No more than eight months before Brityrex International 2012 welcomes visitors through Event City’s doors, the exhibition company responsible for the show (ECI International) is very upbeat about the speed of recent progress.

Compared to the same stage ahead of the last exhibition in 2010, preparations are significantly ahead of schedule. But what exactly does this mean? And what does this year’s show have in store for U.K. tire industry visitors and exhibitors?

Tyres & Accessories attended a recent Brityrex steering committee meeting chaired by the NTDA and held in central London to find out more.

The first and clearest indication of the show’s recent progress can be seen in the exhibitor list. In January, with three quarters of the year still to run, 60% of exhibition space has already been booked with some well-known names and high-profile prospect in the offing.

Then there’s the sharp uptick in available exhibition space. Now that Brityrex has moved to Event City in the Trafford Park area of Manchester (close to the Trafford Centre), the venue has made 5,000 square meters of exhibition hall available to ECI International. When you consider that the GMEX center (which is now called Manchester Central) was unable to offer as much as this in a single hall and that that this figure represents a 100% increase in space available, it is clear that there is growing momentum behind the show.

Currently, the organizers explained, the show is working to fill the 5,000 square meters that was originally planned, but there is the option to add a further 5,000 square meters according to demand. And all this means that more options to attract exhibitors and visitors are available to the organizers.One feature of this year’s show, which is already reasonably developed is the addition of topical workshops, which may even be held within the exhibition hall itself. Possible subjects for discussion include advice on tire labeling, TPMS and new tire repair standards amongst others. (Tyres & Accessories)