The combined Traffex, Parkex and Street Design 2009 exhibition closes a success

Traffex 2009, the 24th international traffic engineering, road safety and highway maintenance exhibition, Parkex; Europe’s largest dedicated parking exhibition and Street Design; a new event for urban design in the public realm, all took place at the NEC Birmingham from 21st - 23rd April 2009.

The combined events proved to be a great success with over 450 exhibitors taking part and 12,200 visitors attending over the three open days. Particularly pleasing was the high turnout from the government sector with visitors representing over 90% of local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales. There was also a strong international presence this year making up 12% of attendees, from over 30 countries.

Against current industry trends, visitors came with clear spending priorities and objectives with 11% of visitors controlling budgets between £1m- 5m per year and a further 10% of visitors responsible for annual expenditure in excess of £5m per year.  The attendance exceeded the organiser’s expectations, especially considering the current economic climate.

Bill Butler, Event Director, commented: “The three events have been integrated into one hall to deliver innovative showcases from both UK and International companies. We were very pleased to see the industry rising to the challenge of the recession and becoming increasingly proactive in both the public and private sector. It proves that there is business to be done even in these testing times.”

Peter Preston, Head of Communications, Mobility Division, Siemens, said: “The numbers of visitors at some of the trade events we’ve been to this year were down considerably, but not here at Traffex. We’ve had a high number of extremely good quality visitors and it was the perfect platform to showcase our latest products.” 

Simon Bailey, Director, CSB, comments: “As fist time visitors we didn’t know what to expect and it was great. We’ve received a lot of enquiries and confirmed a job starting the week after the show. We will definitely come back to the next event.”

David Lloyd, Marketing Manager, Parkeon, comments: “The show was busy, which is great. It was a worthwhile investment and we are glad we came along. We will definitely be back next year.”

Road Safety was very much at the heart of Traffex this year. The event was opened with a keynote address from Paul Clarke, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, who thanked the traffic management industry for its part in a huge reduction of the number of people killed or seriously injured on British roads and announced the government would now be focusing on improving the road safety of certain groups, including children and young people who are over-represented in the casualty statistics.
 
Popular attractions at the exhibitions included the Passive Safety Zone which featured real cars that had been tested with both non-passive and passively safe products as well a special crash sledge which allowed visitors the opportunity to experience a simulated crash at 5mph. The Ultrascape Challenge, where leading contractors were challenged with laying a mini street in a set time; The Street, an animated urban highway designed with public space in mind, featuring products in-situ from various exhibitors and The Seminar Theatres which featured numerous sessions covering topical issues such as road safety, casualty reduction, the future of speed enforcement, hospital parking, traffic enforcement across national borders green infrastructure and energy efficiency.

The next combined Traffex, Parkex and Street Design event will be held at Hall 5, NEC Birmingham, 3rd – 5th May 2011.

-Ends-

For more information contact Nika Dohoczky or Charlotte Read at Complete Media Group
020 7420 3550
nika@completemediagroup.co.uk or charlotte@completemediagroup.co.uk

Notes to editor

Traffex is organised by Brintex (www.brintex.com), one of the largest independent exhibition and conference organisers in the UK, with over 40 years experience in organising trade fairs and exhibitions. Their current portfolio includes over 25 events, including Traffex, Parkex and Street Design.

Traffex (www.traffex.com) is the international traffic engineering, ITS (intelligent transport systems), road safety and highway maintenance exhibition, now in its 24th edition, supported by ITS United Kingdom and The Institution of Highways & Transportation.

Parkex (www.parkex.co.uk) is Europe’s largest dedicated parking exhibition, organised on behalf of the British Parking Association. For BPA press queries, please contact Alison Robb, WeberShandwick t:0131 556 6649 e:arobb@webershandwick.com

Street Design (www.streetdesignuk.com) is a visionary new event focused on conserving and enhancing the urban built environment, supported by the Landscape Institute, Institution of Lighting Engineers and The Highway Electrical Manufacturers and Suppliers Association.