Famous Faces & Big Brands came together for UKCW London in the Capital

The UK’s largest event for the built environment, UK Construction Week (UKCW) London made a welcome return to ExCeL on the 7-9 May, with a string of exclusive launches, a star-studded line-up of speakers, international pavilions from across the globe, and a host of new features.?

The three-day show included a star-studded line-up of high-profile names including Dragon's Den star Sara Davies MBE , former England international footballer Trevor Steven , architect and Channel 4 presenter George Clarke, and Andrew Lewer MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for SME Housebuilders and LUHC Select Committee.

Co-located with Concrete Expo and The Offsite Show , UKCW London was sponsored and supported by some of the industry’s biggest names, including ABC+ Warranty ; Barbour ABI ; HotelPlanner.com ; Machinery Equipment Rental Solutions ; Oracle Construction and Engineering ; Design and Build UK ; CITB ; Offsite Alliance ; The Modular and Portable Building Association ; Building a Safer Future Charter ; The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) ; and British Offsite Limited .?

With over 7,000 products on display from over 300 exciting exhibitors including Ford UK , PERI , PlanRadar , Celsa Steel UK , CONTAINEX Container-Handelsgesellschaft m.b.H. and Don & Low Ltd , the multi award-winning show attracted a wealth of overseas exhibitors and visitors.

UKCW London highlights included:?

• UKCW’s biggest ever display of international pavilions from China, Turkey Italy, Estonia, and a new Sicilian Pavilion, which showcased 16 high-end interiors companies, including Colorificio Atria, Settipani Srl, and Nikkolor Italia, who used UKCW London for the global launch of its incredible new decorating material, Etna, which features ash collected from Sicily’s famous [active] volcano.?
• Construction Sport ’s pre-show Van Rally North, which travelled over 1,000 miles from London to John O’Groats and back, to raise funds and to support construction families affected by suicide.?
• A major focus on skills development, apprenticeships and training, including the Worldskills BIM challenge, which brought together the next generation of BIM experts from across the globe; a new Skills and Training Hub, a first-time collaboration with the CITB (Construction Industry Training Board); and a new Careers and Recruitment Zone featuring specialist recruiters from the construction sector.
• An array of high-profile speakers, including Ron Lang , Regional Director, AtkinsRéalis; Manjit Rana, Head of Sustainable Commercial Improvement, National Highways; Trudi Sully, UK and Europe Lead - Industrialised Design & Construction, Mott Macdonald; Robert Claridge, Europe Learning Solutions Owner, Laing O'Rourke.

Sam Patel , Divisional Director – Construction, said after the show: “Feedback and visitor registrations for this year’s UKCW London have been phenomenal - confirming its place as the industry’s premier event.??

“New features such as the Sicilian Pavilion, Demo Zone and Skills & Training Hub have been really well received; we can’t wait to bring even more insight and innovation to UKCW Birmingham when the show returns in October. See you all at the NEC!”?

Mathew Baxendale , Head of Sales and Marketing, HAHN Plastics Ltd , said: “It’s been a good show again - we saw a diverse portfolio of customers, from architects and engineers to large companies like the MOD and Incheon Airport. This is great for us as we have such a diverse product range, and UKCW is the opportunity to be in front of so many different people.”?

Jordan Wright , Marketing Manager, Metrotile UK Ltd , commented: “We do UKCW every year - it’s a good collaboration and puts us in front of the right people. This year we were promoting our new solar tile which we launched at UKCW last year, when we got hundreds of leads from it. We also had a 45-minute slot in the Demo Zone which went really well.”?

Patrick Douglas, Regional Sales Manager, Euro Towers Ltd , said: “We’re enjoying the international pavilions as it has attracted a more international audience which is great for us. We had a brilliant potential customer pretty quickly on the first day which could be all it takes to make this show worth it.”??

John Walton , Fa?ade Sales Manager, Ibstock Futures , noted: “We are a relatively new division, and UKCW is a great showcase for us to get the ball rolling, especially being alongside Concrete Expo; it attracts a good range of companies like London Quadrant, Laing, Mace and local authorities. The visitors have been good quality and we’ve had some great conversations with Grade 1 clientele.”?

Dates for the next two UKCW shows have already been announced: UKCW Birmingham runs from October 1-3 2024, while UKCW London will return from May 6-8 2025.

Registration for the Birmingham event is now live. click here to register.?