MIDLANDS MEX 2019

[BazParticipant @baz89810]

Went yesterday with a clubmate and had a very pleasant day, about 1:30 went into the downstairs tent catering and had lunch, standing room only, but not a problem. We both got all the bits and pieces we wanted, got some great help from Solder Connection and CuP Alloys, I agree with Ketan’s comment above that the organisers have done their bit, they certainly filled the place with punters, it’s down to stall holders to bring decent stuff and price it sensibility, then it will sell. There were some very good models on display, the Gatling gun springs to mind, the club stands were good, I cannot really find anything to complain about, left about 4:00 with a couple of bags of coal in the boot, thanks to Signal fuels being there. Will I go next year, yes

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

Posted by Nick Holden 1 on 19/10/2019 16:19:58:

Just back from a very enjoyable visit to the show met up with some old friends went in for a breakfast roll and surprised after reading above comments that i went straight up to the counter for my bacon and sausage roll and no problem getting some ware to sit also had a very pleasant visit to the Chester Machine Stand managed to get every thing that i was after new Lathe and bits and bobs all with a 10% discount along with free delivery so very pleased. All in all i thought that it was a very good show some very good engineering work on display

Nick

I often wonder what people expect when visiting a show and like Nick, who I spent twenty minutes with catching up on our lives, found the Exhibition far exceeded what had been written here in some posts, there was certainly no fog in the food and drink tent and the tea's my mate and I had were perfectly adequate, I didnt try the cooked food as I take my own for Diabetic reasons but I have in the past and its always the same trailers every year since I've been going.

I bought all the bits and pieces I was looking for and more, my mate and I arrived at 10:00 and the parking was quick and efficient and we joined a long queue which within minutes disapeared.

An excellent day out only mard by the car I'd borrowed from another friend, mine is sick, that suddenly kept suffering from fuel starvation but it got us home.

Martin P

[D.A.GodleyParticipant @d-a-godley]

Like many who have posted above , I really enjoyed this years Exhibition, which was contra to my expectations.

Due to an accident I had suffered a fortnight ago ,I travelled by Train to Leamington and used the shuttle bus to the show ground , it worked well and I was overly pleased that my OAP travel concession gave me a free ride , with the exception of the shuttle bus . I arrived at 11:30 and was astounded at how many cars were on the parking field , I can’t remember the last time , in many years , that I have seen it so full .

What really struck me is the rate at which we are loosing our regular and high quality traders , yes replacements of a sort are turning up , but they don’t hold a candle in many ways , to those we have lost .

I feel that we should , in fact aught to , support the hardcore traders, who essentially keep these shows on the go , particularly the likes of RDG , CUP , Chester , JB cutting College , Noggin ,Polly ,etc . We should , in my view support them with our business , as they support our show , Yes they are a business , but they are businesses that show the integrity to not turn their back on us for the sake of cost savings or profits .

Arc May write nice words , but having used the shows ,starting at Donnington , to establish themselves with us , shew nothing but contempt by expecting continued business from us while not being there for us at Exhibitions, this now goes for the likes of Chronos , Warco , EKP and several others .

i purchase as much as I can from businesses that support our Model Engineering Exhibitions , and only when they can’t supply me with what I want , i buy from other sources , and finally from those who have turned their Back on us , but that is a last resort move .

As far as the content of the show goes , I thought it was very good , in terms of the range , the quality and the chance to get up close if you needed . Like minded ,stand minders , were a mine of information and also a good chat , which increased the days pleasure and filled the odd moment or two , it was a surprisingly good day , and I look forward to the next show , London , I think ? .

[alan ord 2Participant @alanord2]

D. A. Godley, totally agree with you. If you have to buy over the net then why buy from UK suppliers. Just go direct to China. By the way don't give me all the bull about customer support from UK suppliers. Chinese suppliers offer very good customer support.

[Harry WilkesParticipant @harrywilkes58467]

Have been today like the last few years the show as gotten smaller but still had a good day, didn't buy anything other than coffee.

H

[OldironParticipant @oldiron]

The wife & I had a great day at the show today. Arrived just after 10am and walked straight up to the pay window no waiting at all. Toured all the models as usual. The variety was as good as ever with some new items not seen before. Had a good chat with some friends from the MSRVS and the chap demo'ing the 3D printing. Now the wife wants one so we can print some new keys to replace those odd ones missing from our vintage calculators.. The wife enjoyed a chat with the lovely lady doing some beautiful lace work whose husband was manning the Southern Federation of Model Engineering Societies stand. I always enjoy chatting to exhibitors about their displays.

Getting the egg & bacon baps and a seat was a breeze at 12 o'clock. I always enjoy the baps as they do not scrimp on the fillings unlike a lot of places.

Walked through the wet field (nothing changed there then &nbsp and enjoyed the live steam and demo's.

About 2 pm we started the walk around the trade stalls. A good variety as always some new and some not present this year but a good variety as usual. I allowed the wife to get me a few Xmas gifts as always. I reciprocated with a couple of items for her as well.

All in all an excellent day out. Looking forward to next time.

[LainchyParticipant @lainchy]

Where do I fit as a 49'er? I am looking to spend a little on tooling tomorrow, although, with the help of RDG, ARC, Tracy, Warco, Chester, and the chinese via eBay… I am mostly set up.

Looking forward to it too.

It'll be too long before next year comes

[mal webberParticipant @malwebber91786]

Hi guy's would of loved see this show but work all week and home life plus a 500 odd mile round trip makes it hard to fit in ,closest i'll get is youtube which i was looking forward to some one posting plus Jason's photos and the comments on here .Lms4767 has a nice video on the show and to me it looks a grand day out with some superb models on show.

Mal.

[CirclipParticipant @circlip]

"Arc May write nice words , but having used the shows ,starting at Donnington , to establish themselves with us , shew nothing but contempt by expecting continued business from us while not being there for us at Exhibitions"

So there you have it Keetan. I have NO doubt had you attended with a cnc miller and lathe, Mr Godley would have paid in cash for them in new threepany bits. It never ceases to amaze how short sighted some are to the logistics and costs involved for some to just look and twiddle and then pass on. Sir John (rip) gave an insight as to what was involved from Arcs' point of view after the Arrowgate saga of rocketing stand prices that had to be born by the trader and NOT a prospective customer who expects a discount on the stand.

Perhaps you should attend in force the next exhibition Keetan but add 15-20% on the tool prices to cover YOUR expenses????

Regards Ian.

PS NO connection with ARC, just a lamented past friendship with his loosrdship.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Also interesting to see who has the biggest adverts on this forum, without them you would not have anywhere to moan. Without that income there may also be no mag let alone forum.

Any company can do the sums and see what gives the best return for their money, they may choose to have banner adds at the top of the page or a prominent one top right.

They may invest a considerable amount of money into sponsoring beginners articles in the mags or spend time explaining queries via the forum.

They may only supply the hobby as part of their client base and would risk not being able to serve the commercial side while at a show

Or they may go to a show.

Edited By JasonB on 20/10/2019 13:18:19

[alan ord 2Participant @alanord2]

Perhaps you should attend in force the next exhibition Keetan but add 15-20% on the tool prices to cover YOUR expenses????

Do you not think that Arc and other exhibitors include their show expenses into their pricing structure!!!!!!!

Or are you deluded into thinking that these suppliers attend exhibitions only for the benefit of visitors? They are there to sell product to benefit their bottom line.

[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

I made my positive comments about what I thought of the visit to the show. How certain people read that is up to them. They are entitled to their own opinion.

Ketan at ARC

[D.A.GodleyParticipant @d-a-godley]

Jason ;

Moan , Me moan ? But thank you for pointing out the subliminal influence on purchasing , brought about by Arcs involvement with the forum , however , I really do think that it’s too much to claim that the forum might fold should they not continue to take advertising space , Nor do I consider it necessary for them to increase prices in order to be present at the Shows , and the suggestion that disturbance , logistics , etc , cause them , and not just them , such financial discomfort that it’s impossible to attend, seems a bit weak when you consider Tracy’s situation , or RDG , who I believe also have interests to satisfy outside of the modelling fraternity.

Rather than shrink away , this year , RDG actually increased their stand area by introducing their proxxon range . I have no connection with RDG , or any of the others , but I respect them for attending shows with goods relevant to my needs .

Circlip : sorry but I would have to pay with the old silver threepenny piece , I have already ditched my euros , by the way , What is CNC ? 🧐.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

I think Arc’s reputation amongst hobbyists would not be particularly further enhanced by their attendance or not.

Even though they are only 30 miles or so from this exhibition the expenditure, of time effort and money, would likely only attract a few possible new customers, while adding pennies to all our orders – the cost has to come fom somewhere!

They retain their high regard, by customers, by other means (competitive prices, helpful and generally good to deal with).

I wonder what exactly they might gain by attending? Only Myford and Chester attended as hobby OE machine suppliers (if we can call myford ‘original&rsquo. As I see it, the most useful thing might be using the show as a collection point (of previously placed orders) by those attending the show!

[LainchyParticipant @lainchy]

Well, I attended on Sunday… and enjoyed it as usual. It would have been nice to see Arc there, Reeves, and Warco… but I do know the costs for transportation and staffing etc etc… so I get that. To be honest, I'd just order the bits that I'd like online anyway, and with good prices and free postage from some suppliers, that really isn't an issue. It's a great show anyway. I don't worry about the fact certain businesses aren't there, but yes… it would be nice.

What does annoy me is the fact that I go there with a list, see some bargain eclipse hack saw blades that were not on my list, and because I can't remember stuff, I now have 15 spare blades that will probably see me out at the rate I use them 😀 lol

[Steve NeighbourParticipant @steveneighbour43428]

I attended the show on Sunday, which I thought was really very good, I was as always very impressed with the exhibits, there are certainly some very talented folk about.

One reason I went (but there were many) was to look at the Myford stand, which was as usual really good, and the staff were well informed and very helpful, I compared the refurbished super 7 to a new 'made in Asia' equivalent, and the quality is no where near that of the Myford machines, so it certainly proves that you get what you pay for ! (not detracting that the 'Asia origin' machines are more than capable of producing some very accurate results !

It was also great that the sun decided to come out, the rain stopped, and the live steam Traction engines showed how good they are at managing to remain mobile in quite soggy conditions.

In particular I thought the 'Young Engineers' displays were top notch, it is so nice to see that the younger generations still enjoy Model Engineering as a pastime

 

Edited By Steve Neighbour on 21/10/2019 10:40:50

[A SmithParticipant @asmith78105]

I was there on Thursday and would agree that it was vey busy. Long queues for food & drink at lunch time – so I ran on my over-substantial reserve until the queue shortened. I miss the large traders, Chronos, Warco etc and some of the smaller ones such as Hemmingway. Having said that, attendance for a trader is a commercial decision, no more or less, so criticism is pointless. I mainly go to see the exhibits and talk to like minded people. I was not disappointed & look forward to going next year.

Andy

[Dennis DParticipant @dennisd]

I went on Saturday with my 11-year-old grandson and there were a lot more families around. Maybe if the show was at the end of the school summer holidays there might be a larger young attendance. What was pleasing were the number of people exhibiting on club and individuals displays who took the time to talk to him and explain how things were made. As for lack of traders I rarely buy anything from shows as I prefer someone else to carry the heavy weight items around and drop them at my doorstep. In fact, my only purchase was a pack of M2 screws to repair my wife’s FitBit bracelet.

Shame about the ground conditions reducing the number of traction engines hope none of the campers got bogged down but they would have plenty of pulling power if they did.

Dennis

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I think it's a bit much to suggest anyone not attending the show is treating hobbyists with contempt.

Each and every business serving the hobby is, in the first place, there to make a living for the people who own and work for it.

If attending shows loses them money and interferes with their trading to an extent that exceed the benefits they get from exposure to more customers, then they are not going to attend.

The big problem is not for companies like Tracy and RDG who focus on tooling and accessories or a few smaller machines.

It's the companies like Chester, Warco, Arc, etc. who used to be able to bring along a wide selection of large, expensive machines, accompanied by various other bits. These days people don't go along to a show to buy several thousand pounds worth of machine any more. They just want to browse, then go off and search for online deals.

It may well be that hundred (or even thousands) of people like to see your stand, but if you are relying on selling several machines to cover your costs and now you are only likely to sell one or two, it becomes very hard to justify in an ever-more competitive market.

I would love to see more machine demonstrations etc. at shows, but to get there, I think we will have to see if the shows themselves start to think its in their interests to provide free or very cheap access to the shows for traders who can offer some form of 'added value' for visitors. The downside, of course, is that ticket prices would have to go up to finance this…

Neil

[Jon LawesParticipant @jonlawes51698]

One quick question; could those who bemoan the lack of exhibits have brought items of their own to display if they did not already? Maybe one constructive suggestion would be to make it easier for individual models to be displayed. I appreciate that for this to happen one would need to be at the show from the start and to remain there until the end…

[Old SchoolParticipant @oldschool]

Jon I would like to and my fellow enthusiasts but our request for a club stand was declined, never told us why.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Jon, there is no problem displaying individual or even 2 or 3 models. You simply enter them in the competition or display class. Would need to attend twice to drop off and collect at the minimum but no need to attend all days.

[BazParticipant @baz89810]

JasonB, that is the problem, having to attend twice. It cost me eight gallons of diesel to get there and back on Friday, yes I know it’s my choice to drive a gas guzzling Land Rover but I have to have one because I am also a so called Shed Dragger (I tow a caravan), to have to do that journey again just isn’t worth it to exhibit a couple of models. Maybe when / if the Model Engineer magazine decide to do another Brooklands show I might consider it as it is only an hour up the road from me.

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 21/10/2019 13:57:46:

I think it's a bit much to suggest anyone not attending the show is treating hobbyists with contempt.

Each and every business serving the hobby is, in the first place, there to make a living for the people who own and work for it.

If attending shows loses them money and interferes with their trading to an extent that exceed the benefits they get from exposure to more customers, then they are not going to attend.

The big problem is not for companies like Tracy and RDG who focus on tooling and accessories or a few smaller machines.

It's the companies like Chester, Warco, Arc, etc. who used to be able to bring along a wide selection of large, expensive machines, accompanied by various other bits. These days people don't go along to a show to buy several thousand pounds worth of machine any more. They just want to browse, then go off and search for online deals.

It may well be that hundred (or even thousands) of people like to see your stand, but if you are relying on selling several machines to cover your costs and now you are only likely to sell one or two, it becomes very hard to justify in an ever-more competitive market.

I would love to see more machine demonstrations etc. at shows, but to get there, I think we will have to see if the shows themselves start to think its in their interests to provide free or very cheap access to the shows for traders who can offer some form of 'added value' for visitors. The downside, of course, is that ticket prices would have to go up to finance this…

Neil

During my working life as a service engineer I worked for a machine tool supplier, a Robot maufacturer and finally a industrial washing machine manufacturer who build industrial machines that you could fit a small car in, they all attended bi annual and annual shows, never did they actually sell equipment from the stand, they were there to put themselves into the market place and show business's their wares, occasionally letters of intent were brought by the customers to the stand but the stand was to show case, it cost many thousands of pounds and us service engineers used to spend days assmbling the stands and installing the machines and we would then work late into the night taking it all apart on the last day. I would think the machine suppliers who attend MEE's think the same way and its a way of reminding the likes of us that they still exist.

Martin P

[Old SchoolParticipant @oldschool]

I worked for one of the big UK and European plastic pipe manufactures when I first started we did all the shows and each division had a stand but over the years they dwindled one stand for all the UK divisions. We I retired they didn't do the shows would support our distributors and the rest of the marketing was internet based.

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