Renishaw
Bespoke 246sqm
exhibition stand
construction
for Renishaw at
MACH2024, NEC,
Birmingham
How we helped
- Main contractor
- Stand construction
- Project management
- Brand policing
- Graphic design
- Graphics production
- Liaison with organisers
An exhibition stand that takes advantage of the potential benefits
MACH is the UK’s national, biennial exhibition for engineering and manufacturing businesses. For Renishaw, its exhibition stand at MACH2024 would provide the ultimate opportunity to showcase the company’s cutting-edge additive manufacturing and precision measurement technologies.
Even though MACH is a big financial commitment for exhibitors, the potential benefits are huge, attracting over 600 exhibitors and 26,000 attendees in just one week. MACH 2024 therefore presented a very worthwhile exhibition stand investment for Renishaw, as it provided the best opportunity to display its latest innovations and conduct conversations with a significant number of key decision makers, all under one roof.
Every MACH exhibition delivers great value for Renishaw, generating high-quality leads, new business opportunities and developing existing relationships. MACH is recognised as the platform that connects innovative UK manufacturing engineers with buyers and specifiers of new technology, equipment, and services. Renishaw therefore placed huge importance on MACH 2024 as it would generate sales long after the event had ended.
Scoping out a large, multi-faceted, exhibition stand construction
Having already constructed several smaller exhibition stands successfully for Renishaw, Red Thread Creative were invited to tender. Gary Webb, Renishaw’s EMEA Events Manager initially outlined the project scope as floorplan designs were still in-progress. Initial discussion therefore centred around photos, performance and feedback of similar events in the UK and Europe. With a feature-filled 246sqm exhibition space, forward-planning and collaborative project management would be key to success.
A full MACH2024 briefing to discuss the viability of an initial design concept was conducted in November 2023. Gary Webb of Renishaw and Dennis Hatcher, Managing Director of Red Thread Creative discussed all aspects for quoting purposes. Five large machines would need to be brought onto the stand and positioned. This would require accurate alignment with underfloor electrical and air ducting, all coordinated by Gary and the Renishaw team.
Dealing with complex layers of exhibition stand construction and logistics
Every requirement from flooring and walling to video screens and furniture were outlined. Gary detailed the known façades of the floorplan and cabinet constructions along with meeting room and visitor reception. A major feature of the exhibition stand construction would be a 4m high, 10 x 1m, full width video wall, to display the ‘Renishaw Central’ animated video. MACH shows at the NEC however, do not permit ceiling suspension of any kind. As the video wall needed to be positioned towards the rear of the exhibition stand, above three large machines at a height of 4 metres, steel frames and poles would need to be employed. For health and safety adherence, this would require structural calculations from a structural engineer. The video also needed to be controlled from an exhibition floor monitor, adding yet another layer of complexity.
A full construction list with sizes, materials and schedule was drawn up together with a full list of ancillary items such as monitors, chairs, ropes and poles etc. Graphics would require Red Thread’s production expertise to ensure that large wall designs would incorporate Renishaw imagery at sufficiently high resolution. Brand colour reproduction was also given critical importance together with typographic house style.
Exhibition stand project management
The actual exhibition stand construction phase was a culmination of many months planning, discussing different iterations in response to Renishaw’s needs and the show organiser’s building regulations approval. As main contractor, Red Thread Creative dove-tailed with Gary Webb, delivering the necessary risk assessments and method statements, coordinated deliveries, organised personnel security and booked transportation.
The build took four days to complete using a five-man crew. Detailed planning by Gary Webb and our experienced
construction team combined to create a beautifully smooth workflow. Not everything went exactly to plan. It never does with exhibition stands of this size and complexity. Assumptions relating to foot traffic when viewing plans and the actual reality often result in minor repositioning of display units. But as the saying goes, where there’s a will, there’s always a way. Between Gary and the Red Thread team, solutions were quickly established. As a result, construction was completed well in advance of the show-opening deadline, demonstrating Red Thread’s expertise in successfully completing a very large and intricate exhibition stand construction.
The added value of using a creative team
For Red Thread Creative, MACH2024 was also an opportunity to demonstrate added value to our industry-leading client. Red Thread’s ability to spot branding opportunities or point out potential areas where better lighting would help, meant that every element of the stand combined to showcase Renishaw’s industry expertise. One example was the feature entrance archway, 4m high and 6m wide, providing the opportunity to highlight the Renishaw logo across the top beam. Dennis Hatcher was keen that this should be constructed in 3D with stand-off pins to ‘showcase’ the brand. Gary Webb however, communicated his concerns whether this should be attempted, given the complexity of the logo icon and colour-matching the brand orange. Adhesive vinyl lettering would have been the easy option but Red Thread Creative convinced Renishaw to press ahead with 3D and the resulting effect this had on the entrance to the stand was striking.
Well-earned praise for a fabulous team effort that created a fantastic exhibition stand.
When the Renishaw team entered the completed exhibition stand on show-opening day, the smiles on the faces of Renishaw stand staff was just reward for the months of hard work. Walking around the floor to assess the initial feedback, so many positive comments could be heard.
