Troy Means Business 2017 – Real Focus on Real Issues


You know you are attending a popular event when you arrive at opening time and have to walk from the far end of the car park. Clearly Troy Means Business 2017 had a powerful draw on its many members and partners who committed valuable time away from their everyday jobs and businesses to attend the show. And, frankly, I love the venue – the iconic Wing at Silverstone. What’s Different This year? In a brief chat with


Richard Pymm, Business Development Director at Troy, I tried to explore the motivations and organisation that Troy had brought to the show, and explore why it attracts so many visitors. Richard quoted to me a refrain he commonly finds when talking to dealers and


partners alike – “Business is down this year but I am not doing anything different.” But as he went on to point out – there are lots of things in the general business


climate that are different, for example Brexit, an important election, and rising inflation. All these create uncertainties that businesses cannot afford to ignore if they want to continue successfully. Richard then explained how Troy had gone about providing information,


encouragement and opportunities to its members and suppliers in how to deal with changing market conditions. For example, after the Brexit vote the Pound Sterling slipped against the Euro


and Dollar quite significantly. Troy worked with suppliers to create special deals for the retailers to minimise the initial effects of price rises, and Troy will continue to do this as the future hopefully becomes clearer and the currency turbulence balances out. Troy sees


the value of creating long term and trustworthy bonds between all the parties as a key element for business success in this industry. These are needed to meet head-on the challenges from generalist suppliers like Amazon who can supply competitively on price, but may not be able to deliver back-up service for repairs and warranties. Troy’s growing list of 200 members and turnover of over £90 million are a


testament to the fact that there are always alternatives to the current orthodoxy and it needs to see how dynamic we can be to take advantage of the conditions we


16 ToolBUSINESS+HIRE


are faced with. Altogether, there


were over 140 different exhibitors at the show with over 170 distinct brands of tools and supplies for visitors to examine. Troy reinforced


their message of innovation and support to members and suppliers by adding a Marketing Suite staffed by Marketing Manager Andrea Arkless and colleagues Sara Kearney and Kat Munns. Upstairs, in a quieter part of the show, the trio were able to discuss opportunities to develop businesses. From what I could see this innovation


was much appreciated – marketing seems to be at the heart of every successful business these days, and the more you know, the better to deal with challenges. Add to all of the above the Top Ten Deals that Troy members could take


advantage of, and the 140-page show guide – ‘the Passport to maximum savings’ - and you have the evidence that Troy really does mean business. The Fun Bit – Yet More Reasons to Attend On a lighter note, because Troy Means Business shows always have an element


of fun, Richard told me that the theme for the evening dinner was the Roaring 20s and Gatsby. Hosted by comedian Rory Bremner, the 420 dinner guests enjoyed a grand night out in the luxurious surroundings of the Whittlebury Hotel and Spa. During the day visitors were able to use the Silverstone circuit to drive very


fast cars and compete – ever so genteelly, in some cases – for the fastest lap time. As ever, prizes and pride were at stake. Winner of the fastest lap in a Ferrari was Gavin Fryer from Quality Tooling and winner of the Aston Martin fastest lap was Joe Draper from Draper Tools. Innovation Awards 2017 The


innovation awards at the Troy show are an annual favourite too, with everything from the highly technical down to the simple, having a chance to grab the award. Contenders


this year included the new 36v angle grinders from Metabo, a range of safety gloves from Coloursafe, some stubby Double Ball- end L-Wrench sets from Rowland Tools, Open-end ratchet spanners from Chicago Brand, and the new cordless mitre saw from DEWALT. The Innovation Prize was won by DEWALT for the cordless mitre saw, which


has loads of power and a long battery life – clearly the chippy’s friend. Chicago Brand got a special award for delivering the best minute-long presentation that each innovation prize contender has to make to enter the competition.


www.toolbusiness.co.uk


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