Organisers of Timber Expo has announced the 2014 exhibition was the most successful in the event's four year history - with over 6,000 visitors attending the show.
Event Director, Loretta Sales said: "Timber Expo has grown year on year and this represents a 30% increase on the 2013 visitor numbers.
"There was a real buzz around the event which is now a truly international affair, with visitors travelling as far afield as Qatar, China, Ghana, Russia, Kuwait, India, Malaysia, Canada and New Zealand. Exhibitors came from over 30 countries to showcase innovations from across the globe.
"This is not purely a numbers game however, and attracting the right sort of visitors is crucial, so we are delighted to report an increase in architects, engineers, specifiers and contractors - many with live projects."
The Structural Timber Association (STA) had a high profile at the event and used Timber Expo as the launch platform for their new Structural Timber magazine. With an objective to engage and inform, the magazine features in-depth case studies, introductions to structural timber solutions and articles on, for example, ‘Closing the Performance Gap.'
Another feature of the event hailed a great success was the Timber Buyers & Specifiers Forum.
On behalf of TRADA, organisers of the seminar programme, Rupert Scott said: "The Timber Focus seminars featured over 50 renowned speakers from across the built environment. The format went down well with visitors and all chairmen have reported lively and engaging Q & A sessions because of the great content that was delivered by people who knew their subject well."
Judged by a panel of independent experts, media and industry partners - each year the Timber Expo Awards takes place at the event and this year's winners are:
- Eco Curves by Jagram - Award for Best Pre-Show Marketing
- Cellecta - Award for Best Shell Package Stand at Show
- SIG RoofSpace - Best Custom Built Stand at the Show.
The real test of an event's success is the re-bookings and the organisers of Timber Expo have reported that nearly 60% of exhibitors signed contracts at the show for the 2015 event, when it will be taking place at the NEC on October 6 and 7.
Nick Milestone, Managing Director of B & K Structures, the UK partner of the X-LAM Alliance said: "The Timber Buyers and Specifiers Forum at Timber Expo provides an excellent opportunity to meet with both existing and future client audiences in an effective and efficient setting.
"It's a fast track route to relationship building for innovation and project involvement that would be difficult to achieve in more general networking settings. This year we have met with several Architects, Engineers and Developers and discussed projects in the pipeline, large developments and live projects that are awaiting design input - for us it is an absolute vital constituent of the Timber Expo offering and we would recommend participation, wherever you sit within the supply chain."
