Over 1000 people attended the Three Counties Showground yesterday (Thursday 6 October) for Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce’s Business Expo, sponsored by Hewett Recruitment.
The record number of visitors enjoyed a full programme, including hearing from Facebook, the keynote speaker. The opportunity to be inspired from one of the world’s biggest social media platforms attracted 250 people form across the two counties to the morning’s networking breakfast, where John Carr, Partner Manager, spoke on “The Evolution of Communication“.
Facebook delivered two further workshops for businesses, with a number of other events taking place throughout the day. 25 people enjoyed the “Meet the CEO“ event with the opportunity to find out more about Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, Johnson Fleming delivered a seminar on Auto Enrolment, and over 50 people attended the Business Leader‘s lunch. Peter Harris, Co-founder of Hotel Chocolat, gave an inspiring talk at the lunch, explaining the company’s journey from an online tasting club to more than 80 shops across the UK today.
There was a lively atmosphere throughout the day, with visitors speaking to exhibitors, taking part in games and competitions on the stands and networking. Attendees enjoyed taking part in Beat the Buzzer on the Rock Power Connections Stand, Table Football on the Creative Mouse stand and having their caricature drawn on the Driver Hire stand to name a few activities. The Health and Wellbeing Zone was also popular, with a variety of stands showcasing everything from personal training advice, to mental health.
Visitors were also able to explore the thousands of exporting opportunities available aboard the Exporting is GREAT truck outside. As well as admiring the truck’s impressive interior, local experts were on hand to provide visitors with a host of advice about translation, documentation and making the first step overseas.
Emma Chetwynd Jarvis, Electrical Connections Manager at Rock Power Connections Ltd, said: “There was a fantastic atmosphere at the Expo – it always has a real business buzz that lasts throughout the day. A great way for us to raise the profile of our business and to meet some valuable new contacts.”
Linda Smith, Director of International Trade at Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, said: “Following yesterday’s Expo the feedback on the Export Truck has been fantastic – we met many local businesses who saw the interactive on board studio for the first time and enjoyed the mini workshop series; covering digital marketing for international e-commerce, compliance and documentation advice for exporters, and telling and selling tips from the Chamber’s International Advisor team. It was a GREAT setting to park the Export Hub Truck against the backdrop of the Malvern Hills – proving you can export from anywhere!”
Photos from the October Expo are available at www.hwchamber.co.uk/expo