June is proving a busy month for Borough. First, we have to shuffle our moulding workshop around again to ensure we can squeeze in the latest addition to our inventory, with the arrival of another new Engel 400tk tie-bar-less ‘2-shot’ press.

Then it’s passports, tickets, exhibition stand and samples at the ready as we head to our stand at the Automotive Interiors Expo 2017, in Hall 5 at the Messe exhibition centre in Stuttgart, June 20-22.

Happily, for this non-German speaking Sales Director (I can just about order beer), our Hannover-based representative Henning Dieckmann will be on hand to discuss our capabilities with those who prefer to discuss technical specifications in German.

The event brings together a number of important shows for those of us involved in the automotive supply chain, including; Automotive Testing Expo, Autonomous Vehicle Test & Development Symposium, Global Automotive Components & Suppliers Expo and the main attraction, the Automotive Interiors EXPO.

The exhibition in Hall 5 features around 130 exhibitors and shows almost every product found in vehicles, covering components supplied to just about every car manufacturer in the world. This year, speciality finishes are a strong theme, with our chrome-plated plastics sure to be a highlight for many visitors.

We are always welcoming buyers to our Southend facility and I’m a regular visitor to the major automotive supply chain partners, but exhibitions like this are important to connect with new buyers who want to touch and feel components, whilst understanding our capabilities.

This isn’t just a show for individuals in the interiors supply chain, but for OEM interior design teams from the leading car manufacturers who want to keep up with new developments in the rapidly changing world of materials, finishes and technologies.

It’s interesting to see the show will also feature presentations highlighting new styling trends, ergonomics, trim and finish, connectivity, safety and technical innovations from industry OEMs, suppliers, research institutions and styling houses.

Hopefully some of these individuals will also wander onto our stand and recognise how important it is to design moulding specifically for chrome plating. It makes a big difference to the quality we can achieve, compared to those components moulded with chrome-plating only as an afterthought.

We will be there to show off our technical expertise in moulding and chrome plating components, hoping to discuss the needs of manufacturers and major players in the automotive supply chain. News of our new ‘2-shot’ Engel moulding machine, which allows for selective chroming of components, will hopefully bring a lot of buyers to our stand – A5028.

This is a new venture for Borough, with the new machine acquired to fulfil the needs of a client who wants exterior car parts with chrome-plated surfaces, but un-plated fixing tabs that are free to flex in the fitting process.

Of course, we’ll have plenty of examples of components we currently supply, with photos taken at some interesting angles to mask the identity of the famous vehicles adorned by our chrome, but we’re not allowed to talk about!

If you’re there, come to Stand A5028 in Hall 5 and say ‘Hello’ or ‘Guten Tag’, whichever feels more comfortable.