NEC<\/a> until 2020. However, Covid-19 hit, and the show ended up being postponed until 2020. OMS Lubritek committed to exhibit once again, but the event ended up becoming a defining moment in the company\u2019s story.<\/p>\n\u201cThat edition of Interplas was a nightmare,\u201d says Jamie. \u201cWe were working with a local company who produced our brochures and they built our stand for us. The night before the show, they put these pull-up banners in place with Velcro and, when we arrived the next morning, they were all on the floor. We had invested into a video demonstrating our new energy efficient hydraulic oil and the USB wouldn\u2019t work on the screen we had hired. We had to resort to running the video from the laptop with a HDMI cable trailing to the screen and it just looked awful.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a quiet few days at the show, Jamie and his colleagues came to a unanimous conclusion.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe agreed that, if we were going to do this again, we were going to do it properly,\u201d says Jamie. \u201cThe investment into a trade show isn\u2019t just the cost of a stand; it\u2019s hotels and time away from the business and, if it is worth doing, you have to have the right presence and branding\u201d<\/p>\n
OMS Lubritek sought the help of Smart Display and, a few CAD designs later, the brand\u2019s new stand was taking shape. Standing four metres high in the brand\u2019s signature red, black and yellow, the structure seamlessly incorporated two TV screens and barrel-style seating, reminiscent of the brand\u2019s core product.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole process was fantastic,\u201d says Jamie. \u201cIt helped being local because we could pop in and sit next to the designers while they worked. I gave them my budget and we put the initial design together, tweaking various elements along the way. I deliberated over having our logo in lights, which I didn\u2019t go for in the end because of our budget restrictions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bespoke approach meant that Jamie and his fellow directors could get back to their business, safe in the knowledge that their stand was being taken care of.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best thing was getting to the show the day before it opened and, instead of fighting our way through pallets and teething troubles, the stand was just there,\u201d says Jamie. \u201cIt looked fantastic. It was everything I had envisaged. The videos worked, there were no wires \u2013 it was just so much more professional.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reassured that the stand was good to go, Jamie and his team prepared for the three days ahead at the plastic industry\u2019s premier trade event. Having invested a lot more into their stand than their previous shell scheme, they were relying on the new structure attracting the business they needed to justify the cost.<\/p>\n
Less than a month on, all three directors are still busy following up on the leads they made at Interplas 2023. So did the investment into a bespoke stand build pay off?<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely,\u201d says Jamie. \u201cThe bespoke stand attracted one million per cent more people that we would have had with our previous shell scheme. Interplas is a vibrant show with machines running and robots spinning around, but I really felt that we had a presence. And more importantly, we had a much better presence than our competitors.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think what really struck me was that we were in the same square metreage and the same position as we were last time around, but it just looked so different. If I was in a competitor\u2019s shoes looking at our stand, I would have felt envious. The quality of the leads and the potential business that we secured means that the stand has already paid for itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now as the team at OMS Lubritek catches up with its new business and new accounts, Jamie\u2019s thoughts are already turning to Interplas 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve already booked in for next time and we will be doing it with Smart Display,\u201d he says. \u201cBut this time, I am having our logo in lights.\u201d<\/p>\n
Do you want to see how we can take your brand to the next level? Even if you have already booked a shell scheme, we can arrange with your show organiser to adapt this to space only. Get in touch and start the next chapter of your business.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1518,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nOiling the wheels | Smart Display<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n