UK Construction Week is just days away and a raft of heavyweight industry players have signed up to attend the inaugural show.

Taking place from 6 – 11 October (with trade only days from 6 – 8 October) at the NEC in Birmingham, UK Construction Week has attracted tens of thousands of pre-registered visitors from the likes of Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Kier Group, Morgan Sindall, BAM Construction, Laing O’Rourke, Galliford Try, Willmott Dixon, Saint Gobain, Travis Perkins, Skanska, Interserve and Amey UK to name but a few. Well-known TV presenter and architect George Clarke will also be in attendance on the first day of the show.

Tradesmen visiting the free to attend event can look forward to a whole raft of benefits that will help them make more money, learn new skills and grab a bargain. Featuring exclusive deals from more than 650 of the industry’s biggest names with over 10,000 products and services on display, the event is not to be missed by anyone looking to add the latest innovations to their tool bag.

Richard Morey, Group Events Director at Media 10, the event company producing UK Construction Week, commented: “We are very happy with how the event has shaped up and blown away by the support and enthusiasm from people across the entire industry. There are so many great exhibitors with some amazing new products to launch at the show, as well as plenty of exclusive deals on offer. What’s more, with the ‘learn to earn’ focus in the seminar programme construction professionals cannot afford to miss this opportunity. Roll-on next week!”

Some of the 650 plus exhibitors signed up to the inaugural show include: CEMEX UK, British Gypsum, Dewalt, FIAT Professional, Nest, Metsa Wood, Case Construction, SIG Digistribution, Internorm, Indesit, Toolstation and Festool.

James Fairclough, UK Submissions Manager at CEMEX, commented: “UK Construction Week offers a unique opportunity for us to showcase our latest products and solutions to a wide variety of construction professionals, indeed we have a number of exciting product launches planned for the event. The fact that UK Construction Week is backed by government is a big plus for CEMEX as we look to help solve the infrastructure and housing problems currently facing the UK through our services, helping to build a greater Britain.”

Some of the exciting new product launches taking place at UK Construction Week include a revolutionary new task specific timber fixing from Joyner Bolt UK Ltd, an innovative new aluminium decking solution from Neaco, multiple additions to CEMEX UK’s ranges across the three trade days and a multi-level sealing tape for windows and doors from ISO-Chemie.

In addition to industry leading exhibitors, the event’s comprehensive seminar content will concentrate on skills, practical business advice and legislation updates. Incorporated into this, the Main Stage seminar theatre will tackle the bigger and broader construction industry topics and challenges such as addressing the current skills and housing shortage. Confirmed hosts on the main stage are influential broadcast journalists John Humphrys, Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Steph McGovern.

One of the keynote presentations of particular importance will be from the Head of Construction at the Cabinet Office – Dr David Hancock, who will set out parliamentary plans and policies for the construction industry over the next electoral period.

Another will be from Richard Bacon MP and Chairman, All Party Parliamentary Group on Self-Build, Custom and Community House building and Place-Making, on how to tackle the housing crisis. Richard commented: “The problem with housing in the UK is that supply does not rise to meet demand.”

In addition to all the opportunities to learn and trade at the show, there is also plenty of opportunity to take advantage of the whole industry coming together to relax and network. UK Construction Week will host a cocktail evening with rugby legend Austin Healey, live music and charity casino in partnership with Construction Enquirer and a beer festival to help visitors and exhibitors relax and unwind at the show.

During the beer festival, Big Brother winner and tradesmen Craig Philips will present the Checkatrade Tradesman of the Year Award. Celebrating the best men and women in the industry, the winner of the award will receive a free premium membership to the Checkatrade website.

Visitors will be able to attend the Build Show incorporating Civils Expo, Timber Expo, the Surface and Materials Show, Energy 2015, Kitchens & Bathrooms Live, Plant & Machinery Live, HVAC 2015, Smart Buildings 2015 and Grand Designs Live.

For more information please visit www.ukconstructionweek.com or follow @UK_CW on Twitter.