Subcon 2017 - A Different Perspective

Passionate about sales management, marketing and my family. Why do I work here? I get a kick out of helping businesses to find new work. 
 

 

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Subcon is the UK’s largest show dedicated to showcasing the subcontract services available to manufacturing buyers. Qimtek were once again invited to be show partners this year and went all out to generate as much interest in our members from buyers visiting the show as physically possible.

We did this by hosting a pavilion for our members to exhibit all in one place - this was adjacent to the Qimtek Meet & Greet stand, where we would meet buyers and introduce them to our members. We also sponsored the prestigious VIP Buyer Lounge which is situated next to our pavilion, as well as hosting a two-hour networking event with over 200 engineering professionals in attendance - mainly UK-based manufacturing buyers.

We are extremely pleased to say that Subcon 2017 was a fantastic success for us and our members, scanning over 280 buyers with a spending power of £1.1billion on subcontract parts. This included buyers from some of the biggest manufacturers the UK has to offer - Dyson, Nissan, Jaguar Landrover, MoD, Cosworth & Ford, to name but a few. This is good news for all of our members, as we will now spend the next few months trying to generate projects from these companies, giving you a chance at securing their subcontract business!

In fact, we have already generated multiple projects from buyers we have met and I know a few of the guys who exhibited with us are already reporting success.

‘This year was a very productive one for us, as we had by far our best year in terms of leads,’ explains Richard Somers, from Redditch-based fabrication and machining specialists B Hepworth & Co Ltd. ‘We generated over 60 leads in total - the majority of which came through Qimtek.’ It was so successful in fact, that B Hepworth & Co Ltd have already booked their stand on our 2018 pavilion.

So, we know for sure that Subcon was beneficial for most of our members who exhibited (and not just the ones on our pavilion), but what about the buyers?  Well, we have just finished a survey with 88 of the buyers who came to the show and thought we would share the results.

80% said that they found a supplier that interested them and 68.5% visited the VIP Buyer Lounge. Why is this important? The VIP Buyer Lounge allowed Qimtek to grab purchasers as they came out of the venue and take the opportunity to introduce them to our members.

When asked what some of the buyers thought of the lounge, the responses consisted of:

  • ‘A good place to gather your thoughts and send messages to the people back at the office to let them know what's happening and the suppliers you're finding. Came back three times as it was nice and central.’
     
  • ‘Just popped in for a drink and a chat with my team about how the day is going and what our plans are whilst we were there. It was a nice place to gather everything together and have a drink.’
     
  • ‘Just had a drink, but it was a nice spot to relax and have a word with the Qimtek staff about our needs. They pointed me in the direction of some relevant suppliers, so I wasn't there that long.’
     
  • ‘Brilliant, great place for networking, as well as having a break. The food and hospitality were excellent.’
     
  • ‘Very good - a relief zone from the hustle and bustle. Hospitality was excellent.’

All good stuff really and what it tells me is that the buyers who came were largely serious about meeting new suppliers. The reports back from our members certainly confirm this and that makes us proud.

We already have one and a half pavilions filled for 2018 - an impressive result, as it took me until the very last week to just fill one pavilion for this year. We must be making a difference!

If you would like to exhibit with us at Subcon 2018 (June 5, 6 & 7th), please contact [email protected]