Its stand carried a 50th golden theme to acknowledge this major milestone and the design and layout received compliments from all the visitors. TR paid extra attention to comfort and it was designed to have dedicated seating areas which facilitated more in-depth discussions face-to-face with customers, and on numerous occasions, the team were so busy that every seat was filled. The two large TV screens showcased how fasteners are made from wire through to the completed product, explaining the different processes including heat treatment and finishings. These videos were produced in-house for training purposes for both staff and customers and included animations illustrating where TR products are used. These created a lot of interest and are available in the media library on the TR website.
This show was very important to the whole TR team, who were keen to meet up with its 35 Master Distributors located throughout mainland Europe and thank them for their support in distributing its proprietary products including Hank Self-Clinch parts, Plastic and Rubber commodities and Fasteners for Plastic. There was interest shown too in TR’s recently expanded manufacturing site TR VIC in Italy.
Managing Brexit to ensure that there were no supply issues, necessitated opening a central warehouse hub in Verl, Germany. This is close to the TR Kuhlmann site, and TR Kuhlmann Managing Director, Peter Henning oversaw this successful project. He enhanced his Sales Team to manage the increased business and they continue to work with TR’s distributor team in the UK, which has long- term relationships with many of these Master Distributors.
To thank them for their support, and the growth that TR is seeing, it hosted a 50th dinner celebration for 50 people during one of the evenings. TR Board members attended and Adam John, European Distribution Sales Manager hosted the event. Adam said: “It was amazing to be able to meet so many of our Distributors in one place and to thank them personally. Some of the conversations over dinner really cemented future opportunities.”
Traditionally, this exhibition has been a distributor show and the team was very pleased to see high-profile OEMs attending, in particular from the automotive sector. TR had been extensively advertising the fact that it was attending and that certainly boosted the visits to the stand. It scanned more than 350 visitors who spent time with our teams, and it has already secured sizeable new business wins and forged new relationships.
Scott Mac Meekin, Interim CEO of Trifast and Dan Jack, Chief Operating Officer supported the team on the stand, and they had a number of high-profile meetings during the days with both vendors and customers. It proved to be an exceptionally great place to network which has not been possible during the last few years.
John Dick, Group Supply Chain Director, and his team had booked a conference room on the mezzanine, where they held 24 supplier meetings during the show proving to be a very productive and effective use of their time. John said: “This venue enabled us to have personal meetings with key vendors which proved to be very beneficial. This cut down what would have been many weeks of travel and cost to meet so many people. We will certainly be utilising this facility again.”
He went on to say: “As ever the exhibition was very well organised, and we are booking space for 2025. The exhibition staff were very supportive and visited us several times a day to ensure that we had everything that we needed. Glenda Roberts, Trifast Global Projects and Marketing Director; said “We had a very productive exhibition, and we were delighted with the quality of the footfall. It was good to be back and well worth the investment in time and money!”
