Trophex announces record visitor numbers to 2014 event

The organisers of Trophex 2014 say it was an 'excellent show'. New areas were introduced including the Knowledge Centre and Industry Awareness Zone. The popular Trophex Awards returned to the show, with their own dedicated area where visitors were spoilt for choice with over 80 entries to choose from in 12 different categories. More than 100 companies exhibited at the event and visitor numbers were up by 33.4%.

The show saw the usual mix of regular and new exhibitors. All the major trophy wholesalers were present showing their new trophy collections and catalogues for the season ahead. These included Trendsetting Awards who had an amazing response to their trophies; in particular their bright and vibrant Phoenix and Phantom series and Colour Curve glass which is new for 2014. Trend was also delighted to win the ‘Best Service Award’ in the Trophex Awards for a second consecutive year. Glenway Products Ltd was showing an innovative range of awards including new designs in resin, medals and ribbons, glass and crystal and continental cups. Said Andrew Sharp, Managing Director at the company: “We have seen much increased traffic to the show this year and were running short of catalogues by the end of the first day!  Something seems to have changed in the industry; people are a lot more positive about the coming year which is really very reassuring.” The Charles Birch Group had a splendid show and were very positive; they praised the quality of the visitors. They were showing their usual range as well as a collection of new signs and gifts including new key rings, crystal, glass and engravable items. Another very happy exhibitor was Crystal Galleries Ltd. Managing Director, Jeremy Lowes, stated: “We had an unprecedented amount of interest in all of our products and services; it was one of the most successful Trophex shows that we have ever attended.”

As well as these usual players, this year the show also saw a number of new bespoke award companies which were very well received. Sculpture Designer; a cooperative of crystal workers who manufacture awards, trophies, desktop and presentation gifts made from glass, marble, basalt and granite were delighted they had participated, said Aidan Lundy, Managing Director at the company: “Our sincerest thanks to the team at Trophex 2014 for a great show and for all our new contacts and partners. We really enjoyed the exhibition and met some great people who share our interest in commissions, something special or something a little bit different.”  It was also the first time Created Trophies & Awards had exhibited at the show.  The company produces a unique range of bespoke awards made mainly from slate and then mixed with a variety of different materials including timber, acrylic, bronze or steel. Created received a fantastic response from visitors to the show and as they had such a great reaction to their products, the company has already re-booked for 2015!

A returning exhibitor to the show was Grafityp UK Ltd who was more than pleased with the quality and quantity of visitors. They saw visitors from all over the UK and Europe including Denmark, Poland and Holland. They had enquiries about everything on their stand which incorporated quite an impressive range of products. Staying with machines I-Sub Digital Ltd had a great couple of days. They had a good response to their products from people who were genuinely interested in moving their business forward and in particular received very good feedback to their latest Digi-Foil application on the Mimaki UJF desktop UV printer. This machine allows you to print onto any product up to 150mm thick and Digi-Foil means you can create traditional foil effects digitally with amazing results. HPC Lasers Ltd had such a busy day on the Sunday that Chris and Simon didn’t actually speak to each other until 2.30pm! Suppliers of LASERSCRIPT C02 laser engravers and cutters, the company brought machines to the show targeted towards smaller companies and more traditional engravers.

Trophex attracts a number of other sectors of the industry including personalisation. Ribbon Print â€" a leading supplier of personalised ribbon and nameplate printing systems and consumables had a fantastic show. Says Dominica Miller, Sales Manager at the company: “The industry is changing, people want to get into personalisation more. Visitors are quite enthusiastic about digital printing and are more knowledgeable about it â€" it’s good to see the trophy and personalisation industry coming together. Trophex is a great show with visitors in established businesses who know what they want.” Gateway 3D Ltd was showcasing their flexible and affordable solution for online personalisation and print management. It was the first time that they had introduced their products to this market. The response was excellent with visitors and exhibitors all seeing the massive potential for full end-to-end eCommerce website solutions for engraved, sublimated and printed personalised products as well as virtual sampling solutions to help increase trade orders. New projects are already underway as a result of Trophex 2014. First time exhibitors Flint and Flame made some fantastic new contacts over the two days and conducted some interesting business. Trophex is a different market for them, the company, who sell knives to the corporate gift market, participate in over 200 shows every year but had never actually done a show in the Pavilion, they loved the venue and thought it was a comfortable environment in which to conduct business. Said Steve Mould, Managing Director at the company: “This is the first time we have exhibited at Trophex and for us it’s been a very worthwhile experience on every level. We’ve made lots of contacts and sold a number of our products, it has also given us the opportunity to look for an engraving machine which will be very beneficial to our business. I would highly recommend exhibiting at Trophex â€" for other companies who aren’t sure: give Trophex a go you never know!”

Esther Rees from Safle in Wales has been visiting the show ever since she was a child as her Dad used to have a trophy and engraving business. She has since started up on her own so is still a regular visitor to the show. She came to the show this year to pick up the latest trophy catalogues and look for sheet materials. She also came specifically for the seminars and saw Gravograph and Delcam’s talks which she thoroughly enjoyed and found very useful. At the end of the day when reflecting on Trophex Esther said: “I am absolutely exhausted! The show has been very beneficial to me and my business. I came here today with specific things in mind to pick up and look out for but I have come away with so much more â€" I found the rubber stamps and ribbon printing of particular interest. The seminars were excellent; Gravograph mentioned in theirs that on their stand they had a cardboard aid (which visitors could pick up) which would assist people with choosing the right cutter for a job. This simple product will actually make a big difference to me in the day to day running of my business.”

New to the show this year was the Knowledge Centre and Industry Awareness Zone which proved very popular and was very successful. The Knowledge Centre consisted of companies including DecoNetwork, Corel Corporation, Gravograph, Sawgrass Europe, I-Sub Digital and Output Magazine. Visitors were able to approach these experts to ask for advice and support and they were only too happy to answer questions on anything our visitors needed help with. The Industry Awareness Zone saw a number of seminars take place over the course of the exhibition from companies including Sawgrass Europe, Output Magazine, Gravograph, Corel Corporation, Delcam Plc, Rowmark and Hybrid Services Ltd. The variety of topics which these companies covered proved very popular with visitors, with some visiting the show specifically to see these. 

Next year’s show takes place from 18th to 19th January 2015.