IMHX organisers Quartz Publishing and Exhibitions Ltd shows change

Quartz Publishing & Exhibitions Ltd, organiser of the International Materials Handling Exhibition (IMHX), has announced that – in response to exhibitor requests – the show’s dates have moved from March to November next year.

Some weeks ago, a number of the major exhibitors at IMHX 2010 advised the organisers that, given the economic climate, they had reservations about exhibiting at a show in March 2010 and suggested that the show be moved to later in the year. After negotiations with the show’s venue, the NEC in Birmingham, Quartz managed to secure the option of an alternative tenancy in November.

Explains Quartz’s Managing Director, Paul Michael, "We firmly believed that the decision to move the exhibition to a new date should be an industry one and not one imposed by the organisers. Consequently, all the exhibitors were asked to vote for one date or the other, and the overwhelming number voted for the November option."

The exhibitors’ decision is clearly a response to the current state of the economy and Quartz believes that the new date for IMHX 2010 offers exhibitors and potential exhibitors real advantages. Says Paul Michael, "We are convinced that this eight-month ‘breather’ will place the event at a more favourable point in the economic cycle, at a time when the economy is anticipated by most indicators to be in recovery mode. Exhibitors will therefore benefit from attending the event at a time when buyers and specifiers are active again. In addition, the new date offers them the chance to spread the cost of exhibiting into the following financial year."

The confirmed new calendar position for IMHX 2010 is 16th – 19th November 2010. The format of the event will remain unchanged and – with a large percentage of stand space already sold – the materials handling industry has indicated it still has a strong appetite to participate in significant international trade fairs.

The exhibits at IMHX 2010 will feature not only materials handling equipment but also health and safety systems; software solutions; racking and shelving; storage systems; pallets and palletising equipment; property; recruitment and training services; third party logistics; transport and distribution; flooring; packaging; handling system design; financial services; and warehousing.