RSSA strong attendance was recorded by the organisers of the 5894 Hillhead quarry show in the UK. Run over three days in Tarmac’s Hillhead Quarry, close to the town of Buxton, the 2016 event attracted an increase in visitor numbers of 7.1% over the exhibition held in 2014. Some 18,655 people visited the show, the Hillhead exhibition’s biggest attendance ever. This strong attendance was achieved in spite of poor weather, particularly on the second day. The Hillhead 2016 event also had the biggest ever number of exhibitors at 470, and covering the largest ever exhibition area at the show. Exhibitors meanwhile expressed satisfaction with both the number and quality of visitors attending the show. Unlike many other exhibitions, Hillhead is a professional event where attendance is restricted to people from the quarrying, minerals and construction sectors only.
The exhibition saw more working demonstrations than ever before, creating some of the busiest live action ever seen at Hillhead, including no fewer than 14 excavators in the quarry face area at one point during the show. According to the organisers, the newly extended area of the showground worked well and is already oversubscribed for 2018, while the extended registration pavilion also proved successful, prompting plans for a further significant increase in size in 2018. Further details and dates for Hillhead 2018 will be announced in due course.
