Our photographic walk-through of this year’s Multimodal transport, logistics and supply chain management event (4-6 April) at the Birmingham NEC highlights 15 things to do and see – from patting a wolf to finding treasure to testing your driving skills.
Team IFL will be attending Multimodal on Wednesday 5 April. Click here to arrange a meet – we’d love to talk transport with you.
1. Meet a model
The BACA Workwear & Safety model on stand 7090 is a bit stiff but still manages to catch the eye of some passing delegates with her matching hi-viz outfit.
2. Get your shoes shined
Take a seat courtesy of PD Ports on stand 4030.
3. Win tickets to the British Grand Prix
If F1 motorsport is your thing, check out the Fargo Systems Software stand (4002) for a chance to win.
4. Try your hand at mini golf
Play mini golf around Great Britain on the Howard Tenens stand (4020) for the chance to win a spa weekend for two.
5. Test your driving skills
After the number of remote-controlled crashes we witnessed, this is obviously a lot harder than it looks – have a go on the Maritime Transport stand (5040).
6. Meet the Glasgow Warriors
Several members of Glasgow’s rugby union squad will be on the Malcolm Logistics stand (5050) on Wednesday. Or join the scrum and see if you can grab yourself a free ball.
7. Grill the Bacon
If you’re a speedway fan, here’s your chance to talk to local Coventry speedway star, Tom Bacon, who rides for the Birmingham Brummies and Peterborough Panthers, on his sponsor’s stand (5060).
8. Devan a container
Ask nicely and you may be able to have a go with this model mobile straddle carrier from CombiLift on stand 4085. The real version can lift 35 tons and is used in freight and logistics, as well as steel, concrete and other manufacturing industries.
9. Find the treasure
Stake your flag in the city for a chance to win a Fitbit on the Charles Kendall stand 5100.
10. See Heathrow’s third runway from above
Visit Heathrow Cargo on stand 7050 and admire their 1:4000 model of the Heathrow expansion.
11. Pat a wolf
What do rosewood guitars, wolves and colon detox pills have in common? They’re all on the Border Force’s list of banned items (see their amazing collection of confiscations on stand 7050). Cue long discussion about getting guitars licensed to travel post-Brexit.
12. Win a giant Easter Egg
CEMEX on stand 6085 is offering a draw for a giant Easter Egg – just ask them about rolled compacted concrete to find out how to enter.
13. Discover alternative pallets
Hidden at the back of Multimodal is a neat sustainable pallet innovation. Recyclable Pallite offer a lighter, cheaper alternative to wooden pallets, taking around 750kg weight, typically saving £40 on airfreight and eliminating contamination caused by splinters and nails. The company also launched Pallite boxes in 2016 as an alternative to crates, which fold away when not in use.
14. Recharge your mobile
If you need some juice for your phone, there’s a handy charging station on the American Express stand (7039).
15. Spot the slogans
Wednesday is a day of Brexit briefings in the Multimodal seminar programme. With this week’s geopolitical Brexit row between the UK, Gibraltar and Spain hitting the headlines, we can’t help but feel a bit sorry for VIIA rail transport on stand 6022.
Images: (CC) International Forwarding Ltd. For Creative Commons re-use of these images, please attribute and link back to International Forwarding Ltd.
