Just back from PestEx in London and feet still aching…….. so how did it go? The consensus of opinion would be well but it was not without its problems.
For the two days of PestEx (22 & 23 April) the sun shone and the visitors arrived. With over 60 stands to visit and a total of 15 practical demonstrations or seminars to attend there was lots to get round.
| Particularly over the lunchtime period the exhibition hall was busy on both days, but at other times the visitors looked a bit thin on the ground and possibly less than two years ago. The figures mentioned by the organisers were over 750 visitors on day one and 500 on day two – but how many of these were the same people attending on both days?
Within the exhibition there was certainly something for everyone. As predicted the star pest of the show was bedbugs. There were no less than four new bedbug monitoring systems on display, a new heat treatment (using liquid nitrogen), numerous instructional booklets and dedicated products, a bedbug boulevard with products on display, in addition to a seminar presented by the Greater London Pest Liaison Group. Amongst the new products on show, of particular note was the much heralded Maxforce Quantum (imidacloprid) from Bayer which promises to set new standards in black and tropical ant control. There was also a whole stand dedicated to the rodenticide, Romax (coumatatralyl) distributed by Barrettine Environmental Health. The demonstrations and seminars were a good idea but levels of attendance were very varied – ranging from a small handful at some to a packed house with standing room only at others. For future years the organisers need to address the pre-booking/come on the day scenario for these events along with the sound levels – as they alternated from not being able to hear at all to the feeling you were in a railway station when the public address cuts in. BPCA and CEPA both held their annual meetings and each organisation now has a new president – Martina Flynn from BASF Pest Control Solutions taking over the presidency at BPCA from Nigel Binns. At CEPA, Robert Stuyt (right handside picture below, on the right) passed over the presidency to Gunnar Ackerblom from Anticimex in Sweden.
The Professional Women in Pest Management Group held an afternoon meeting with Judy Dold from the USA (bottom picture, right with Sabra Fearon) as guest speaker followed by an excellent, informal cheese and wine reception. These industry events are always a good time to get together with customers and colleagues. BASF Pest Control Solutions (the new name for the combined Sorex & BASF organisation) took advantage and held a dinner the night before the show for their international distributors. The other big event organised by BPCA was an industry dinner and casino evening. With tickets at £70 each, attendance was poor and those who did attend grumbled mightily at the standard of the food and the evening in general. The other main grumble came from the exhibitors – the exhibition stands themselves were tatty, any extras e.g. power or furniture, were very expensive whilst loading and unloading was a nightmare. Pestis preparing further more detailed reports from the event. These will be added to thePestwebsite as written and a dedicated PestEx edition of Pest+ is being despatched during w/c 27 April, plus of course, full coverage in the next edition of Pest magazine due out in early June. Rely on Pest to keep you posted! |
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