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CROSSHIRE: SHOW OF SUCCESS To those who read this page first I would say, “Wasn’t it a great Show?” To those who have ploughed through pages of Show news already I would ask, “Don’t you agree it was worth it?” On many fronts, the Executive Hire Show was a winner. Crosshire’s arm-twisting on your behalf paid off: I counted 81 hirers eating breakfast, or queuing in anticipation, by 8.10am on the first morning! Many were still hard at it over 12 hours later at the Executive Hire Party! By lunchtime on the first day, the aisles were busy and it was pleasing to see so many independent hirers from all parts of the country, including Ireland. The last time I saw so many serious hire buyers from the British Isles in one place was at an ARA show several years ago! That comment alone illustrates how barren local venues have been in recent years. Many of you came to buy but it was the fact that so many hirers were in buoyant mood that really mattered. Their optimism suggests a good year ahead. The most staggering statistic concerning attendance (or in this case, lack of it) was that, although very nearly 1,800 individuals took the trouble to pre-register and apply for an entry badge in advance, nearly 700 of them did not turn up on either day of the Show! If they had weighed in with the 950-odd hire entrants who arrived on the first day, we really would have had queues in the aisles! I hope that many of them were genuinely too busy - further suggesting that our industry is moving forward. Of course, the large hire companies were out in force with their order pads, but, in addition, a number of exhibitors I spoke to remarked on how many new contacts they made with independents. On the stands we saw much innovation aimed at providing solutions to challenges posed by legislation on work at height, HAV and, coming up fast on the rails, noise. We all need to invest in the latest kit because our customers will demand it. The support of our two major industry associations was both practical and welcome - with the free beer for all courtesy of the HAE at the end of the first day hopefully setting a precedent for the future! The organisers are encouraging feedback to enable next year’s Show to be as meaningful as this, so do drop them a postcard, electronic or otherwise. If our industry is to capitalise on opportunities represented by the products at the Show, we must invest in our staff. Good people with practical experience are hard to find. You may recall my ex-employee, Young Arnold, left because family matters took him a great distance away. He found a similar job but his new employer put little value on his experience so Arnold left. He has now found his niche repairing agricultural machinery with a tractor dealer. When I spoke to him recently he said he was unlikely to come back into the hire game. We cannot afford to lose such people. Arnold learned the old way as an apprentice, taking knocks on the way. His writing was adequate for a job card and his nightly pursuits as a DJ meant he knew about electronic apparatus. But what really mattered was his affinity with heavy metal. Flashy training courses offering little real substance are producing ‘boil in the bag’ fitters, operating within narrow confines and starved of proper facilities. If we don’t act soon there will be no one left to train apprentices, once we realise we really do need them. Executive Hire News › Archives › March 2007 › Crosshire › Show of success
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