Increased visitor numbers, top level buyers, real business done and an unprecedented level of rebooking by exhibitors underlined Subcon's position as a leading event for the contract and subcontract manufacturing sector.
The show, which was held at the NEC Birmingham in June, attracted 7% more visitors on a like-for-like basis than when it was held alongside the MACH machine tool exhibition in 2010. It also benefited from crossover visitors from the Logistics Link Live and Tooling events, giving a total number of visitors that was 25% up on 2010.
In contrast to general engineering technology shows, the central focus of Subcon on subcontract manufacturing services meant that around 30% of visitors were from purchasing and supply chain departments – the key decision makers for strategic outsourcing projects.
The visitor profile was notable for the high level of supply chain professionals from blue chip manufacturers, such as Rolls-Royce, Siemens, Jaguar Land Rover, Mitsubishi, BAE Systems and GE. These were complemented by the design teams that have a major input into sourcing strategies for new contracts and the production professionals who are responsible for tactical subcontracting and special process sourcing.
In terms of seniority, 75% of visitors were of director or manager level and 50% were the ultimate decision makers on sourcing subcontract services. Over 25% were responsible for an overall spend on subcontracting in excess of £1million a year – with nearly 9% responsible for spends of over £5 million a year.
Exhibitors were suitably impressed with the levels of business done at the show:
David Lindsay, managing director of Laser Process, said: “It went very well. We have already had orders from the show – in fact we had one the day after it finished, which was totally unexpected.”
Jean-Yves Dzicki, business development manager of WEC group, added: “We were expecting Subcon to be a busy show this year, but the number of genuine enquiries we've collected went far beyond our expectations. We've had over 150 qualified leads split evenly between our machining, laser cutting, and fabrication divisions, a number of which are already looking really promising.”
According to the show organiser, 65% of re-bookable space is already taken for the 2012 event which takes place from 14-16 June 2012.
Subcon show
www.subconshow.co.uk
