibiting at SALTEX for about eight years now and since it moved to the NEC we have found a location that we are really happy with. In my opinion, you can’t just exhibit at a show like SALTEX the once and not return. You need to establish a presence year-on-year because that is when you see an upward increase in business.
“It is not just after the show that you see the results – business continues to come in throughout the year. In fact, we are still getting enquiries from people who visited our stand – literally on a weekly basis.”
SCH Supplies, specialists in attachments and accessories for garden tractors and ride on lawnmowers, reported that SALTEX 2017 significantly helped increase its European dealership network.
“SALTEX is very important to us because we don’t employ any outside sales representation,” says managing director Andrew Rodwell. “The event is our only vehicle for engaging with potential customers face to face while showcasing our products, which is enormously important.
“We already have numerous dealers in the UK but as a direct result of the 2017 show, we appointed several new dealers from Europe, which is a trend that we’d like to continue.
“SALTEX is usually the only show that we have a presence at. It provides a focal point for the company and allows us to consider the direction the industry is taking which in turn informs the decisions we make regarding the development of new machinery.”
Market-leading machinery manufacturer, Kubota UK, used last year’s SALTEX as the ideal platform to showcase its latest range of innovative and high-performance compact tractors and ride-on mowers.
“SALTEX is a great platform to showcase new solutions to groundsmen, greenkeepers, estate managers and turf professionals,” says Adrian Langmead, business development manager for Kubota UK’s Groundcare Division. “We had a fantastic time meeting with everyone to discuss our current and latest product ranges.”
The results of the SALTEX 2017 exhibitor survey is further testament to the success of the show with over 95 percent of SALTEX exhibitors’ generating new sales leads while 83 percent took direct orders on the show floor.
No doubt these statistics are a reflection of the growing trend in new exhibitors to this year’s show. Honda Engines and Honda UK, Case IH UK and ISEKI UK are just some of the newcomers in 2018.
David Withers, managing director at ISEKI UK, is certainly looking forward to exhibiting at SALTEX for the first time.
“As we continue to grow our ISEKI business in the UK we are always looking for relevant opportunities to meet with existing and potential customers to understand their needs and share the latest technologies that our product range has to offer. As such SALTEX offers us a great opportunity to meet a wide and diverse group of customers in one place. We look forward to seeing old friends and making new ones at the NEC later this year.”
Commenting on the growing trend of new exhibitors Charles Neale, event sales manager, says: “The show continues to grow and we are receiving new enquiries every week alongside existing exhibitors investing in bigger stands. Demand at this period in the sales cycle has never been higher.”
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