INDEPENDENT BUILDERS MERCHANTS HOLD RECORD-BREAKING SHOW

RECORD BREAKING

A record-breaking show for independent building merchants at the Ricoh Arena is confident of selling all its exhibition stands for 2016.

The National Merchant Buying Society (NMBS) Exhibition attracted its highest number of exhibitors and independent builders, timber, hardware, plumbing and heating merchants this year.

Exhibitors in the Jaguar Exhibition Hall rose from 240 in 2014 to 260 this year with delegates rising from 650 last year to 748 this year.

Colonel Tim Collins OBE, who is renowned for his role in the Iraq war, spoke about leadership, teamwork and motivation at a gala dinner held in the E.ON Lounge which attracted an increase in guests from 452 in 2014 to 530 in 2015.

Chris Hayward, managing director of the NMBS, said this year’s exhibition had exceeded their expectations.

“This is the second year we have held the NMBS Exhibition at the Ricoh Arena and the number of members who attended was higher than any of our previous shows,” he said.

“There is no doubt that our move to the Ricoh Arena two years ago has been a massive success with the number of stands increasing by 52 per cent and our visitor numbers rising by an amazing 46 per cent.

“We are now aiming to beat this year’s record of selling all our stands to our suppliers within two weeks when we go on sale. Confidence is high we will achieve that because this year we had a waiting list.

“Moving to the Ricoh Arena has helped the exhibition to grow because of a combination of factors.

“Its central location, easy access to the motorway network, on-site hotel, excellent car parking and an events team that is easy to work with have contributed to another successful NMBS Exhibition.”

Mark Jones, UK Sales Manager at British Lead Mills, said: “2014 was a good show for us and we took record number of orders on the day. This year exceeded all expectations and the number of orders taken not only beat last year’s record but exceeded the total number of orders taken in 2012, 2013 and 2014 put together.”

Caroline Lissaman, head of planning at the Ricoh Arena, said this was the key selling and buying event for the building industry.

“The aim of the show is to improve trading between members and suppliers and there were plenty of deals done on the day,” she said.

“We worked closely with Chris and his team to provide a show which the industry is proud to attend.

“Feedback has been extremely positive and we look forward to working on next year’s show to make it even better!”