SALTEX, Europe’s largest free sports turf, amenities, and landscaping trade exhibition, proves Britain’s exhibition scene is back to pre-Covid levels with international exhibitors and visitors from over 40 countries now signed up to attend.
Such overwhelming overseas support with 12 weeks to go before the show opens its doors on 2 November shows the strength of this event, now in its 76th year, and it’s a great indication that Britain is back to being fully open for business as exhibitors and visitors travel to the event from as far afield as Australia.
But what is it about SALTEX that is generating such international interest? Francesco Dotto, president of GrAssMed, the Mediterranean Groundsman Association, tweeted: “[SALTEX] is the most important green fair in Europe, for real professionals, but also for those who to approach sustainable and serious green.”
He refers to, of course, the show’s focus on sustainability and the environment, key topics at this year’s show featuring prominently in the Learning LIVE seminars, with the show bringing together the best in the business from around the world and the most effective products and innovations to help tackle current issues.
This is certainly a view shared by SGL, manufacturers of grass growth products such as grow lighting systems and data monitoring tools, based in The Netherlands – and just one of many international businesses exhibiting at this year’s show. Derk Pelle, content marketeer at SGL, confirms the reason they attend is because “SALTEX is an inspiring, international event where turf professionals come together to exchange knowledge and learn about the latest innovations in the industry and engage with turf professionals face-to-face.”
Matthew Williams, national account manager UK and Ireland at Compo-Expert, said: “European visitors come to SALTEX because they recognise it as the best golf and groundsmanship event in Europe.”
The International Greenkeepers Association will again have a presence at SALTEX with members from around the world registering to visit. Among these is Daryl Davidson, head groundsman at Sydney University, who is excited to be making the journey: “This is a great opportunity to catch up with a heap of new and old friends from our great industry,” it was he says, “an easy decision to jump on board”.
And it’s not just international exhibitors who are signed up for the show, overseas visitors’ enthusiasm for SALTEX is at an all-time high too. Geoff Webb, CEO of the Grounds Management Association, says: “There promises to be a diverse visitor profile this year, we know there are visitors from over 26 countries already. We had a good show last year with our post-show visitor survey, showing that 83 percent of attendees rated SALTEX 2021 overall as excellent, very good or good, and 67 percent of those saying they attended specifically to purchase new products or services, and 84 percent either had full purchasing responsibility or contributed to the process. These are great stats, but we knew that it was post pandemic and people were longing to get out and meet up again but to continue this momentum is really encouraging.”
For visitors keen to confirm their attendance at this show which is promising to be its biggest and best yet, find out more about SALTEX 2022 and register online at www.saltex.org.uk
