When you are in the capital equipment business, selling sophisticated CNC machine tools, you do not expect to sell products on your stand at a trade show. But that is exactly what happened to Datron Technology Ltd of Milton Keynes during its first visit to the recent Southern Manufacturing and Electronics exhibition at Thorpe Park, Surrey.
Matthew Turner and David Piper, partners in rapid manufacturing company Innov8es, who were also exhibiting, purchased a Datron M8 high speed machine, the 'Big Brother' of the Datron M7, which was on the stand.
Innov8es' business involves the production of plastic parts and it has CNC machines for the purpose, but not high-speed ones. The M8, with its large machining area in a small floor space, is specially designed for efficient and precise machining of non-ferrous metals, aluminium and plastics. It was therefore just what Innov8es was looking for.
So a deal was done on the stand, with the machine delivered from stock as soon as possible after the show.
About Innov8es
Innov8es was established by David and Matthew in 2003 to help customers achieve tight time-to-market goals by supplying quality prototype parts quickly. A recent example of this was a skinned and foamed soft-feel component for the cockpit of the new Landrover Freelander.
The Southern Manufacturing & Electronics exhibition, now in its tenth year at Thorpe Park, is one of a number of regional shows organised by ETES. The largest engineering and electronics exhibition in the south of England, the Southern Manufacturing & Electronics exhibition produces results that keep exhibitors and visitors coming back year after year.
The machinery part of the show had spectacular success this year, with all of the machinery manufacturers either taking orders at the show or expecting to confirm them shortly after. Other exhibitors, in fields as diverse as automotive, aerospace, packaging, marine and pharmaceutical industries, had an excellent number of quality leads for their sales people to follow up as a result of the show.
