After celebrating its 21st anniversary last year, the Plumbing & Heating Exhibition (PHEX) has established itself as the leading regional trade show for the industry.
Providing installers with a platform to meet with numerous manufacturers and learn more about the latest products, PHEX aims to help visitors stay up-to-date with the market without taking too much time away from the job.
While it has grown and evolved to meet the changing needs of the industry, the show remains a well-respected and essential event in the HVAC calendar, having maintained its ethos to ensure a practical and worthwhile day off the tools.
Event organiser, Claire Tilbury, said: “The original idea was that installers could do the whole show in half a day. Obviously it’s grown from there. Visitors wanted more than just an exhibition, so we introduced seminars and allowed manufacturers more room to demonstrate their products. As such, the show now takes a little longer to make your way round, but those who need to keep it short and sweet are still able to do so.”
PHEX now runs three shows throughout the year: PHEX Manchester, PHEX Chelsea and PHEX+ at Alexandra Palace for those visitors whose business crosses into the commercial sector.
As well as allowing manufacturers to promote their products, the PHEX seminar programme gives industry bodies such as BEAMA and Gas Safe Register the chance to interact with the guys on the ground, explaining their role in the sector and how installers can get involved.
Rachel Boon from the Gas Safe Register said: “As the official registration body for gas engineers, exhibiting at PHEX provides us with a fantastic opportunity to interact face-to-face with Gas Safe registered engineers and those looking to become Gas Safe registered. The feedback we gain is invaluable and data capture from the barcode scanners provided has proven very useful in the past. We have been exhibiting at PHEX for a number for years now and the shows are always well attended, at prestigious locations and very well organised.”
The success of the first show at Old Trafford in 1998 sparked the tradition of holding PHEX at different football stadiums, and the tours still remain a popular pull!
The shows have received unrivalled support from the trade over the years, offering small and large businesses alike the opportunity to get in front of their customers on a level playing field.
From boiler and pipe manufacturers to tools and bathroom suppliers, PHEX works with more than 95 exhibitors, all of whom have technical experts on hand to explain their offering and answer questions.
PHEX also partners with both national and independent merchants to provide free transport to each of its venues, allowing visitors to network with other installers in their area and build relationships with their local reps.
For more information and to register for a free ticket visit www.phexshow.co.uk.