Highfields was incorporated in August 1985. We started small as exhibition contractors, hands-on, manufacturing stands out of this unit in Worcester, UK. Although technologies, finishes, construction methods and overall quality are totally unrecognisable between the eras, 1985 lit a spark and love for exhibitions; the challenges, hard-work, hustle and bustle, and satisfaction of seeing a concept come to life.    

Highfields makes it's first purchase  - a 7.5 tonne furniture lorry. The only form of transport at the time (regardless of stand size, it was going onto this lorry!); a large, underpowered truck with, by today's standards, dangerous brakes. Legend has it, when returning from a show, the brakes caught on fire going downhill over the alps. Snow had to be thrown into the discs to extingush the flames.  

This stand will remain a milestone in our history as it was the first to feature a new modern technology, the “personal computer”. The computers were arranged on plinths and connected with a Local Area Network, demonstrating this new advancement. 

From 1978 - 2004, Birmingham NEC hosted The British International Motorshow. The picture is the LADA stand. The spec was for a double deck structure; cars on the ground floor and a turntable, with hospitality above. Stand design, technology and manufacturing have all evolved but interestingly the format of double deck structures - products below, hospitality above - generally hasn't and this layout is still requested today.     

MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food) later DEFRA, ran a public campaign warning of the dangers of rabies and animal smuggling. We have included this as part of our history but it is also a snapshot of exhibition history - it highlights the improvements in design regulations. The stand has fully enclosed open sides - where there would now need to be 40% opening, would require a viewable window into the store room, and a specific grade of glass and finish. Interestingly, the stand is an early example into the use of lightboxes and CNC, cut-out animals graphics - which we would still produce today. 

In the 1980s and 1990s, the exhibition industry was extremely buoyant, and without internet, was the only way to get your products seen by large numbers. Projects could be very large and complex and with less competition, Highfields would regularly install double-digit number of stands at major expos (even 20+). The original premises were too small and wouldn't service the need for growth. From here, Highfields built our foundations, establishing our reptuation for quality, reliability and possibly most important, the personal touch. From here we first used the phrase "large enough to handle any project, small enough to care",    

This is the first project that made the papers. In 1991 a replica Channel Tunnel train (or realistically a float) was commissioned by the then British Rail and Lord Major of London.

This is what the papers said: "At 40ft long, it was a scaled model of the first international train that would take passengers through the tunnel into Europe. With realistic lights and sound effects, it appears to be emerging from the tunnel and approaching the new Waterloo international terminal. The carpeted interior has comfortable seating for 14 guests". 

 

Worcester Rugby Club is culturally part of Worcester. We have manufactured bars for the club and started sponsoring the team way back in the 90s. It started with the then first team, now the juniors (our budgets don't stretch to premiership clubs!) This picture was taken on the first day of sponsorship. 

What was lacking at Highfields in the 1990s were processes. Consitency - that every project is finished to exactly the same high-standard, regardless of who was project managing, the size of the project or where in the world it was being installed. These premises allowed for a marked change in how we operated the flow of work and completed projects, with the admistration team, designers, project managers and offce staff located centrally, to provide clients with (what has become to be expected) a first class service. An inhouse graphic studio, able to demonstrate ability, printing to our standards, not standards set by an outside agency. CNC machines and a large factory. The 1.5 acre site allows for trucks to easy load (under canopy, essential for our glorious weather!), and our large storage facility means that everything is safe onsite. We have built up and improved processes that streamlines the life-cycle of exhibition projects, increased efficency and quality, whilst in many cases, allowed us to produce projects at a more competitive rate.  

Showing the perfect layout for exhibitions: the natural (and physical) flow of a project from inital concept, to manufacture, print, paint and loading. Units 98 are ideally set up for every process.   

A question we sometimes get asked (ok twice) is how did we present a design proposal before CAD and 3D modelling. Before 3D Studio Max and Formz, exhibition designers also created models, but they were physical with each indivudal element cut and glued into place. There were shops dedicated to glues, wires, lights and finishing elements. The process was highly time consuming and limited revisions. Changing a design in a model or "photshopping" elements to quickly make an update, would have been unheard of.        

However the completed stand did look like the model!

Highfields became established (and a well-known name) in the Book Fairs (Frankfurt, London and Bologna) completing numerous booths/stands per Fair. We have proudly worked with the largest publishing houses in the industry, some continously for decades. Book Fairs have most certainly become part of Highfields' identity. 

Delivering stand components in full and on time is key for exhibition contracotrs. In 2015, our fleet extended to included numerous tractor units, trailors, vans and furniture lorries, ensuring wherever your stand was required, it will be delivered on time, and in perfect condition. 

Her Majesty the Queen visited our clients' stand at the Chelsea Flower Show. As our client reported to a newspaper: "We’ve had a wonderful time so far showing green-fingered guests of all ages how gardening can be good for you, and we have also attracted interest from a number of industrial organisations including garden tool manufacturers, manual handling companies and horticultural magazines. We’ll be here until Saturday spreading the message. I don’t anticipate any more visits from Her Majesty the Queen, but who knows – she did seem quite impressed with the work being done to promote gardening as a healthy activity!"

To improve our in-house processes we invested in a new graphic studio. Allowing us to print on jumbo sized foamex (3m x 2m), banners at 3m height x any length and vinyl print/cut machines, the print studio is set up to handle any demanding challenge.  

One of our many journeys through the Alps, this picture was taken near to the Tunnel du Frejus, on the way to set up for the Bologna Book Fair. 

Launching a suite of new software to capture, manage and analyse every aspect of exhibitions and fairs. By listening to and understanding the many tools our clients need at exhibitions, we have developed an integrated platform for Exhibitors, Visitors and Contractors, that allows a logical workflow, generates and shares documentation, captures information and analyses in realtime, in easy to understand charts and graphs. We have built-in decades of first-hand expertise and know-how, giving users everything they need to get the most out of their time at an expo.