Aerospace Events

ADS Defence & Aerospace Technology Roadshow attracts record numbers

Posted 8 October 2013

Last week saw the conclusion of the three week ADS Defence and Aerospace Technology Roadshow 2013 which gave 22 SMEs an opportunity to take to the road in a mobile exhibition vehicle to visit engineers at a series of prime contractors across the country.

The Roadshow took exhibitors across the country, pulling up on 14 of the UK’s most prominent aerospace and defence primes. The touring exhibition gave exhibitors unique access to both purchasing decision-makers and engineers who may not usually attend more static exhibitions.

Companies that hosted the travelling exhibition comprised:
• BAE Systems, Barrow in Furness
• Rolls Royce, Derby
• Selex ES, Basildon
• Safran Power Systems, Pitstone
• QinetiQ, Farnborough
• GE Aviation Systems, Gloucestershire
• Cobham Mission Systems, Dorset
• QinetiQ, Boscombe Down
• General Dynamics, Oakdale
• BAE Systems, Bristol
• Rolls Royce, Bristol
• L3 Comms, Gloucestershire
• Agusta Westland, Yeovil
• Bloodhound SSC, Yeovil

John Aldridge, managing director of Dream Marketing International that organised the exhibition said: “The Roadshow allows exhibitors to access sites they may have been unable to break in the past, and sites such as BAE Systems and Agusta Westland are now requesting to be put on the Roadshow’s schedule as they can appreciate the value our exhibitors can bring.”

Now in its sixth year, the Roadshow has gone from strength to strength, and this year over 1,400 engineering, purchasing, production and senior management employees visited the vehicle during the tour giving exhibitors even greater opportunity to promote their technologies, components and services.

Paul Everitt, chief executive of ADS said: “SMEs form a significant part of the aerospace and defence supply chain, not only creating thousands of jobs, but also providing high value, high level technology to two of the UK’s most important sectors.

"The Aerospace Growth Partnership and the Defence Growth Partnership both have huge focus on supporting SMEs and initiatives such as the National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme are critical in ensuring supply chain businesses have the support they need to innovate. However the Roadshow is an important way of facilitating direct relationships between SMEs and the prime contractors they supply.”

Melissa Batt, marketing manager of solid state solution specialists, Jactron, who exhibited on the tour, said: “This was Jactron’s first time at the Defence and Aerospace Roadshow, and we found it hugely valuable to have access to decision makers normally outside our reach.”