It’s been broadcast far and wide. The Woodmex timber processing technology show has been reinvented, revamped and rebranded as W6: Working with Wood.
Among the key figures behind all the developments and the high profile promotion is John Smith-Bodden – and chatting to him you soon pick up on his conviction that the new exhibition concept is right.
John is managing director of Huddlestone Ltd, specialist provider of executive services to trade associations. Among the company’s leading clients is the Woodworking Machinery Suppliers Association (WMSA) and John is their chief executive. The WMSA always owned Woodmex, but until the last show in 2004 it was managed by the venue, the NEC. The arrangement had worked well, but there was a feeling the time was right for change, both to reflect developments in wood technology and the way the wider timber industry was evolving. So an amicable deal was struck with the NEC and the WMSA, with Huddlestone, took control.
“Our aim was to put the show more in contact with the industry and to be able to plan a longer-term development strategy, “ said John.
Besides the support of the WMSA board, clearly what also fires his appetite for taking the exhibition down a new track is his confidence that he and the team at Huddlestone have the skills and experience for the task.
Early career
John began his career as a costing clerk for a building firm and, clearly a self-starter from an early age, trained as a chartered management accountant at evening class. This led to jobs in a range of industries, from engineering to textiles. Later he also took a post-graduate course with the Chartered Institute of Marketing. “Accountancy and marketing skills might be an unusual mix, but it’s proved a real advantage – not least in our work on W6,” he said.
John also worked for a time for Scottish Heritable Trust which sent him to the US to dispose of a group textile firm. “Then, strangely enough, given that one W6 feature is a Benfield ATT timber frame house, they asked me to manage a Texan timber frame company,” said John. “But I decided it was time to set up on my own.”
He launched Huddlestone in 1990 and the WMSA was among its first clients. It now has a team of 10, bringing together expertise in financial management and administration, marketing and PR. The client list has grown too, with the latest addition, the new British Wood Flooring Association, bringing us back to W6. “Our initial task is to raise awareness of the Association,” said John, “so it launches with a stand at the show.”
The presence of flooring suppliers ties in with the aim – while maintaining its Woodmex heritage as a technology showcase – of making W6 a wider ranging timber industry event. This also means having broader representation from the timber supply sector, with companies on the W6 “Timber Trail” including Arnold Laver, James Latham, John Boddy Timber and Willy Carpentier.
Giving W6 a still more all-embracing feel will be the elimination of boundaries between the technology and timber products section and the furniture components area – formerly the ASFI show. The latter, run by the Association of Suppliers to the Furniture Industry, was effectively a sister exhibition alongside Woodmex and, despite visitor ‘cross over’, it was apparent their relationship wasn’t working as well as it might. “For instance,” said John, “if you registered for Woodmex, parking was free. ASFI visitors had to pay!”
Now, he said, furniture component suppliers will exhibit under the new “Furnicom” banner, with ASFI still closely involved, but links with the rest of W6 will be seamless, with single registration and free parking for all.
Specifiers’ appeal
The inclusion of the Benfield ATT house, plus a TRADA seminar programme, highlights another W6 goal, to boost its appeal to specifiers, notably architects.
But while broadening its “constituency”, John stresses that W6 is not losing sight of its core market, the small- to medium-sized timber processors, joinery and furniture producers. “We’re still focused on enabling them to get as much out of the show as possible,” he said. “As part of this we’ve introduced our ‘learning zone’, featuring our apprentice competition, exhibits from colleges and information on training support for small businesses.”
Meanwhile, Huddlestone’s marketing focus is evident in its plan to create a “community” among show visitors. “Some events focus on getting exhibitors and assume visitors will follow,” said John, “We want them to feel part of the show and shape its future. So our website (www.W6exhibition.com) and newsletter will continue and we’re considering a 2007 event to maintain momentum to the next show – W8.”
At the time of going to press, W6 stand space was 85% booked, with strong visitor pre-registration. But John accepted that the run-up to the show would be hard work. In fact the only leisure activity he had time for was walking his energetic English pointer in the Derbyshire Peaks where he lives – perfect preparation for pounding what he is confident will be the busy corridors of W6.
