Safety In Action visitors chasing innovation

Day two of Safety In Action is underway following last night's presentation of the best stand awards.

The exhibition opened with a flood of visitors yesterday, which tapered off in the afternoon. Whilst exhibitors were hoping for a more steady flow of visitors, the general consensus is that there is a high level of interest in the products and services being displayed.

Shelley Smith from Dairy Farmers' Cheese Division is a regular visitor to Safety In Action. She attended the show this morning with two other colleagues who were visiting for the first time.

She said the reason she returns to the show every year is to see the new product innovations. "It's great to see everything first hand, rather than in a catalogue.

"It's much quicker than ordering a sample in and waiting for it to arrive before deciding whether or not it's what you need."

Show organisers added a fourth category to their Safety In Action stand awards this year. The "Best Newcomer' category joined the "Best Stand 18 sqm and Under', "Best Stand Over 18 sqm' and "Best Use of the Exhibition Medium' awards.

This year's awards were won by:

• Best Stand 18sqm and Under - Workforce Safety Products, with an honourable mention to The Safety Sign Biz.
• Best Stand Over 18sqm - Rockwell Automation, with an honourable mention to Capital Safety.
• Best Newcomer - Barden Clothing, with an honourable mention to Nilsen.
• Best Use of the Exhibition Medium - Bata Industrial, with an honourable mention to Rockwell Automation.

Bata Industrial was the clear winner in arguably the most coveted award - Best Use of the Exhibition Medium.

Owen Begg from Bata said the team is rapt to have won the award. "We have an expanded stand this year. We wanted to feature the SportMates joggers, because they've been really popular, and the new stand was a great opportunity to do this.

"We've always participated in Safety In Action, but never to this level. We've really started to increase our marketing presence ¬ everyone has always known the Bata name in respect to school shoes, and now they're starting to associate it with safety footwear also."

Safety In Action is open until 5 pm today and from 9 am to 4 pm tomorrow at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.

Wendy Cramer, Editor