The event was an exhibition by several of the major Trade Distributors along with a host of manufacturers, at the same time there were a number of Seminar and discussion groups also taking place.
The whole event was quite a major undertaking as a first time for the techfortech’ers (jumping in at the deep end as it were), the primary movers being Jenni and Phil Griffiths, who are well known in both the industry and their local Chesterfield area. The event had been a couple of years in the planning, as due to the Pandemic it could not have happened over the last two years, and many of the established event operators are only just dipping their toes in the water to see if there is demand for such events
We were very impressed by the number of exhibitors and also the large attendance that kept all the stands busy during most of the day. We talked to many of the exhibitors and learnt stuff we hadn’t previously known, as well as finding potential new suppliers and products which may prove successful for us in the future.
There were of course “niggles”, and things that we are sure will be improved next time, many to do with probably just needing a bigger stadium, (Wembley here we come?), no seriously Sheffield seems a great location.
It is unusual for a “first time” to be this successful and snag free, and the organisers had great assistance from the Sheffield United staff, and the sponsors that helped fund the event, particularly CMS Peripherals, AeroCool who were the main sponsors, but we would like to thank NZXT for the food and particularly Tenda for the beer!
We hope the next show manages a bigger venue, and that more sponsors, including Spire, VIP, who were present, and perhaps Northamber, Ci Distribution, Exertis, Tech Data and Ingram (who weren’t), could step up to the plate, and not only help financially, but push these events to their customers.
We did not learn of this event from any distributor, including Target for whom this was almost a “home game”, come on guys this is a way to compete and gain custom.
We did meet several new potential suppliers so from a business viewpoint a profitable outing, so watch this spot for more news soon….
