Exhibition stand builder for Advanced Engineering, two days to make the NEC floor count

Advanced Engineering takes place on 4 and 5 November 2026 at the NEC Birmingham. Two days. That is all the time you get to make technical capability legible to a specifier walking past at speed.

It changes how the stand should be designed. The reader of your stand is an engineer, a buyer or a design lead scanning aisles of aerospace, automotive, composites, electronics, metals and subcontract manufacturing suppliers. They decide in a few seconds whether you make what they need.

So the work goes into three things:

• Parts and machinery shown properly. Plinths at the right height, correct load allowance, cable routes planned in, guarding and access thought through before the drawing is signed off.
• Somewhere to have the real conversation. A meeting area inside a technical stand, semi-private, so a serious enquiry does not get had standing in an aisle.
• Lighting that makes engineered surfaces read. Machined aluminium, carbon weave, coatings and welds all need directional light to show form at distance. Flat ambient light flattens them.

We build custom only, from scratch, for one brand in one space. No system height limit of about 2.5m to design around, so you can go up and be seen from the other end of the hall.

We are based in Tamworth, Staffordshire, about 20 minutes from the NEC Birmingham. The NEC is our home venue. In practical terms, for an exhibitor at Advanced Engineering, that proximity means:

• Site visits during design. We can walk your space while the drawings are still changing, not after they are frozen.
• The crew on site early. Short journey, early start, more contingency in the build-up schedule.
• Problems fixed from the workshop. If something needs remaking during build-up, our carpenters, electricians and fabricators are a short drive away with the machines and the materials, not stuck in a hotel making phone calls.
• Local storage between shows. We store stands and reuse them for the next event, which keeps the cost of your second and third show down.

We also regularly work at the ICC and Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, Coventry Building Society Arena, ExCeL London, Olympia London, Harrogate and international shows. But the NEC is 20 minutes down the road.

No surprises. A typical mid-range custom build totals 16,000 to 44,000 GBP. Here is how that breaks down.

• Design and 3D visuals: free of charge for qualifying enquiries.
• Fabrication and build: typically around half of any contract value. From 4,000 GBP at the small end, 8,000 to 20,000 GBP mid-range, up to 50,000 to 60,000 GBP on large contracts.
• Graphics and print: 3,000 to 8,000 GBP mid-range. Graphics-led builds can run 12,000 to 18,000 GBP.
• Electrics and lighting: 1,200 to 5,000 GBP, up to 6,000 GBP on larger builds. This is where lighting for machined and coated surfaces sits.
• Transport and logistics: 600 to 2,000 GBP.
• Installation: 2,000 to 5,000 GBP depending on contract size.
• Breakdown: 1,500 to 4,000 GBP. De-rigging takes nearly as much labour as build-up, so it is a real line, not an afterthought. Storage is quoted separately.

Full service, one contract, one point of contact:

• Design to your brief, with free 3D visuals for qualifying enquiries so you can see the stand before you commit.
• Build in our own Tamworth workshop by our permanent in-house team.
• Graphics and print, with finished artwork needed four weeks before the show.
• Transport to the NEC.
• Installation during build-up.
• Breakdown and de-rig after the show closes.
• Storage, quoted separately, ready for your next event.

Tell us your stand number, the dimensions, whether you are bringing physical parts or machinery, and what you need to do with visitors once they stop. We will come back with ideas and a clear quote.