In our previous articles on the subject of AVEX, we’ve concentrated on the opinions of ‘The Boss.’ But what about the ‘unsung heroes’ that make it happen… What did they think of AVEX 2015? We caught up with N&W’s Louise Wardle and Elaine Hunter.
BY IAN REYNOLDS-YOUNG
‘What do you mean? It was a great location!’
So, that was my first mistake then: opening the interview with the Devil’s Advocate gambit; namely that potential exhibitors and delegates had been put-off attending AVEX 2015 because of its central Manchester location.
Louise Wardle shot me down in flames: ‘It’s a really great city and everything is so close to everything else’, she insisted. ‘We were right in the middle of it.’
Louise and her colleague Elaine Hunter are members of that group of unsung heroes tasked with ‘making it happen.’ For months in the run-up to AVEX, they’ve been negotiating and hassling and worrying and organising to make sure that everything on the N&W stand is ‘just so’. Every exhibitor at AVEX has its own ‘Louise and Elaine’, (without whom the entire exercise would be a shambles), so there’s no better informed constituency when it comes to considering the question, ‘was it worth it?’
‘The show itself went well for us, we saw all the customers that we would have expected to see and it was a good mix’, Elaine said. ‘We had lots of new technology to show and that attracted a lot of interest, which was good to see.’
Louise added: ‘It shows us that, as a manufacturer, we’re introducing new machines that our customers want.’
As organisers, there was an extra workload this year for N&W’s dynamic duo. ‘This year’s show was particularly well-attended by N&W Senior Management’ Louise said. ‘We welcomed several overseas VIPs including our Sales Vice President Stefano Barato and our CEO Andrea Zocchi made a trip especially to see the exhibition.’
(They were not alone: PV also spotted Big Hitters from Crane and Azkoyen at Manchester Central – proof that AVEX has international importance…)
In terms of the support they got from the event organisers, Louise and Elaine were quick to praise the AVA’s AVEX team. ‘They were always available in the run up to the show and during the set up to deal with any last minute issues’, Louise said.
‘To be fair we thought it was a really successful event’, said Elaine, ‘and the whole thing was thoroughly well organised from start to finish.’
Louise concluded: ‘Yes, it was quieter than we’d expected and we’re not really sure why. Maybe it was impacted by a number of outside influences? For instance, the weather was oppressively hot and AVEX clashed with a number of sporting events and emergency rad works in Manchester city centre. Having said that, we welcomed a steady stream of customers on both days all of them keen to see all the new products we’ve brought to market and to get a glimpse of the future of vending.’
So, all in all, it’s a thumbs-up for AVEX from N&W?
‘Definitely. Where and when could we show off so many new products if not at AVEX?’
Good point…
