Event organisers say that visitors spent more time at the show than ever before with a record number attending for more than one day. In total there were 26,626 visits over the three days – marking an 8% increase over the 2022 edition.
They add that Hillhead - which took place from 25–27 June at Tarmac’s Hillhead Quarry, near Buxton, Derbyshire – underlined its status as the UK’s biggest live demonstration trade show for the quarrying, construction and recycling industries.
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.
A record number of machines took part in four live demonstration areas around the quarry, in addition to there being a host of site improvements (eg additional catering areas, more car parking spaces, and new hydration stations).
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 digitalisation, automation, and decarbonisation 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."
Nearly 600 UK and international companies showcased new machines, breakthrough technologies, and cutting-edge service solutions at the event. 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.
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.
