Member Article

Leading builders show agrees three-year deal at the Ricoh Arena

The largest UK show for Independent Builders, Plumbers, Hardware and Timber Merchants in the building industry will be staged at the Ricoh Arena for the next three years.

The National Merchant Buying Society (NMBS) Exhibition moved from The International Centre, Telford, where it had been based for a decade, to the West Midlands venue for the first time this April.

The 2014 show in the Jaguar Exhibition Hall at the Ricoh Arena led to a 20 per cent rise in visitor numbers and a total of 223 stands – an increase of 20 on the previous year – which includes all the major material brand suppliers to the construction industry.

Sam Hunt, events manager at the NMBS, said the success of this year’s show had led to signing a three-year deal with the Ricoh Arena.

“We decided to move the show to earlier in the year to coincide with our move to the Ricoh Arena and it proved to be a tremendous event from start to finish,” she said.

“The exhibition is a perfect showcase for our suppliers to launch new products and sell to our members, with a full range of products on show from bricks and tools to heating and plumbing services.

“It proved to be the biggest exhibition in our 51-year history and the feedback from exhibitors and visitors has been extremely positive.

“They loved the central location and having the show in one hall at the Ricoh Arena and this played a part in over 650 visitors attending which was a record for our show.

“The night before the exhibition, we held a gala dinner which was perfect for networking and since the venue has everything we need to continue to grow and build on our success, it made sense to agree a deal for the next three years.

“We are already working with the Ricoh Arena’s events team on the 2015 show because we want it to be even bigger and better!”

Chris Owen, senior events manager at the Ricoh Arena, said the date of the 2015 NMBS Exhibition had already been set – April 15.

“We are pleased to have played our part in the show exceeding the pre-show targets of NMBS with millions of pounds of orders being placed on the day,” he said.

“Independent merchants are a growing part of the building sector as the construction industry continues to show positive signs of recovery which underlines the need for companies to promote their products and services to their customers at the NMBS Exhibition.

“We are delighted to have secured the NMBS Exhibition for the next three years and to ensure this is a flagship event for the industry.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .