The UK’s largest event for the built environment, UK Construction Week (UKCW) London made a welcome return to ExCeL last week, with visitor numbers up 6% from last year.

The show included a star-studded line-up of high-profile names including Lord Callanan, Mark Thurston (HS2), architect and Channel 4 presenter George Clarke, BBC presenter Victoria Derbyshire, and BBC journalist and presenter Simon Jack.

Co-located with Concrete Expo and The Offsite Show, UKCW London celebrated culture change in construction with three days of debate and discussion from top speakers across seven stages, with issues covered including Net Zero, sustainability, offsite manufacturing, mental health, and improving diversity and inclusion. 

With over 10,000 products on display from over 300 exciting exhibitors including Rointe, Kingspan, Google, Sevadis, HP, Celsa UK, Houzz Pro, Hanson Plywood and many more, the multi award-winning show attracted a wealth of overseas exhibitors from as far afield as Australia, China, India, Norway, Turkey and the UAE.

Show highlights included:

Construction Sport’s pre-show sustainability ‘regatta’ at Royal Victoria Dock, featuring vessels built using only construction waste materials, to demonstrate the power of team work to promote mental well-being

An array of high-profile speakers, including government ministers Lord Callanan and Nusrat Ghani, and MP Caroline Nokes

A myriad of exclusives and showcases, including the UK launch of HP SitePrint – a robotic layout solution for quick, accurate and easy construction site layouts

Shining a spotlight on the unsung heroes and talented professionals in the construction industry, the Role Models Campaign, now in its sixth year, saw Barbara Akinkunmi, Founder, Girls Under Construction, Alan Dalton, Lead Mentor, Volunteer It Yourself CIC and Mariola Vieggas-Trimble, Design & Technical Lead, Southwark Council announced as the 2023 shortlist 

The winning exhibitors of this year’s Stand Awards included: 

Fischer Fixings UK Ltd – best space only stand under 50m 

@Home-MMC – best space only stand over 50m 

WowNow Hire – most interactive stand

ABC+ Warranty – best marketing campaign

Eco Foundry – best shell scheme stand

MyCircle – best start-up exhibitor

IPG Energy – most sustainable exhibitor

Nathan Garnett, UKCW event director, said after the show: “The extent to which the London show has grown since its debut last year is testament to not only the appetite for construction professionals to meet and interact in real life, but it shows how the industry has really bounced back since the pandemic. See you all in Birmingham in October!”

“There’s so much breadth and depth at UK Construction Week London – you can see technology and change right in front of you, from electrical vehicles to construction safety to AI driven project tools. It’s totally different every year; reading a website is one thing, but seeing something in real life is another thing.” Richard Robinson, Chief Executive Officer, UK & Europe, Atkins

“It’s the first time we’ve been involved in this industry, and we’ve chosen UKCW for our UK launch of HP SitePrint – only the second market after the US. We’ve had very good engagement when we’ve held the demos which have been really full. We’re really pleased.” Xavier Juarez, Global Director, HP

“We’re here because we feel it’s the best way to present our advanced light gauge steel panel system, and the best way to hit the numbers. The first day was extremely busy with some great enquiries, and the second is proving just as busy – we’re excited. UKCW have been very helpful with such a big feature build.” Paul Cashman, Business Development Manager British Offsite Construction

“This year’s UK Construction Week has been brilliant for Metrotile. We’ve got a new product on display which has been a great draw for people to come and chat about. It’s allowed it to have a great introduction to the market and also differentiate us from competitors. A lot of the visitors to the show are decision makers, which has meant the conversations we’ve been having are incredibly positive. The use of the smart scan app has been really popular, it’s been so helpful for us. The position of our stand is great and we’re really happy with everything so far overall!” Jordan Wright, Social Media & Marketing Metrotile

Dates for the next two UKCW shows have already been announced: UKCW Birmingham will take place at the NEC from October 3-5 2023; UKCW London returns to ExCeL from May 7-9 2024.

Registration for the Birmingham event is now live. Click here to register

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