Hillhead celebrates unparalleled success for the 2024 show
Attracting more than 19,500 trade visitors and featuring an impressive 598 exhibitors across three show days, Hillhead 2024 – the biggest working quarrying exhibition on the planet – once again raised the ante, showcasing a plethora of new products, cutting-edge technologies, and innovative trends that promise to shape the future of the industry.
Hillhead 2024 is over for another year, but there is no denying that the biennial quarrying industry extravaganza once again delivered its trademark combination of exciting new product/service launches, countless technological innovations, and more live plant/equipment demonstrations than ever.
This year’s hotly anticipated event – held from 25–27 June at Tarmac’s Hillhead Quarry, near Buxton, Derbyshire – proved to be a huge success on all counts and underlined its status as the UK’s (and perhaps even the world’s) biggest live demonstration trade show for the quarrying, construction and recycling industries.
Building on the momentum of the hugely successful 2022 exhibition, Hillhead 2024 was the most visited edition ever in terms of the volume of visits over the three days, with visitors spending more time at the show than ever before and a record number attending for more than one day. In total there were a staggering 26,626 visits over the three days – marking an 8% increase over the 2022 edition.
In terms of unique visitors, with 19,577 attendees from 67 countries (+6.2% compared with 2022) this year’s edition had the second highest ever number of trade visitors (only 2018 was higher at 19,753, although that show had less volume over the three days). Hillhead 2024 also recorded the event’s busiest ever show day in its 42-year history, with almost 10,800 visitors attending on day two.
Put simply, there is no trade show quite like it in the world. With every square metre of exhibition space – including an extended Showground Pavilion – fully booked and occupied,
and a record number of machines taking part in four live demonstration areas around the quarry, not to mention a host of site improvements (eg additional catering areas, more car parking spaces, new hydration stations etc.), Hillhead 2024 was bigger, better, and busier than ever before.
Commenting on this year’s show, event director Richard Bradbury said: ‘With the sun shining and visitors spending more time at the show than ever before, it was fantastic to see Hillhead continuing to break new attendance records.
‘It’s an exciting time for the industry as digitalization, automation, and decarbonization continue to drive change within the quarrying, construction, and recycling sectors, and this was represented by the scale and quality of the 600 or so companies that exhibited.
‘But my abiding memory of Hillhead 2024 is of the unique ‘human’ platform it provided for buyers and sellers to engage… to feel, touch, and interact with the products on show, and, of course, to catch up with colleagues and network with the wider industry.’
With nearly 600 UK and international companies showcasing new machines, breakthrough technologies, and cutting-edge service solutions at the event, and thousands of visitors flocking to the showground and pavilions, Hillhead is the grandest working quarry show in the world. As usual, key industry players and leading OEMs including JCB, LiuGong, Develon, Terex Washing Systems, Case, Komatsu, McLanahan, SANY, Bell Equipment, Wirtgen, HD-Hyundai Construction Equipment, Astec, SMT GB/Volvo CE, Liebherr, and Hitachi were all in attendance, together with a host of other Hillhead regulars and new companies making their show debuts.
The consensus among the exhibitors and visitors at Hillhead 2024 was that the trade show continues to be a highly popular showcase event for businesses to promote their latest plant, technological innovations, and services to a high-calibre international audience.
‘Hillhead is one of the best trade shows around and we are delighted to have used the event as a worldwide launch pad for one of our most significant product launches in recent years – the ProPress,’ said Colum Bryson, head of operations UK and Ireland at CDE.
‘The feedback on all our product innovations, including the latest generation FreeFlow fully mobile washing solution for aggregate and sand classification, has been extremely pleasing. Overall, it has been a very positive and productive event for us – the visitor footfall was fantastic, particular on the opening day [Tuesday] and Wednesday, where we saw lots of customers old and new.’
Another company to enjoy a hive of activity on their stand were EDGE Innovate, who generated many quality leads which they are now busy following up. ‘It’s very important for us to be at Hillhead and to showcase our latest innovations, technologies, and service offerings to the quarrying and waste-recycling sectors,’ said Adrian Donnelly, marketing manager for EDGE Innovate.
‘Hillhead 2024 has been an extremely strong event for us regionally and internationally. We’ve been incredibly busy throughout, helped, of course, by the great weather, not to mention the buzz and unmatched atmosphere coming to a show like Hillhead. The timing for the event has worked out perfectly too, as we have introduced new machines, notably the Screenpro S18 heavy-duty tracked scalping screen and VS750i primary waste shredder, which made its debut at the show.’
As usual, the middle day of the event (Wednesday) turned out to be the busiest of the three show days, with many exhibitors reporting very busy stands with deals being struck, plenty of high-quality leads to follow up, new contracts being made, and old contacts being renewed.
Visitors to the joint Lippmann/McCloskey stand were treated to a host of new product solutions and innovations for mobile aggregate processing, stockpiling, and washing. Products on display included: the all-new McCloskey I5 mobile impactor; and industry-proven Lippmann 1060j-t jaw crusher.
Kelly Blickle, head of marketing for MPP Global, McCloskey International, and Lippmann, described Hillhead as one of the ‘world’s best’ trade shows of its kind. ‘As a business looking to make further inroads into the UK and European markets, there is simply no better showcase event than Hillhead,’ she commented.
Ammann were equally positive about the benefits of exhibiting at this year’s Hillhead, as Chris Beckingsale, sales manager for Molson Group, established UK distributors of Ammann equipment, remarked: ‘Once again, we’ve been impressed by the large number and quality of visitors to the show. It’s been terrific with a huge amount of interest shown in our latest paving and compaction equipment. We’ve even managed to sell some machines during the show, including an ARS 50 soil compactor, and I am confident there will be more sales to come as we have good-quality leads to follow up.’
Another company enjoying brisk business at the show were regular exhibitors CMS Cepcor, who unveiled a new logo/brand identity that was soft launched earlier this year. ‘As flag-bearers for British engineering excellence, we couldn’t have asked for a better venue to share our new logo and recently rebranded products with visitors, customers, and partners than this year’s Hillhead event,’ said Amy Gray, support manager – export sales for CMS Cepcor.
‘Visitor footfall on our stand was phenomenal, especially on the Wednesday when we saw lots of familiar faces and many new ones. We supply premium-quality crusher, screen, and asphalt plant spare parts, and the response to our vast range of products has, again, been fantastic. It has also been hugely satisfying to see our brand refresh receive such positive and complimentary feedback from visitors and customers alike.’
David Underhill, business manager – industrial couplings for Renold, described Hillhead 2024 one of the company’s busiest ever shows and said he cannot wait for the next edition of the world’s biggest quarry exhibition. ‘For me, I don’t think there’s anything bigger than Hillhead. This is where companies get business done, meet new/ prospective customers, network with potential partners, and develop relationships within the industry.
‘We’ve seen plenty of high-quality visitors coming to our stand and, as a result, received a substantial number of quality leads and enquiries, some of which will hopefully be converted into orders. All in all, the show was a massive success for us and we’re already looking forward to the next Hillhead.’
Among the host of other exhibitors enjoying a highly rewarding Hillhead 2024 were Kelly Tanks, who displayed a full range of water-treatment and concrete washout systems, which attracted a lot of attention from visitors. ‘This year’s Hillhead was the perfect showcase event for bringing customers up to date with our innovative products and services, and keeping them informed of new advances in technology,’ commented Kelly Bryant, director of Kelly Tanks.
‘At Hillhead 2024, we can get as close as possible to new and existing customers and offer advice to help them operate as efficiently as possible. Our stand attracted a record number of visitors and significant enquiries, so overall it’s been a very successful and worthwhile show for us.’
Another company with good reason to celebrate success at this year’s show were first-time exhibitors McHale Plant Sales, who presented an impressive line-up of Metso machines, including the 68-tonne LT400J mobile jaw crusher and the trailer-mounted Nordwheeler NW8HRC portable crusher, both of which caught the attention of many visitors to their stand.
‘As first-time exhibitors, we are very pleased to be at Hillhead 2024 to showcase our quarrying capability to aggregate producers and materials processing contractors, and further promote our brand to the UK market,’ said Sean Ryan, sales and marketing manager for McHale. ‘The company recently completed its first year as exclusive distributor for Metso mobile equipment in the UK and we wanted to showcase exactly what we represent within the quarrying and recycling industry, and reflect our growth as a business.
‘During the show we’ve had an incredible response to Metso’s new diesel-electric power line and growing Nordwheeler NW Rapid range, and, of course, the unrivalled after-sales support that we pride ourselves on. We’ve seen plenty of high-quality visitors coming to our stand and, as a result, received a high number of good leads and enquiries. We will definitely be back again in 2026.’
Among the host of other exhibitors who are also looking forward to the next edition of Hillhead are crawler undercarriage specialists A-Trax (a subsidiary of global sourcing experts ATG), who described the working quarry show as one of the most important industry trade fairs on their events calendar.
‘Hillhead has been an exceptional show for the business and gives us the perfect opportunity to catch up with our industry friends, colleagues, partners, and customers,’ said Matthew Cox, technical sales at A-Trax. ‘The number of visitors to our stand, as well as the strong interest in our product innovations and engineering expertise, was simply overwhelming. It really could not have gone any better, so much so that we are keen to take a larger stand at the next Hillhead exhibition.’
