The verdicts are in – WJA Trade Show 2024 is a great success!

WJA Trade Show 2024, the UK’s first large dedicated water jetting exhibition, has been hailed a success with visitors and exhibitors quick to say how impressed they were with the event.

Hundreds of visitors attended the event at StoneX Stadium in north west London, home of the Saracens Rugby Club, on Thursday 12th September to see products and services displayed by more than 30 exhibitors.

Exhibitors were universally positive about the event, organised by the Water Jetting Association, the member body for the UK water jetting industry.

Visitors were also clearly enjoying the exhibition, with some travelling from Continental Europe and the Middle East to see products and services vital to many industrial sectors, including construction, petrochemicals, oil and gas, industrial cleaning, and drainage.

WJA President John Jones was thrilled that WJA Trade Show 2024 was a success. He said: “There was a huge buzz in the hall, the excitement and interest was palpable. We definitely had the right exhibitors and the right visitors.

“There were a lot of positive discussions on going throughout the exhibition hall and, from the feedback, I got, a lot of very positive connections were being made and future business opportunities were being set up.

“The WJA wanted to provide new opportunities for its members and for the industry as a whole to come together to discuss key issues, including water jetting health, safety, and wellbeing, and standards.

“The event absolutely succeeded in doing that. I would like to thank our director, Leanne Smith and her team, ably assisted by WJA board member Lee O’Callaghan, for all their hard work in making this happen.”

WJA Trade Show 2024’s four sponsors – Aquajet UK, Doornbos, Flowplant, and WaterJet Training – plus many other exhibitors, were pleased with how the exhibition went, and its potential for the future.

Steve Seedhouse, Sales Executive at Aquajet UK, suppliers of hydrodemolition robots, and a show sponsor, said: “The trade show has been a positive experience for us.

“We’ve had good conversations with potential customers. It’s a strong start for an event that we hope will become a fixture in the water jetting industry calendar.”

Dave Malin, Managing Director of water jetting contractor Sabre Jetting, and a member of the WJA board, said: “The trade show was the perfect opportunity to champion everything we, at Sabre, care most about, including health and safety and training.”

David Beckingham, Vice President of International Sales at exhibitor and WJA member NLB Corp, flew in from Michigan, USA, for the event and was impressed with the experience.

He said: “WJA Trade Show 2024 is an amazing event. It’s given us a chance to network with a lot of other interesting and important businesses. The Water Jetting Association deserves great credit for organising it. We’ll be back for the next one.”

Steve Smith, Managing Director of Flowplant Group, another WJA Trade Show sponsor, said: “The trade show has been immense. It’s been a major success for our business. We’ve met current customers and started discussions with potential new ones.

“It’s been a perfect opportunity to showcase our new van pack pivoting reel. It’s so much better to be able to demonstrate new products face-to-face with people who want the latest drainage technology. We’ll definitely be exhibiting next time.”

Lee O’Callaghan said: “We hope this is just the start. We’ve learned a lot from organising the first WJA Trade Show and will certainly incorporate feedback from exhibitors and visitors to make the next one bigger and better.

“I’d like to thank the experts from exhibitors who gave presentations on the day, including TST, Okappy, First Insurance Solutions, Fluid Water Jetting and Arco Professional Safety Services. Sharing knowledge is a priority for the WJA.”

WJA Director Leanne Smith was quick to thank exhibitors, many of them WJA members, for putting their trust in the first WJA trade show.

“We had exhibitors from right across the UK, and the rest of Europe for that matter, from Sweden, the Netherland, Germany and Italy,” she added. “They’re commitment created a mix of services and products that clearly struck a chord with exhibition visitors.”