The Farmers Mart Feb-Mar 2020 - Issue 67 | Page 36

36 LAMMA 2020
FEB/MAR 2020 • farmers-mart.co.uk
LAMMA’S SELL-OUT SHOW
A Commercial and Professional Success
LAMMA’S return to the NEC in
Birmingham at the beginning
of January produced an even
bigger and better show than
the year before, resulting in an
upbeat two days that have been
widely praised by exhibitors and
visitors alike.
Fears among some exhibitors
that last year’s runaway success
had been partly fuelled by the
novelty factor of an all-indoor
event were quickly dispelled
as visitors flooded through the
gates on 7 and 8 January.
Overall, numbers ended slightly
up on the year before, topping
40,000, drawn by more than 700
exhibitors showing the latest
farming machinery, equipment
and innovative technology that
catered for all farming sectors
and all depths of pockets.
LAMMA’s event manager Kate
Walsh said: “We are delighted
to report that we sold all the
exhibition space this year, with
40 additional companies coming
on board. All told, the stands
covered over 56000sq m, the
equivalent of eight football
pitches.
“The feedback we received
from exhibitors and visitors
suggested this LAMMA was the
best they had attended and the
most professional.
“Overall, the mood was
surprisingly positive, considering
the tough time the industry has
had recently and the uncertain
outlook that has prevailed over
recent years. A number of
exhibitors reported very positive
conversations and leads with
plenty of key on-farm decision
makers.
“Many visitors were here to
keep a close eye on the latest
developments so they will be
able to make the right decisions
and make the most of more
favourable times when they
return. Others were looking
to tweak systems to optimise
margins and make their busi-
nesses more resilient in the
face of economic, political and
physical pressures.
“We were delighted to receive
such positive support from
exhibitors old and new, and
from visitors across the two
days. I would like to thank all
of them for helping to make
the event such an outstanding
success, and we can’t wait to
take the event forward again
next year.”
Many exhibitors, large and
small, used the event to launch
new and updated tractors,
combines, arable and grassland
kit, and there was a wide range
of products, services and tools
on show.
Innovation was evident right
across the event this year, not
only in the latest machinery.
LAMMA is gaining a reputation
a place to exhibit cutting edge
technology, including precision
farming hardware and software,
and agronomy and livestock
management systems.
The event also hosted the
well-established Innovation
Awards, which recognises and
rewards companies pushing
new boundaries. This year
also saw the launch of the
well- attended Farming 4.0
zone, which hosted a wide
range of companies involved in
the development of key tech-
nological advances and their
successful implementation and
uptake.
Exhibitor and visitor feedback
was overwhelmingly positive.
Louise Hemmings from JCB said:
“The show has been brilliant,
superseding even last year. The
stand has been heaving both
days. There has been lots of
interest in the machinery and
we’ve taken lots of positive
leads.”
Martin Holden of grassland
machinery specialist SIP said: