For the first time in more than two years, the halls of the NEC hummed with the energy of road transport businesses enjoying three full days of face-to-face engagement at the 2021 Commercial Vehicle Show.
From the moment doors opened on Tuesday until they closed again on Thursday, visitors to the Show made the most of the opportunity to explore everything on offer.
As always, the Commercial Vehicle Show provided a fascinating view into the present and future of the road transport industry. From security to telematics, workshop safety, logistics and many more sectors, the show floors were filled with innovative solutions for small, medium and large businesses.
The clunk of doors and bonnets echoed up and down the halls as potential customers crawled over, under and through all of the latest vehicles on display. Meanwhile, the two live theatres were busy across all three days as visitors listened to a variety of expert presentations on different aspects of the industry.
Murray Ellis, Show Director, comments: “Last week marked the eagerly awaited return of the Commercial Vehicle Show. Throughout the three days, the Show presented an unrivalled opportunity for live networking, face-to-face business and new product launches from leading brands.
“The atmosphere had been building for some time and the Show did not disappoint. Confidence remains high as the event is seen as the ‘go-to’ for everyone working in road transport operations, logistics and distribution-based businesses. Here’s to 2022.”
The consensus from Show exhibitors, both large and small, was that the quality of engagements was higher than ever, with visitors keen to learn more about the latest developments in the sector. Here’s just a snapshot:
Sharon Bates, Events Manager for LEVC: “We’ve been particularly busy over the last three days. We had a really good level of footfall. It was our first time at the CV Show and we had quite a lot of interest from all different types of visitors. The engagement has been great and we’ve been able to properly communicate with the van community for the first time.”
Mark Walmsley, Sales Manager, Advanced Systems Group: “We were delighted to be back and meeting our customers, and talking through the solutions we offer with potential new clients. The Show had a great energy and always attracts a quality audience, as a result we now have plenty of exciting leads to follow up.”
Mark Barrett, General Manager for Maxus: “It’s been brilliant. Very, very good. Our dealers are happy and smiling to be talking to potential customers.”
Sue Akam, Marketing Manager at Locks4Vans: “It’s been absolutely great. We’ve been able to catch up with existing customers, talk to new customers and find out what they’re interested in. The quality of conversations and the networking we’ve been able to do has been very good. It’s been a great opportunity for us to showcase our solutions for electric vehicles and show our customers how they work.”
Sean O’Brien, SmartWitness: “It’s been a fantastic experience. A lot of our emphasis this year was education around our new products, and we met some big companies who have been interested.”
Debbie Warne, Events Manager at Isuzu UK: “We’ve had a really successful few days at the Show. It’s the first chance for people to see our new models and we’ve had lots of positive feedback. We also had an off-road course and it’s really great to be able to offer that to our customers, which they don’t get at most shows.”
While the Show may be over for 2021, the Commercial Vehicle Show team is already busily getting preparations underway for 2022. Exhibitors have already been applying for next year’s Show in May.
The 2022 Commercial Vehicle Show will take place on 24 – 26 May 2022 at the NEC in Birmingham. Applications for floor space are now open, with exhibitors who submit their application by 30 September benefiting from 2021 rates for Space Only and Shell Scheme stands.
