I’ve just returned from the World Travel Market, the leading global event for the travel trade. I’ve visited thousands of exhibition stands in my time but even I was impressed by the sheer scale of some of the stand concepts which I saw today. The ‘Greece’ stand for example was the largest stand I have seen at ExCeL in many years – it spread across the entire width of one hall!
The budgets involved with some of these stands is mind boggling… believe me I know… some of the people from the tourist boards (which shall remain nameless) told me! Similarly, I was surprised at how little some major tourist destinations were spending on their exhibition space! Lots of organisations are still relying on basic shell schemes.
Others had invested in huge recycled cardboard units with print on one side (more on this later). A great environmental statement perhaps but after 3 days of use it looked battered and bruised. The stand would literally have to be thrown in the bin after the show. In a world where corporate social responsibility is so important, I wonder if the true environmental impact of using disposable stands is being underestimated, even if they are manufactured from recycled materials.
The interesting thing for me as the MD of an exhibition services business, was the fact that many of the tourist boards simply didn’t realise how much money they could be saving by switching to a modular exhibition stands system like TRUSSwire. Made from a composite material with an aluminium core, TRUSSwire is extremely easy to transport around the world. It weighs very little and as a foldable gantry system it takes up very little space.
What’s more, because the quality of our printing techniques at 200m2 is so good, organisations can use the same promotional message time and time again. Show specific panels can also be produced using environmentally friendly inks to minimise the true impact on the environment.
As someone who is passionate about sustainability, the environmental impact of exhibition management is extremely important to me. If you would like to discuss ways you can save costs and minimise the impact of your exhibitions programme on the environment, please get in touch. I’d be delighted to share my experience with you in the hope that your programme can benefit in the longer term.
