Once again, Bruntingthorpe’s Hanger 42 in rural Leicestershire was the venue, presenting a challenge for non-map-reading millennials and others relying on their satnavs to find their way to the former WW II RAF base.  Once inside, visitors had the opportunity to explore over 50 stands and catch up on the latest developments in the moving industry, ranging from high-tech apps for remote surveys and estimating, to more traditional products such as packaging and, of course, trucks. 

There was plenty of light relief too with the return of the strongman competition to find Britain’s strongest mover, as well as the ever-popular Packer of the Year contest.  Curtis Walker from Britannia Thomas lifted the top prize in the strongman event with comparative veteran Andy Shotbolt from Britannia Reeves taking a valiant second place, narrowly ahead of Florin Baiciuc from DBM Express, who took third. 

Ten teams took part in the Packer of the Year contest with the MGR team taking the title for the fourth year running with a time of 8.42 and only one item remaining. The Removals Company team came second with the Gentle Giants in third.  The contest was generously sponsored by Britannia Movers with prizes presented by its managing director, Mark Tresler.  

For slightly less energetic visitors, several exhibitors held raffles and competitions, so everyone had a chance to be a winner.  Insurance broker Pound Gates gave away a BOSE speaker system to its lucky key competition winner Peter Gillette, while Irish moving specialist Careline presented a hamper full of Irish treats to Andrew Gent, the winner of its business card prize draw. Edwards Trade Storage’s business card draw was won by Luke Majewski who received a £100 Amazon voucher while Dan Booth won a branded furniture skate from Evo Supplies. Lead generation company TwentyCi ran a competition for an Amazon Echo (Alexa) which was won by a delighted Amanda Walker. 

Matthew James Global Relocations, who had a stand in the foyer, raffled a rare model of a Matthew James road train in aid of charity Children with Cancer, raising £400 for this very worthy cause.  The raffle was won by George Statham from Marubbis Removals. 

Seminar Theatre 

This year the seminar theatre, sponsored by The Mover magazine, attracted a full-house for almost every session thanks to the high-quality of the speakers, a range of interesting relevant topics, and a much-improved sound system in comparison with last year’s show. 

Over the two days there were 12 presentations beginning with Dominic Marlow from The Business Board who talked about how to value and sell your business when the time comes to move on or you want to retire.  This was followed by Danny Crowe from TwentyCi who looked at the housing market, how it compares with previous years and how data can help with business planning. 

Alan Barnard from Euro 6 engine converter Green Urban explained how the number of UK cities introducing Clean Air Zones is set to increase and how removals companies can cope without replacing their fleet.  Alan’s presentation was followed by a panel discussion with industry experts Ian Studd (BAR), Ria Houston (Basil Fry) and Trevor Kidd (Kidds Removals) about balancing customer care with the need to maintain profitability.  

After a short lunch break in the Maxi Mover-sponsored Cafe & Networking Lounge, visitors took their seats to listen to Damian Seaman from technology company buzzmove as he explored the benefits of adopting video survey technology, and the dangers of not doing so. Closely related to Damian’s talk, the next speaker Charlotte Parslow from Animo Events looked at Marketing to Millenials - who have now replaced Baby Boomers as the biggest consumers of goods and services -  and the different ways they make their buying choices. 

The last session of day-one saw Graham Lomax from Janus International take to the stage to talk about the still rapidly expanding self storage sector and how many removals companies are well placed to get a share of the action. 

Day two began with a lively presentation by Emlyn Evans from Squab Group about how to survive the ups and downs of the housing market by not relying solely on removals to generate profits.  Emlyn was followed by solicitor James Backhouse from Backhouse Jones who delivered two excellent presentations, the first dealing with the approaching General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), followed later in the afternoon by an update on the latest transport legislation effecting vehicle operators and drivers. 

After lunch the final two sessions began with a presentation by Andrew Carapiet of PR company, Media Friendly who gave an interesting and entertaining talk about how to handle the media when things go wrong in business.   

Animo’s Charlotte Parslow ended the show by explaining how removal companies should consider advertising their services without using pictures of trucks!  Charlotte used several examples from some of the industry’s top performers to illustrate her point.  “We sell removal services, not trucks!” she said. 

All too soon it was time for exhibitors and guests to head for home after what had been an excellent two days.  Next year The Movers & Storers Show moves to Event City, Manchester, just opposite the Trafford Shopping Centre. The dates will be 21st and 22nd November, so get them in your diary now and check out The Mover for more details later in the year.