17 Aug Gray & Adams on the road – Getting back to face-to-face events
As we slowly and surely move back to normality after two years of virtual meetings and online events, we are seeing a shift in the UK of industries moving back to meeting our peers face-to-face now that the majority of the population in the UK have been vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus. This shift allowed the Gray & Adams sales team to attend two shows in May, ITT Hub at Farnborough, and the Commercial Vehicle Show at the Birmingham NEC.
To get a feel for how the first events in two years were for the cold chain industry, we spoke to Doncaster Sales Director, Andrew Brown.
He tells us,
“ITT Hub was a fantastic show for Gray & Adams. It was the first time we had attended as an exhibitor and we made the decision to invest in the show this year as the TCS&D show, which we have traditionally supported, was hosting the Cold Chain Hub within the exhibition. It was a busy show which was really positive to see.”
“Strategically, ITT Hub was an important show for us as the ethos of the event aligns with Gray & Adams’ vision for innovation and sustainability across the cold chain sector. ITT Hub is the annual meeting place for the commercial road transport sector, bringing together the latest innovation and technology for the industry.”
With this sector set to revolutionise as the industry transitions to net zero, the need for collaboration, learning, networking, and experiencing is more potent than ever, this was something that Andrew reflected on during the show.
He tells us,
“The visitors to the Gray & Adams stand were key players within our customer base so we were delighted to catch up with them and show some of the innovations within our product range. In 2021, we launched the Vector eCool to UK roads in partnership with Carrier Transicold and we have completed orders for our key customers utilising this technology, so it was great to be able to show them off on the stand and have candid conversations of the environmental and commercial benefits that it has brought.”
“The road to net-zero was a huge topic of conversation at the event so it was interesting to get different perspectives on where businesses are in this journey and what the blockers are, if any, for fully implementing new technology.”
A couple of weeks later, the Gray & Adams team were present on the stand again for the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham.
Andrew shares,
“Committing to two shows within a couple of weeks of each other meant the month of May was incredibly busy for us but we had a fantastic time. The CV Show was not quite back to full capacity, but it was great to see some familiar faces.
“We also had the opportunity to meet with The Department for Transport while at the CV Show. The ministers were looking to understand some of the issues that our industry faces so it was great to have a conversation regarding how improvements can be made via legislation.
“The Commercial Vehicle Show had a footfall of 11,100 visitors this year which shows that there is no substitution for face-to-face events when it comes to connecting with customers and suppliers. We were very happy to get back!”