Clearview National July 2017 - Issue 188 | Page 66

FIT SHOW 2017
ANOTHER MOMENTOUS EVENT
» » After an extraordinary three days
at the National Exhibition Centre,
the 2017 FIT Show has been
hailed as another momentous
event in the series that first took
place just four years ago, with
exhibitors taking healthy numbers
of sales leads from visitors keen to
engage and explore the hundreds
of new products on show.
The organisers have revealed
that 9,935 unique visitors attended
this year’s FIT Show, a number
that rises to 13,285 when their
revisits were counted across the
three days of the event (multiple
daily entries are automatically
de-duplicated). This is an increase
of almost 17% (16.85%) more
unique visitors compared to the
previous FIT Show in 2016 (8502),
offering a massive boost of 62%
more visitors in just two events.
Daily numbers were Tuesday
– 4808; Wednesday 5136; and
Thursday 3341, figures that
reflected the subjective comments
of exhibitors at the show and
typical for many business-
to-business events, with the
middle day showing the highest
numbers.
This year saw a significant
presence of aluminium for the first
time at any fenestration industry
B2B event for more than three
decades as the surge in interest in
aluminium framing continues.
The majority of PVCu systems
producers were in attendance,
enjoying the wave of interest in
coloured and heritage framing.
The machinery suppliers were
also busy throughout as new
technology drove interest from
fabricators at all levels though
especially in seamless
welding.
Many exhibitors
were keen to stake
their place at the next
FIT Show, which was
confirmed as taking
place in two years’ time
on 21st, 22nd and 23rd May
2019. Almost half of the available
stand space for the next event
was contracted or reserved before
the doors closed, with this figure
expected to grow significantly
during the weeks following
this years show. A further 25%
increase in space that was
announced for 2019 represents a
doubling of the FIT Show in just
two events.
The FIT Show’s
Matthew Glover
commented: “As our
marketing campaigns emphasise,
the FIT Show is all about the
people and companies that
exhibit. Exhibitors have once
again worked hard to promote
the event and those efforts,
combined with the biggest FIT
Show campaign ever, succeeded
in boosting visitor numbers once
again.”
INNOVATIVE 76MM
WINDOW AND DOOR
SYSTEM LAUNCHED
» » KÖMMERLING used the FIT
Show as a platform to launch
their new, innovative six and
seven chambered, 76mm window
and door system, offering
unrivalled U-values, Passivhaus
levels of performance and other
technologies, with several PVCu/
aluminium hybrid options also on
display.
To the front of the stand an
impressive 6m x 2.5m lift and
slide PremiDoor 76, with the
pioneering proCoverTec surface
finish technology, showcased the
emerging sector for large span
patio doors and to add water and
dirt repellent properties to PVCu
profiles. A four-pane PremiLine Pro
with Secured by Design status was
also on show, which i s a patent
66 JUL 2 01 7
protected patio door system with
unrivalled security credentials,
thanks to the clever locking
mechanism at the interlock.
The third and final patio
door type product on display
was in the form of the world’s
first preview of PremiSlide, an
innovative flush fitting patio type
door with compression gaskets,
unrivalled weather performance
and ‘soft close’ technology.
The FIT Show also saw the
emergence of PVCu/aluminium
hybrid systems, something
KÖMMERLING has championed
in several European markets
in recent years, with System
76 French doors on show, one
with proCoverTec and the other
an Irish Oak/AluClip Pro hybrid
option with a flush exterior, both
offering a unique tilt option.
A slide, swing and fold
PremiFold 70 door set was also
on show along with several
System 76 and C70/O70 Gold®
cross sections, on what was
a very busy stand throughout
the show. Visitors included
existing customers in the form of
both fabricators and installers,
along with several high profile
commercial specifiers. Finally,
the new KÖMMERLING Pergola
formed part of the reception
area on the stand, a product for
the outdoor living sector with
opening louvres, integrated spot
lights and mood lighting.
Kevin Warner, head of sales
and marketing for KÖMMERLING
concluded: “The FIT Show was a
resounding success for us and the
response from our new product
innovations was somewhat
overwhelming. We’re equipping
our customers with unique glazing
solutions, harnessing surface
finishing and hybrid technologies
and offering a new 76mm platform
with immense performance
characteristics.”
www.kommerling.co.uk