Executive Hire News › Archives › October 2009 › Forum : "Overwhelming support" for 2010 Show
Forum : "Overwhelming support" for 2010 Show
In this year’s post-Executive Hire Show analysis, in our March issue, we commented “we are immensely proud to have brought our industry together at a time it needed a boost,” adding “there are number of tough challenges to be faced before we all meet again.”
In response to our industry’s changed, and continually changing, landscape, we retrenched in the spring to our day job of maintaining EHN’s monthly publishing frequency in the face of greatly reduced advertising revenue. We are proud to report that we have not missed an issue at a time when three other magazines have either ceased trading altogether, suspended publishing until the New Year, or are now producing their title every other month.
At SED in mid-May, we made our first tentative move to gauge the interest for a Show in February 2010. Buoyed by the positive feedback of exhibitors, our first key move was to put the organising team back in place. We then set out on a three month summer tour to visit more than 60 exhibitors to assess their interest in exhibiting again. Our simple strategy was to listen, be consultative, and take in the feedback that was so willingly given.
Our ‘Taking Our Industry’s Pulse’ series of articles continues to monitor how hirers and suppliers are responding to this challenging economic environment. Check out this month’s line-up of hirers that exhibited at Saltex on pages 12 and 13. During the summer, we even found time to validate the 138 post-Show interviews carried out in February. The over-riding aspect that really struck us was that ALL of the hirers we contacted are still gainfully employed within their companies. From our discussions, it is obvious that there is a real desire for the Show to succeed as it is considered a ‘must’ for our industry.
Encouraged by this positive feedback, and with our confidence growing, we wanted to test ourselves and measure how far we’d come. We hosted a special ‘summit’ of eleven leading exhibitors, industry associations and hirers – the G11 – and, in a lively and thought-provoking discussion, the group issued the following statement:
"The G11 overwhelmingly agrees to support the 2010 Executive Hire Show. It is the most important exhibition serving our industry. The main focus continues to be to attract as many passionate hirers as possible, and hire companies will also be encouraged to invite appropriate end users to attend the event."
Since the G11 ‘summit’ and the Kick Off Meeting for the 2010 Show, held in mid-September, the Show is readily gaining momentum. A number of significant new brands will be exhibiting for the first time, including Tower Light, GreenMech, Harrington Generators and Digga Europe, to name but a few. Several more exhibitors including Red Band, Briggs & Stratton, Seddons, Stihl and Ammann have each substantially increased their
stand size.
Belle, one of the longest serving suppliers to our industry, is also returning to the Show in February. MD Ray Neilson, states "we are extremely pleased to be taking a larger stand than ever before at this vital exhibition, to launch the increased range of products that are now available following Belle’s acquisition by Altrad earlier in the year.”
When we set out in May, we needed to be sure that our industry wanted the Executive Hire Show. We are now sure. Exhibitors and hirers alike have told us that they want this Show to succeed. Click on www.executivehireshow.com for the latest floor plan to see which of your suppliers will be exhibiting at the Show. If you don’t see the name of one of your preferred suppliers on this plan, tell that supplier to get in touch with us.
Thank you for your support. We look forward to seeing you at the Show on Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 February 2010 at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, when we will bring our industry back together once again. |
