The new Timber Zone made quite a splash at the Interbuild exhibition last April. The dedicated area for timber and wood products attracted around 40 exhibitors, with a constant programme of presentations by TRADA acting as an added draw for visitors.
The launch of the initiative reflected growing interest in wood and timber construction in the UK building sector and, perhaps, growing awareness in the timber sector of the need for higher profile marketing and promotion. And clearly the experiment proved a success, with the organisers planning to give the Zone even greater impact at Interbuild in its new October slot this year.
The show’s event director Gordon Thomas is a dyed in the wool exhibition professional. He staged his first – “Fishing ’86” – 20 years ago and since then has clocked up 40 in the UK and Ireland covering a gamut of industries, from chemicals, mechanical engineering and printing, to gardening and commercial doors and windows. “Business-to-business trade exhibitions are where my heart lies,” he said.
Regarded as an authority on what makes a trade show tick, he clearly feels they need to evolve to reflect changes in the markets and businesses they serve, which is obviously why the timber industry now figures so prominently on the Interbuild radar.
“Timber is such a critical building material – from structural to decorative components,” he said. “It is important that all components and segments of the building industry are able to interface with it at the show.”
He added that Interbuild is also reflecting a growing interest in timber and related products triggered by new market drivers. “Energy concerns and affordable housing issues, coupled with changes to Building Regulations and codes are the biggest external factors and clearly driving product development,” he said.
This November, he added, the Timber Zone will be very much a central feature of the show.
“We are partnering with TRADA for the third year running; and, with their support, we will be again looking to attract visitors from across the entire wood supply chain, from producers, merchants and manufacturers, to architects, engineers and end users. Together, our aims are to provide visitors with the highest quality information on timber and wood products to enable them to maximise the material’s benefits,” said Mr Thomas.
With this in mind, he is encouraging exhibitors to use Interbuild for product debuts. “Launches are the lifeblood of any exhibition, so we want to encourage as many new products as possible,” he said. “Visitors to the Timber Zone will experience a cross-section experience of all that is happening in the industry. There will be models, full-scale applications, advice, and seminars as well as personal guided tours which remain popular with overseas visitors.”
The Zone will additionally have a central hospitality area where clients and customers can meet.
“We figured, when you have 18 of the UK’s top housebuilders and seven of the UK’s top architectural practices among the visitors, you need somewhere to be social.”
There will also be further developments in the wider Interbuild format this year to make the event still more relevant to exhibitors and visitors. Of course, one of the biggest changes is the switch to the October 28-November 1 timing and the change in frequency from biennial to annual – both responses to market feedback.
“Customers told us that this would be the best time to suit the buying audience and much better for sourcing new products and services,” said Mr Thomas.
In another major change, the layout of the show has been redesigned and the event moved to the NEC’s biggest halls, 3, 3a, 4 and 5. “This will help us to make better use of space, and help halls link to ensure that visitors can navigate the show in a logical way,” said Mr Thomas.
Interbuild also has a “network of international agents” promoting the event abroad, with the consequence being an increasing number of overseas visitors, as well as exhibitors, and the development of the event into an increasingly significant export showcase.
With all these developments under way, Mr Thomas stresses Interbuild is not about to become over-complex. “We’ve found by listening hard to the market that the best trade exhibitions are the ones that are able to understand the complexities and respond by delivering a simple and logical format,” he said. “To keep it simple, you need to understand your audience’s true wants and needs, which goes beyond mapping out the supply chain and buying in stats on latest buying behaviour.”
Clearly Interbuild is confident that the timber industry and its customers are among the audiences it understands – and it turns out its links with the sector go beyond the launch of the Timber Zone and, before that, a long history of attracting wood suppliers and buyers as visitors and exhibitors. It turns out one of Mr Thomas’ first jobs was selling classified advertising in TTJ!
