A headlining Railtex exhibition stand for Hitachi with an emphasis on technology and meeting people.
The challenge
To create a warm and inviting space with natural materials, unique illustrations, and plenty of technology.
The result
A beautifully crafted stand that could be seen throughout the show hall. Featuring interactive screens, a comfy meeting area and hand-finished ash baton panels, Hitachi’s stand was a big success at Railtex.
We worked with Hitachi to design and produce this year’s Railtex exhibition stand at Olympia in London. Railtex / Infrarail is the premium show for the rail industry, and the Hitachi team wanted to create a fresh new stand to showcase their cutting edge technologies.
One of the most important factors was to create a welcoming space that allowed easy connection to the show visitors. With this in mind, we prioritised open space, stand visibility and comfort. Features such as the cushioned meeting zone, ramped floor and warm lighting all combined to create an accessible and approachable stand.
The 4 meter tall stand structure was adorned with illustrations by London-based graphic designer Will Baxter and hand-finished, individually spaced ash batons. The graphics were seamless, wrapping perfectly around the 90 degree corner of the stand. A high level 3D Hitachi logo was illuminated by stylish down lights and provided a focal point at high level.
The structure was designed using our stock of Aluvision framework, an environmentally-friendly, reusable aluminium system that is strong and stable. The beauty of this system is that the frames can be reconfigured depending on the space available, allowing existing graphics to be reused in future shows.
Above the stand, we rigged a 2 metre by 1 metre banner box which presented the Hitachi logo all across the show hall. This empowered show visitors to easily find the stand without relying on a floorplan whilst contributing a sense of stature to the space.
There was plenty of technology on the stand with a large 70” screen working in tandem with a smaller 24” screen for product demos. Along the perimeter there was a bank of 43” touch screens on the main counter with an integrated, outward facing 55” screen. This gave the Hitachi technical and marketing teams plenty of opportunities to show off their content.
The meeting area featured custom-made cushioned benches, a planter to act as a semi-private screen, and 3 hanging pendant lights in the classic Hitachi red. The red theme was continued through the surrounding trim to subtly frame and highlight this area.
The floor was raised using our durable and modular flooring tile system, providing easy access to cabling. A dark grey, plush velour carpet was laid for extra foot comfort – perfect for staff who have to stand all day! Stainless steel angled ramp finished the perimeter, supporting wheelchair access to the stand whilst providing a stylish final touch to the floor.
As part of our design service, we created a full 3D model of the stand in our CAD software, working from concept to final delivery of the stand. Realistic visuals for the client, technical drawings for the organisers, and artworking templates were all generated through the model, all of which could be updated as the project advanced.
Our project management team submitted stand plans and risk assessment method statements as required by the show organisers, keeping everything as easy as possible for the Hitachi team. Once the final design was signed off, the bespoke furniture was produced and the stand was pre-built in our facility to ensure a smooth running on the build day.
The stand was installed in Olympia successfully, with our installation team delivering to their usual high standard. Hitachi were delighted with their Railtex exhibition stand, using the space for promotional videos as well as meeting the show visitors. We look forward to working with the team again!
