Exhibitionists
As this year’s exhibition season is now ending it is very heartening to see that despite competition from other media, internet and so on, the physical exhibition remains an important marketing tool. Three of the exhibitions held this autumn, Recycled Waste Management (RWM), PPMA and BULKEX18 for Bulk Handling equipment providers and processors demonstrated the wide reach of our remit, from raw material production, via processing and manufacture, packaging and distribution through to final recycling and waste disposal. It is good to see that despite the confusing situation regarding our trading relationships with both Europe and the rest of the world, businesses are still looking at opportunities to grow and prosper. Many examples of this have been on show during the exhibition season. Some exhibitors report that while foot fall to some of the exhibitions has been a little lower this year, the volume and quality of enquiries has been better than in previous years. This seems to reflect a general feeling that engineers and purchasers with limited time tend to visit exhibitions with a particular project or purchase in mind rather than attending to see what is new in the industry.
In order to help and assist the solids handling industry gain knowledge and information SHAPA are holding a 1 day workshop titled An Introduction to Bulk Handling, the workshop is to be held at a major confectionary manufacturer in York and covers the whole of the solids handling process from primary material delivery and storage, through conveying, discharging, sieving, blending, mixing, quality packing, distribution and traceability. The course aims to help those who have little or no knowledge of the solids handling industry become familiar with the terms used and the processes involved. In order to explain the processes in more detail the course compares and contrasts a industrial factory to that of a domestic kitchen.
SHAPA is pleased to be an integral member of the IMechE Bulk Handling committee and we are also proud sponsors of the IMechE Bulk Handling award which this year was presented at the Bulkex18 conference and exhibition held in Nottingham on the 16th October to Alan Jackson who has been a major contributor the solids handling Industry for many years. At the start of December 2018 SHAPA will be launching the 2019 Solids Handling Industry Awards, whose categories include Innovation, Export, Individual and SHAPA company of the year. These awards are open to the whole of the solids handling industry not just SHAPA members and will be presented on the 8th May 2019 in the awards dinner to be held in the royal armouries Leeds.
Digital Marketing Workshop 2019
The date for the next Digital Marketing workshop has been announced as the 26th March 2019 at the East Midlands Hilton Hotel more details to follow.