ADVERTORIAL
Quality
over
quantity
EN meets Anthony Smith,
sales director at Showlite, the
company passionate about
delivering on its promises, and
providing a world-class service
E
N meets Anthony Smith fresh from a
successful build at the International
Security Expo and International Disaster
Response Expo, two shows organised by
Nineteen Group and co-located at Olympia
London.
Smith is sales director at Showlite, a
company with its historic roots in electrics
but with a growing reputation for providing
a quality across the board as a full-service
provider. The company built the Nineteen
Events shows through the night due to a tight
turnaround between events at the venue, which
Smith says had its challenges.
“The problem you have with very tight builds
is that, like a stack of cards, it can go wrong
very quickly,” he explains. “You have to be
up on the game and get everything done that
you’ve said you’re going to do.
“That was a challenge, in terms of getting
everything set and ready for the exhibitors and
then servicing them when they arrived, but we
did achieve that. You’re only as good as your
last show. It was a big challenge, but it all went
to plan.”
Showlite has been undergoing significant
growth in recent years, establishing itself as a
high-quality full-service provider with a skilled
and professional workforce.
“As we got bigger and had more products,
our staff were very key,” continues Smith.
“There was a whole flood of people who were
looking to move out of their existing roles and
came on board with us.
“It’s a handpicked team of specialists to
bolt-on and deliver our shows. We were clear
from the outset that our whole growth would
be reliant on reputation. It’s a small industry
and if you don’t deliver then you’ll be in trouble
very quickly.”
Showlite has settled into a specific niche
within the industry, aiming to provide a true
partnership to organisers and to support and
encourage new launches and young shows.
37
Going green
“We give a lot of attention and help to take
a strain off an individual who has an idea
but doesn’t want to be worried about the
contracting side,” says Smith. “We heavily
support new organisers in terms of our
knowledge of venues, floorplan design, account
management and exhibitor customer service .
As they grow, we grow.
“It’s a complete partnership. They can tap
into our extensive knowledge of the industry.
“A lot of people talk the talk at the pitch and
don’t deliver. That’s not the Showlite way. If
you don’t deliver what you say at the beginning,
then people will question you. We deliver what
we say.
“We are selective about who we work with
and when we take the work on. We’re not
in a position where we have to take on more
and more work as during very busy times that
might compromise the service.”
Earlier this year, Showlite further expanded
its offering with Evolve, a series of turnkey
feature and custom build packages for
organisers and exhibitors. In addition to
adding another string to the company’s bow,
enabling it to provide an alternative to standard
shell scheme, the new department also allows
Showlite to take on a wider variety of shows
looking for more creative stand and feature
solutions.
For Showlite, sustainability is top of the
agenda and impacts on every stage of a show
cycle.
“We’ve made a heavy investment in LED
lighting. We recycle 100 per cent of the
carpet,” Smith explains. “With shell scheme
we try and recycle everything; it’s an ongoing
refurbishment programme. If metalwork is
damaged, and it’s beyond repair, it’s then
cut down into different sized poles. All the
FoamEx panels are reused as much as possible.
Because we’re predominantly using modular
structures the stock is continually either reused
or recycled.
“We also carefully plan transportation.
If we can share transport, whether that’s
stock or individuals, we will do that. That
includes contacting other contractors. There
are contractors near our office in Wales and
if we’ve got an empty lorry coming back from
Olympia London, for example, we may contact
other nearby companies.
“There’s very little waste, and it’s not just
about the environment but also cost; it’s in our
interest to reuse what we supply.”
In an industry like exhibitions, reputation
is everything. Showlite has managed to evolve
into a reputable and reliable full-service
provider by focusing on quality of product and
service above all else, and – despite the received
wisdom – good news travels fast.
exhibitionnews.co.uk | January 2019