Well, that’s it, day three of the FIT Show has concluded and I can say that there are a lot of very tired, worn out and exhausted exhibitors and visitors. It’s been one hell of a week. So before I put my big review of the whole show up on Monday, I would like to take a quick look back at day 3 and the things that caught my eye.

A quiet-ish day

Wednesday was rammed. No doubt about it, easily the best day. But a Gala Dinner, hangovers and tired bodies and minds ensured that Thursday was a much more sedate affair. The stands were still busy with interested visitors though, and from speaking with quite a few of the companies on their stands throughout the day, lead levels have been higher than the previous events, which is obviously a good thing.

Those manning the stands appreciated the quieter day I suspect.

Tech

If there was one observation that hit me during Thursday was the amount of technology now involved in our industry. Be it Window Ware’s Libra Smart Cylinder, MACO’s facial recognition lock, Ultraframe’s amazing virtual reality showroom headsets. These innovations are exactly what is driving things forward in our industry.

Although the British public are still very used to opening and locking doors with a traditional handle an key, our daily lives around us are now dominated by the same technology that is now creeping into our sector. It will not be long before the public embraces things like smart cylinders on a large scale.

Meeting some Twitter friends

I was really pleased to get the chance to meet Homeseal Windows Yorkshire and Adept Home Improvements in person. It was great to put some faces to names. I can only apologise to them both however for being a bit quiet and distant. I was very tired and no amount of coffee was going to perk me up at 3:15pm. But, it was still very nice to meet them both in person!

It is only at these sorts of large scale industry gatherings that you get to do things like this. Twitter is a great way to communicate with others from the industry, but there is always something novel in meeting that person face to face after speaking with them online for so long.

Goodies and golf

I would like to thank Window Ware for my football! They gave me one at the start of the show, which was then given to Lee from MyTrade TV for his son. I managed to nab the very last one before the end of play, which I was chuffed about.

I also had a very terrible set of swings on the ERA golf driving simulator. I’ll stick to selling windows and blog writing instead!

The Liniar team treated me to their rather nice cupcakes towards the end of play today, which was very nice. I really enjoyed their company over the three days. We weren’t always talking about windows and doors, and Sue Davenport and myself had a really great conversation about the charms of New York, one of my all time favourite places in the world! Their gift bag had some good swag in it as well, so thanks guys!

Summary

For me, today was about getting to talk to the people I had not yet managed to catch five minutes with. During the first two days I got to see most of the stands and products I had my eyes on, today was more of a personal day.

The energy throughout the three days has been very positive, and I leave the show knowing where the industry is going and what lies in store over the coming few years. I’ll expand more on this on Monday’s mega review post – which I may split up into a series depending on how long it becomes!

I’d also like to end with a congratulations to Matthew Glover and the rest of the team for putting on an extremely well organised, positive, beneficial and exciting show, and one that was easily the biggest in a decade. It’s the NEC in Birmingham next time. A new home, with all the challenges and excitement that brings.

Stay tuned on Monday for the full review.

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