FOLLOWING the successful staging of the inaugural Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Show at the NEC last week, the exhibition organisers Faversham House Group have confirmed that it will become a regular biennial event in the industry's calendar.
Jan Thorpe, exhibition director, said: 'For a launch show, we were delighted with the support we received, both from exhibitors and visitors. It was a credit to the industry that over 100 exhibitors - from the UK and overseas - took space at the show, and that it was attended by so many high profile people with serious buying power.'
'The positive feedback we have received from exhibitors, both during and after the show, has confirmed the value and importance of the event. Among the 2773 visitors were some of the trade's most influential buyers, including representatives from Tesco, ASDA, Co-Op, Morrisons, Waitrose/John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Mace, Lidl, Caffè Nero, Landmark Hotels, Lloyds TSB, Britvic and Pub Spirit Group, to name a few. These are people with serious buying power, and they came to do business at the show.'
'In addition to new technology, a key draw was the outstanding seminar programmes which saw many presentations filled to capacity, with some sessions overflowing into the aisles.
'Although we didn't promote the show outside the UK, we also had a small but significant attendance from overseas visitors, around 5 per cent of the total, from countries as far flung as Russia, India, South Korea and Mauritius.
'As a result of the success of the event, we have confirmed that it will run again at the NEC in 2014. Many companies have already booked - quite a number with larger stands.
'Overall, given that this was a launch show - and in a challenging market, we are pleased with the result. It provides a solid foundation that we intend to build on when the show returns to the NEC in two year's time. We have plans to grow the exhibitor and visitor base to ensure it fulfils its potential. '