End Of An Era Creates Momentum For New SALTEX
As 223 SALTEX (Sports Amenities Landscaping Trade Exhibition) exhibitors digested the news about the show’s exciting move to the Birmingham NEC next year, circa 7,500 (subject to audit) visited Windsor to satisfy their hunger for business.
As soon as the show opened Schiller Grounds Care UK announced that Northumberland-based horticultural specialists Greenlay had placed orders – opening the floodgates to a series of laudatory comments from exhibitors about how well their product launches had been received.
Austin Jarrett, managing director of Allett Mowers, said: “SALTEX was the perfect place to unveil our new professional RM 34 rotary mower and overall it was a very successful show for us with the highest number of enquiries taken for five years.”
Etesia UK’s Les Malin commented: “We received a number of excellent enquires from potential customers as well as new dealers wanting to take on our Green Technology products.”
According to Patrick Ripley, UK sales manager at Gianni Ferrari: “Our new machines, including the Turbo Diesel and the latest T4 mower collector, attracted a lot of interest and we had a number of good enquiries.”
Nick Hills, general manager Garden Machinery & Tools Division, at E P Barrus, added: “Once again SALTEX was an extremely successful show for us. We showcased our wide range of products including new technologies such as our Cub Cadet Zero Turn and Lawnkeeper Robotic Mower – both of which attracted a lot of attention.”
BLEC Global launched two new machines at the show and sold eight off the stand, with managing director Gary Mumby saying “it was a great show for us”. And David Jenkins, managing director of DJ Turfcare, confirmed a number of sales – of both the new Plugger PL415 pedestrian aerator and Bushranger Edger.
Dennis and SISIS reported a large number of enquiries from a range of potential new customers, while The Grass Group’s managing director Tim Merrell, commented: “It was a good show, as always, with purchase promises to add to the machines that were sold off the stand.”
It wasn’t just the thousands of products on show that appealed to the visiting groundscare fraternity – more than 400 delegates attended industry-focused panel debates, seminars and presentations.
These included the walk-in Ask the Expert turf care advice sessions – hosted by some of Europe’s leading grounds professionals and IOG Award winners – the inaugural IOG Young Groundsmen’s Conference and the debates on the Grounds and Natural Turf Improvement Programme, as well as the ever-popular Amenity Forum’s ‘question time’ session and the BIGGA-coordinated presentations for greenkeepers.
Back out on the showground, the good news continued from all exhibitor corners.
Rigby Taylor’s marketing director Richard Fry reported that the company’s stand was busy throughout the show, and the re-launch of its Preline semi-permanent linemarking paint and own-brand spreaders attracted a steady flow of visitors. The first order for the new spreaders was placed by Alan Ferguson for St. George’s Park.
Briggs & Stratton’s new Instart system “proved extremely popular”, and first-time exhibitor Back on-Track Mountain Bike Solutions showed its new Pumptracks solution for bikes, skateboards and micro-scooters. The company’s Steve Hunt said they had made some good contacts: “We’ve been speaking to people who we wouldn’t have otherwise met.”
Continuing this theme, Park Leisure’s managing director Paul Hoeningmann said there had been “a phenomenal response” to the launch of the company’s DJ booth.
Bomag, too, enjoyed a “very good show with good quality visitors from as far afield as Preston to the West Country looking to purchase”, according to the company’s Nick Bell. He added that the new Stoneguard vibrating plate had been “well received”.
Hook-up Solutions’ director Charles Sterling said there had been “a fabulous response” to the launch of the Hooka lift-and-carry unit.
Martin Lucas, sales director at GreenMech, commented: “As usual, SALTEX offered us a great shop window to a wide audience of customers. Our new Arborist 190 and ArbTrak 190 models certainly raised some interest with orders being placed for both models at the show.”
Clive Nottingham, managing director of Lloyds of Letchworth, summed up the show and its exciting future at the NEC in November 2015: “Good enquiries are what we want at a show and that is what we got. Plenty of interest, lots to follow up on both the Lloyds and Hunter grinders side.
“Lloyds will be at the NEC next year and despite a sense of sadness for the loss of Windsor, having attended every SALTEX to-date and seen many changes, we look forward to whatever the next phase will bring.”