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Show News Sandown ToolFair 2016 – Bargains and Confidence


Professional Builder ToolFairs are held periodically up and down the country at various times of the year, but the South East and London are particularly well served by the one at Sandown racecourse in early November. It is actually quite encouraging to turn up on the opening morning to a car park that is nearly full and a queue forming at the entrance. Most of those queueing are obviously tradespeople, and many of them – judging from the number of boxes and bags they carry away – are looking to buy tools and other kit and also have a close look at the innovations and demos that are featured. Sandown always seems to provide a real bit of “hands-on” and opportunity to ask questions that can’t be asked online. Plus, I would say, that the offers are just as good, if not better, than the online ones because you don’t have to add on postage. The ToolFair is also accompanied by the ElexShow – a


dedicated space devoted to all things electrical, with loads of new products for lighting in particular – and the latest thing – electronic control via the net, of various home functions like heating, lighting and security. ElexShow is particularly suited to this venue because it seems as though Londoners are especially keen to adopt not only the energy-saving advantages of LED lighting, but also the convenience of being able to check that your home security is watertight from the check-in queue at Heathrow. Power tools always draw in the


crowds because they often lead innovation and most trades rely on them. There are so many competing threads to the power tool market too. Do you want sheer grunt from your batteries to power a site saw? Or are you after something much lighter with perfect control of torque settings to work with up a ladder or in a confined space? Whatever you wanted, and more, was available from all the major power tool manufacturers represented at the show. I particularly liked the Metabo SB18 LTX BL QI combi


drill. Metabo has long since cracked the removable chuck issue and on this tool, the overall length of the tool becomes just 180mm with the chuck removed. A torquey brushless motor and advanced electronics to protect the motor and battery are of course standard, and a pair of powerful 5.5Ah LiHD batteries ensures that downtime is pretty well avoided. Gone is the torque collar for torque settings, replaced by a dial in electronic control that provides super-sensitive control over drive force, and on the other extreme, a big auxiliary handle is included for those high torque jobs like drilling big holes in timber. Smaller 10.8 and 12v tools


were also on display and demo. The 10.8 STORMFORCE sets from Draper seemed to be selling well and I also liked the 12v Fein range largely because they look so modest and yet they are high quality tools with a lot of built-in advantages. Both are reviewed in these pages. Another of the huge


advantages of ToolFairs is that visitors have the chance to look at and handle a wide range of the power tools


20 ToolBUSINESS+HIRE


available – some of which they might not be able to see at their local dealer or its online version. I can think of half a dozen manufacturers like Hitachi, Flex or Panasonic, that have excellent tools as part of their ranges that are sometimes overlooked simply because they don’t have the advertising budgets of the bigger companies. Often it is these companies that are leading the way in innovation. Typically, they also have very loyal bands of users who appreciate that and take advantage of the high-quality tools on offer. Big is not always best.


What would life be without the top German manufacturers


Wera and Wiha competing to explore all the niches and byways of fixing trends? Very dull for us I think. When I think back to the so-called “good old days” when all we had was a slot screwdriver, hand drills and very hard-to-drive conical shaped screws, I really don’t want to go back there. Fixing jobs are so much quicker and easier these days due to the efforts of these companies and there seems to be nothing that they haven’t thought of. Great design and its systematic integration into their product offerings gives trades a far easier life. Shows are great places to provide


convincing demos of new products as well as giving good “hands-on” time. Away from power tools for a minute, adhesives and sealants are ideal too – especially if it involves water and seemingly magic sealing or glueing properties. Trades often have to deal with sealing and glueing in less than ideal conditions, so Illbruck’s demos are a great way of sealing some sales. Innovations also capture the imaginations of the audience


and none more so than technologies that are a bit “out there” but that users can see will be useful. Inspection cameras, damp meters and ambient meters are examples of this because damp and condensation can be difficult problems to solve. There were several new types of inspection cameras on view but the one that really caught my eye was the Steelman Pro – its keen pricing from this US Maker was made possible by using that universal tool –the smart phone- to look at and record the results from the camera. By simply downloading the free app, users could record, log and send copies to clients of their observations. Because there is no need for a built-in screen the tool is small enough to fit into an average toolbox. Work clothing of all kinds is now


compulsory for trades, so it is great to see so many styles and variations available. We have reached the point where different trades adopt various styles to suit the jobs they do. Safety consciousness is also greater and it was noticeable that dust removal and control is becoming a key issue for both trades and manufacturers. So, if there one thing that


we can agree on it’s that the age of the ToolFair is not dead – while the primary function of the ToolFair may be to sell tools, it is also an informal forum for education, discussion and innovation. Trades need


these events for buying tools, but also to link into the wider world of issues that relate to them. www.toolbusiness.co.uk


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