Sales director of UK trade show kbb Birmingham Jon Johnston said organiser Informa is planning an “exciting and engaging” exhibition and reported visitor pre-registration is “strong” for the event in March.

He commented: “We’re very confident about the outlook for the show and are busy planning for an exciting and engaging event.”

Taking place at the NEC in Birmingham, from March 6-9, Jon Johnston said travel uncertainty due to COVID had meant a “handful” of international cancellations.

Sponsored Video

Quarter sawn Tulipwood

However, he reported the company had been taking stand bookings up to Christmas and now into the New Year.

Johnston pointed out 200 kitchen and bathroom brands are already confirmed to exhibit at Kbb Birmingham and it was “shaping up to be a vibrant show floor.”

Among the brands set to appear at kbb Birmingham 2022 at Bosch, Burbidge, Davroc,  Electrolux, Hafele, Laufen, Neff, Nobilia, Novy, Pando, Perrin & Rowe, Pronorm, Roca, Samsung, Siemens, Quooker and Uform.

In addition, Johnston said the company was heartened by visitor response to the show: “Pre-registration is looking strong, and we’re really encouraged to see that we’re matching the numbers from our last event in 2020, at a comparable time.”

The company has introduced a series of guidelines to maintain health measures during the show, including wider aisles to enable physical distancing, should it be recommended by local government.

In additional, the show will use digital badges that can be accessed on any smart phone and all visitors will be encouraged to register online rather than at the event.

Johnston stated: “Whether they are exhibitors, visitors, speakers or sponsors, we want all our customers to come to kbb Birmingham to connect, learn and do business, safely and with confidence.

“We will be adhering to all government guidelines and have an agile and flexible team who will work within this.”

He pointed to the show as reuniting the community and said kbb Birmingham offered at “unbeatable” opportunity for face-to-face business: “We are looking forward to reuniting the KBB industry for four days of unrivalled networking and specifying, as well as being able to see the latest innovations and trends in the market.

“kbb Birmingham offers an unbeatable opportunity for our community to meet in-person with valued partners, colleagues and visitors. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back.”