The start of September was every bit as busy as we expected, as Team GVZ headed back to the Four Oaks Trade Show for our third year in a row.
Having exhibited twice before, we certainly felt a little more prepared this time around. Before Four Oaks 2024, GVZ had never exhibited at a trade show. As a smaller, family-run business, it simply wasn’t something we had previously considered to be for us. However, GVZ has grown considerably over the last few years – and continues to expand – so taking that first step into the trade show environment three years ago felt like a natural progression.
Three shows later, we’re very glad we did.
Why Four Oaks?
Four Oaks brings together like-minded professionals from across the horticultural industry, providing an opportunity to showcase products, introduce services, exchange ideas and, most importantly, speak face-to-face with the people working within our industry.
For GVZ, the show has proven valuable for more than simply generating new enquiries. One of the biggest – and initially most surprising – benefits has been the opportunity to show our existing customers just how much we actually do.
Many customers may know us for one particular service, whether that’s glasshouse construction, maintenance, machinery, screening, shading or spare parts, without realising the full extent of what GVZ can provide. Four Oaks gives us the chance to bring those services together in one place, helping us strengthen existing relationships as well as introduce GVZ to potential new customers.
Building a Stand the GVZ Way
As a company, we take pride in our workmanship, and our exhibition stand is no exception.
Our entire stand is custom-built by our very talented in-house carpenter. Even better, every exhibition panel doubles as storage for the various components needed to build the stand, making transportation considerably easier. Each year we’re reminded just how clever the design is – and this year, with everything finally properly labelled, putting it together and dismantling it was easier than ever!
The finishing touches are then carefully curated by our Marketing Manager, with the challenge of representing as much of GVZ as possible without creating a stand so busy that nobody knows where to look.
And that is easier said than done.
When you provide such a wide range of services to commercial growers, nurseries and garden centres, deciding what makes it onto the stand can be surprisingly difficult. Each year, we aim to represent the wider business while choosing one particular product or service to take centre stage.
This Year: Transforming Existing Glasshouses
Visitors to our stand over the previous two years may remember our XAG drone suspended from the glasshouse roof. It certainly made an impression and proved to be a brilliant conversation starter for our drone-applied shading and whitewashing services.
This year, however, we decided to give the drone a well-earned break and put the spotlight on another area of the business that has seen growing interest: sandwich panel installations and glasshouse conversions.
With recent periods of extreme temperatures highlighting the importance of insulation, energy efficiency and creating more practical environments within existing structures, we expect this area of our work to become increasingly important for growers, nurseries and garden centres.
Building on our display from last year, we showcased a small-scale sandwich panel roof installation featuring different gutter profiles, alongside striking before-and-after photographs from some of our recent projects.
Seeing the Transformation
One of the most successful additions to this year’s stand was our rotating before-and-after display.
For construction and renovation projects, sometimes a photograph explains the possibilities far better than words ever could. The images demonstrated how an existing or underused glasshouse structure can be transformed into a modern, insulated and practical space – whether that’s a retail area, packing room, packhouse, office, workspace or another facility entirely.
They also helped demonstrate something particularly important to us: that GVZ can manage these projects from start to finish.
The display attracted plenty of attention throughout the two days and led to several conversations and enquiries, both from potential new customers and from existing customers who hadn’t previously realised that this was a service we offered.
Two Days That Go Far Too Quickly
Months of preparation go into exhibiting at Four Oaks, which makes it slightly unbelievable how quickly the actual two days disappear.
As usual, day one was incredibly busy, while day two was a little calmer – although there was still plenty of footfall and plenty of conversations to be had.
Across both days, we thoroughly enjoyed catching up with existing customers, meeting new faces, networking with suppliers and industry contacts, and, of course, having a laugh with our fantastic neighbours.
And then, almost as quickly as it started, it was time to dismantle the stand, load everything back up and head home.
From Four Oaks to Sites Across the UK
Back in the office, the work generated by Four Oaks is already well underway.
We’ve been busy following up enquiries and scheduling requested site visits across the UK, and we’re looking forward to seeing where those conversations lead. For us, that is ultimately what exhibiting is all about: building relationships, showing people what GVZ can offer and creating opportunities to work with both new and existing customers.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by our stand, whether you came for a serious conversation about an upcoming project, wanted to find out more about one of our services, or simply popped over for a chat.
And hopefully, our trade show freebies are now sitting somewhere nearby as a little reminder that, whatever your next glasshouse project or challenge might be…
GVZ Glasshouses is just a stone’s throw away!