June/July 2020

FIT Show 2021
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
As we weather the storm that is Covid-19, only the strongest will survive. Total Fabricator
speaks to one installer who’s looking to do business with these ‘leaner, fitter companies’ at
FIT Show 2021...
David Thornton, of The Window Company
(Contracts), says that he will be visiting
next year’s FIT Show with a view to
identifying new supply partners, because the
event will “highlight the leaner, fitter and better
funded companies in our industry.”
David, who has previously shown his support for
the event, which will take place once again at
the NEC in May, was asked for his views on the
relevance of the FIT Show at a time when the
industry is facing enormous challenges
due to Covid-19. He said: “Although
we all have an extremely difficult road
ahead, assuming that we are able to
return to some sort of normality in the
coming months, the next FIT Show will be
immensely important for the industry.
“With the cancellation of Fensterbau until 2022,
FIT Show 2021 will be even more important.
Certainly, I will regard any exhibitors at next
year’s FIT Show as companies that I am more
likely to do business with, simply as they have
not only survived but they can afford to be there
both financially and logistically. By then they
are likely to have rationalised their products and
services and, like all of us, will have taken a lot
of hard decisions during the lockdown that will
make them leaner, fitter and simply better to do
business with.”
One of the South East’s leading commercial
window, door and curtain walling installers,
working for some of the region’s biggest
contractors and social housing providers, David
has steered The Window Company (Contracts)
to three ‘Installer of the Year’ titles. A committed
industry man, David has also served as a director
of the Glass & Glazing Federation. He added: “You
meet people face-to-face at an exhibition like the
FIT Show and, as sophisticated as
digital communications are, there
is no substitute for looking people in
the eye to discuss your needs and their ability to
supply you. We do a lot of business at FIT.”
Next year’s event will be even more important
in this process, he says: “It’s a fact that many
of the more fragile companies will have gone. I
want to see who is left, to see the shape of their
businesses and how they intend to develop
going forward; the May ‘21 FIT Show
will be a filter, in effect.
Left: David Thornton of The Window Company (Contracts) and below: FIT Show’s Nickie West.
“But just as importantly,” adds David,
“many of the challenges posed by the
lockdown came from the basic human
need to interact… the FIT Show will be so
very important, as we come out of this period.”
Nickie West, FIT Show event director, added:
“With just under a year to go until FIT Show ‘21, I
have been encouraged by the conversations that
we have been having with our peers, exhibitors
and prospects – a great number of which are
already at up to 80% operational capacity as part
of their return to business operations.
“Like David, a number of industry figureheads
have highlighted their belief that FIT Show ‘21
will act as a barometer for business success. My
hope is that FIT Show will serve as a beacon for
the industry, and a positive milestone for us all to
work towards.
“I’ve been encouraged by the data that is being
reported across the industry, with commercial
business remaining buoyant throughout the
Covid-19 lockdown, and a steady flow
of domestic leads which have
continued to build as homeowners
shift their focus to improving and
not moving or holidaying.
“The conversations that I am
having with our stakeholders and the
sentiment that I am feeling from across the
industry, is that this is a storm that we have – and
will continue to – weather together.”
Contact FIT Show:
0207 886 3100
www.fitshow.co.uk
@fitshow
16 T F JUNE/JULY 2020 CONNECTING THE WINDOW, DOOR & ROOF FABRICATION SUPPLY CHAIN