PETER BRETT AT TOOLBANK, BOLTON


TOOLBANK event proves ideal forum for business


TOOLBANK’s series of trade shows up and down the country aim to provide comprehensive coverage of all areas, so hard pressed dealerships can spare a few hours to attend their nearest event, writes PETER BRETT.


Apart from a tasty free lunch or dinner, the other main incentive is the ‘on the day’ deals off ered at the show. Canny dealers can indeed pick up on some bargains – but you have to be there.


Being a trade show, exhibitors’ stands are smaller and with fewer products ranges. It is always good for customers to handle the newer tools on the market, but old favourites needn’t be included.


I made a beeline to the Flex stand to have a quick catch-up discussion with them about the newest launch – the 18v cordless circular saw. Defi nitely a professionally rated tool and one that stands up very well against the competition.


Although the trend seems to be heading towards 36 and 54v tools for heavier duty applications, 18v remains the choice for most trades - because it is the compromise between power and lightness.


With Flex, there is always another launch round the corner as their development programme speeds up - keep an eye on that.


Right next door, so to speak, Hitachi had some tasty deals on some of the basic ranges of drill drivers and impact drivers - the star of the show is the recently-launched cordless Framing Nailer.


Sales are climbing, as customers get to grips with the idea of a gasless nailer that does the job. Any extra addition to the competition is a great idea in my book.


It seems as though Milwaukee can do no wrong at the moment, as their range of 12 and 18v Fuel tools are fi nding favour in the market. The guys on the Milwaukee stand assured me success was all down to listening to end users.


Forgefi x had one of their increasingly popular ‘screw portraits’ on display. Visitors were invited to add their screwed contributions to help complete the picture – which to my mind was starting to look a lot like Jimi Hendrix.


With their increasing range of ‘good, better, best’ screw off erings, I can vouch for their eff ectiveness, as I have used a lot of them.


What I used for the fi rst time though, was the self-drilling metal fi xing screws that are ideal for fi xing corrugated sheets, and other


18 TBH June, 2018


metal building plates. I had a try and was impressed by how quickly the screws ‘bit’ into the metal and didn’t ‘wander’ - if you used the right technique.


They even managed to drill into a 10mm thick piece of steel plate, which was beyond their normal requirements, I would have thought.


Wera’s well designed stand always dominates the space at shows. It is not unknown for me to use it as a direction- fi nding beacon at very large shows.


There are a few new things due for launch, but their stand also aimed to reinforce the Wera Tool Rebel message, that their loyal users tend to think outside the box and look for ingenious solutions. Something Wera is most adept at.


Stanley Dewalt didn’t have much innovation on display, but it did have the sort of off ers that draw in the dealers.


Dewalt is a very popular brand on building sites, and their increasing range seems to be finding new users every day. Look out for new 54v technology too.


Smaller stands upstairs seemed to be busier than some of the larger stands. Gorilla Glue must be reaping the benefi t of a series of amusing TV ads, because there was a lot of looking and trying.


Adhesives are an extremely useful addition to the trade armoury, because they can be used fl exibly and in all sorts of conditions. Even in damp and cold, they work well.


As the proud owner of umpteen, mostly lost-on-site tape measures, the Advent stand had a fantastic range of tapes and accessories, including the QuickDraw tape holder.


Mounted on a belt, the QuickDraw provides an easy alternative to putting your tape down and losing it. Just clip it back on your belt, so it’s there when you next need it.


Advent also supplies a range of tape measures at diff erent price points, which can be branded for dealers.


TOOLBANK’s own brand, Faithfull, had a large stand promoting a range of solid, value for money tools. Ranging from spades and shovels to torches and spanners, these bread and butter items always do well for dealers, in terms of the deals on the day.


Tool Bank Shows target business on the day. The sales reps are careful to ensure customers are greeted, seated and treated.


www.toolbusiness.co.uk


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