A show fit for the industry

Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell reflects on the first day of the FIT Show.

The first day of the FIT Show 2017 went swimmingly. The quickest route from our hotel was actually through a side door, which meant when I arrived in the morning I walked from the top left (if looking on a floorplan) to the bottom right, where the Glass Times bar is situated. It quickly hit me just how impressive it had become, with bigger stands and eye-catching products.

Telford was a great location for the show, except space eventually became limited. The NEC is, however, bigger and better connected, which probably helped with the reported 40% increase in first-day visitor numbers.

My day was packed. I’d had a dozen meetings planned throughout the day, but in between I was trying to catch the attention of others, watching product demonstrations, attending product launches, bumping into old friends in the aisles, and enjoying the endless hospitality.

BIG Tuesday, I felt, was also successful. The hall stayed open until 8pm, and alongside the exhibitor party on the Glass Times bar, other stands held their own parties. Have a look on our Twitter feed for an extraordinary brass band playing outside the Ultraframe stand.

In fact, @glasstimes is a good place to go throughout out the day – I’ll try to keep posting pictures and news where I can. Also follow #FITShow2017 for all the other news people are posting from the show.

If you are reading this, and have not yet visited the FIT Show, I would recommend a trip here tomorrow – I can’t imagine you will be disappointed, and there is a two-year break before the next one. As for me, well, more meetings planned, and then the Gala Dinner this evening, which promises to be a great night.

Finally, all of us at Glass Times have been sickened by the awful atrocities committed in our home town of Manchester on Monday night, and our thoughts and prayers go out to all those who have been affected.