‘Uplift in exhibitors’

FIT Show has announced an “unprecedented” amount of support for its 2019 show, taking place at Birmingham’s NEC in May.

Organisers have reported an uplift in exhibitors with more space sold than the entire 2017 event already. The lineup includes more than 70 companies that are set to make their FIT Show debuts from countries including: UK, USA, Turkey, China, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Norway and Serbia.

Furthermore, pre-registration for the event is up by almost 600% with visitors planning their trip early.

Organisers have also announced a number of updates to its 2019 format, broadening the proposition to include a bigger focus on materials such as aluminium, timber and flat glass.

This includes the launch of Visit Glass, a dedicated area for flat glass products and processing technology and machinery.

FIT Show 2019 will see the introduction of a series of trails to help guide visitors around the show content which is most relevant for them. This include a new installer trail, new product trail and a Wood Window Alliance (WWA) backed timber trail.

A three-day learning programme is planned, which will be made up of CPD-approved seminar content, practical demonstrations, and a series of ‘business clinics’ with industry experts.

In a bid to help tackle the current skills gap, organisers have launched Skills Thursday, which will include content specifically designed to attract new talent into the fenestration industry. This is in partnership with a number of training and education providers, as well as Building Our Skills.

FIT Show event director Nickie West said: “While the UK is in the midst of one of the biggest political periods of uncertainty, one thing we can be sure of is that FIT Show 2019 is set to be the biggest and best yet. The fact that we’ve already surpassed the space sold for 2017 reinforces that our exhibitors understand the importance of trading through turbulent times, and investing in opportunities to get in front of new and existing customers via live events such as FIT Show.

“We believe that broadening our proposition to appeal to wider audiences – introducing new products and materials, as well as moving the show to the NEC to make it more accessible to companies from wider Europe and beyond – have all played a pivotal role in securing our success for 2019.”

The FIT Show has the support of a number of industry bodies, including Certass and CAB.

“We’re also working harder than ever to reach our installer audience through new channels such as trade counters, FIX Radio, On The Tools, and workwear providers to offer incentives that are already pulling this audience to the show, as reflected in the visitor pre-registration stats,” Nickie said.

The marketing campaign has a budget of over £600,000, and is projected reach four million people via channels including email, social media and key trade titles.