Invest in experience…

RTH has 35 years of experience at the Paris Air Show. And that experience is precisely what our clients who were exhibiting there in 2023 bought from us.

As we’ll share with you, it ensured them quality, it saved them worry and it yielded them some truly show-stopping displays.

The Paris Air Show 2023, which ran from 19 to 25 June, was the 54^th occasion it had been staged. All the great and the good in the aviation industry attended. There were thousands of exhibitors and hundreds of thousands of trade and public visitors.

RTH was looking after six projects for five clients at this show. We had fourteen members of staff in attendance, in addition to a small army of contractors whom we were project managing. The scope of our work ranged from a 104 square metre stand to a 2,715 square metre chalet. And just about everything in between.

Innovative design

We designed and built a bespoke immersive LED tunnel for Raytheon Technologies (RTX) which proved to be a major success for all involved. Collaborating with media content generators we ensured the technical detail and specification of hardware worked seamlessly to deliver the desired effect. This was applauded as a great example of creative structural design, hardware and content generation at an airshow.

With so much going on we’ve highlighted five areas to illustrate to you how our decades of involvement at the Paris Air Show have led to great experiences and results for our clients.

Choosing trade show display suppliers…

Being able to call upon a network of trusted suppliers is key to delivering successful exhibition displays. And with our 35 years’ experience at the Paris Air Show and numerous other events around the world, we have a little black book of suppliers that is a treasure trove of valuable connections.

From audio visual (AV) technicians to build contractors, caterers to cleaners, our partners are an essential part of our value proposition to you. They help us deliver the stands, chalets and pavilions to the high specifications our clients demand.

They really do matter

At times, unforeseen circumstances beyond our control can arise. On the evening before the show’s opening, when most suppliers had already left the site, a sudden storm (some even described it as a tornado!) hit, throwing months of preparation into the air. External furniture, displays, plants, and flooring were scattered in all directions.

The timing of this force of nature served as a rigorous test for our structural waterproofing methods, not to mention our resolve. All members of the RTH team were still on-site, ready to repair, replace, and rebuild in preparation for the show’s opening.

Astonishingly, our clients remained unaware until the following day, finding it difficult to believe that anything had happened at all.

Exhibition display builds: starting early, finishing early

Having worked at Paris and other major air shows for so long, we know every play in the book for ensuring our clients enjoy a quality experience. One approach that is indicative of this is starting and finishing the build early.

We’ll actually pay a premium to the site to get early access, and the benefits to our clients of doing this cannot be overstated. First, it builds in a little slack to the project to deal with any unexpected turn of events (like the storm in 2023), but this is not our primary motivation.

Because we start early, we finish our builds well before the show begins. This means our clients can come on site and have a chance to review our work in good time for final adjustments to be made. This is a calm, considered walkthrough that sets clients’ minds at ease as they see everything come together.

The contrast to a chalet managed by another firm pushing their build to the time limit, is marked. Stressed out clients and contractors, not to mention the project managers; little to no opportunity to make adjustments; and the risk of an element not being completed satisfactorily.

A smooth start to the show

The other benefit of finishing early is that, should you choose, you can start to use your asset early. This gives you a valuable extra day or two of use on top of what is a very short-term, temporary build of your exhibition display.

Whether it is giving your staff a dress rehearsal and letting them enjoy the facilities, completing some valuable media work or something else. At Paris, two clients’ chalets were a hive of activity the day before the show opened, with filming, catering and tours in full swing.

Understanding the site regulations of trade shows

Paris 2023 gave us ample opportunity to add value to our clients with our knowledge and experience of the site regulations. These include health and safety rules and practical points, like understanding where responsibility lies for a boundary wall between chalets.

The biggest material impact this was able to yield was in the design of the two pavilions we worked on. While we are all grateful for the rigorous health and safety regulations that keep us safe, they can restrict a client’s ambitions for their designs.

On an initial inspection, you’d think the regulations at Paris would not permit a suspended ceiling in the pavilions. But we’ve been around the block and know how to come up with a design which satisfies health and safety rules, whilst providing the client with elegant suspended ceilings.

These small points all add up to making a big difference.

Runners, and finishing touches to your trade show exhibits

With operations as complex as those our clients are running, there will inevitably be snags. So in the build-up and during the event we’ll manage a team of runners to take the stress away from you. We know that this is an essential part of our service, alongside our design and build functions.

At this point, we are the eyes and ears for our clients – noticing issues before they do. This includes spotting the minor actions we can take to provide that extra sheen. Sometimes literally some “extra sheen” with one of our project managers buffing up a hand rail.

Our trade show checklist

Noticing when the pot plants need some care and attention or if the bathrooms would look better with chrome soap dispensers, we have eyes on everything.

And then there are the things that our clients forget, or break or lose. It’s really not surprising given the amount they will have set themselves to do. So we are there for them.

“We need three new lightning cables to keep the display iPads charged.” No problem, our man in a van will add it to his daily shopping list. “On reflection, we would like that big vase and flowers you suggested earlier.” Consider it done. We’ll get them over to you within 30 minutes!

Transforming exhibition display design into build

Some clients will involve other creative agencies in various aspects of project delivery – particularly the design. We enjoy working with other agencies, but we also have a complete design function in-house. This is optimised for the temporary structures used in exhibitions, their most efficient use and management.

This means that we understand from the outset what can be achieved within, for example, budget and site regulations. Our work at the Paris Air Show 2023 raises one or two good illustrations of the value which our combination of design and build experience brings to clients.

For one of our larger projects a design concept was presented by another agency who had previously only worked outside the industry, albeit with prestigious clients.

The concept was great, and the client loved it – but it was not practical within the scope of a temporary build. Much discussion was had, and we were able to work with the agency to evolve the design into something that worked for an exhibition which would only last a few days.

We pride ourselves in making creative ideas a reality – whether they originate from our own in-house design capability, or a third-party agency.

Always at the forefront of innovation, RTH’s work at the Paris Airshow 2023 included hologram technology and a hi-tech aerospace cockpit display for RTX and RTX Collins Aerospace respectively.

We were proud of our work on the Boom Supersonic chalet which, unusually, blended features of an exhibition display within its walls. Rather than a traditional reception or lobby area, on arrival visitors were treated to an experiential journey through an airport style executive check-in, and walk through. This culminated in an executive lounge area where they could inspect materials and features which will be onboard the Overture supersonic airliner.

Once completed, visitors would find all the usual fine dining and casual catering and meeting spaces one would expect in an air show chalet. It is a clever use of space and budget and we think it may be a growing trend in the industry.

Trade show requirements

If you are experienced in trade shows, you will know that each show will have its own rules and requirements based on local laws and organiser preference. These may vary from location to location and year to year. So even a solution that was accepted at a previous Paris Air Show may not be workable this time around.

We experienced one such challenge at Paris 2023 when we received late notice from the organisers about suspended ceiling and air conditioning regulations. This prompted a redesign of the Raytheon Technologies (RTX) pavilion and the re-engineering of the suspended ceiling to accommodate these regulations.

The new framework we designed and built was still fit to hold a stunning satellite and plane display, suspended from the ceiling, with extra support beams and concealed legs incorporated to satisfy the amended requirements.

See what our 30 years of experience at air shows and other exhibitions can do for you

With all this experience and knowledge behind us we delivered each of our exhibition displays ahead of time and to specification. And with onsite support during the show, it all means that our clients can focus on achieving their objectives from the exhibition. They know that they are in safe hands.

Choosing RTH for your trade show is to choose experts. Designers, engineers, carpenters, logistics managers, contractors and project managers who are all specialists in what they do and really care about your success at the exhibition. Choosing RTH is to buy trade show experience that is hard to match anywhere else.

If you could benefit from our knowledge and experience when you next exhibit, please get in touch.