The annual Automotive Interiors Expo, at the Messe Exhibition and Conference Centre in Stuttgart proved a big success and we’ve only just finished adding all the new contacts we made to our CRM system.

It was this activity that prompted me to put finger to keyboard, having entered details for visitors to our stand from as far away as Mexico and the US – all keen to understand our capabilities and witness the unrivalled quality we deliver, especially now with our two-shot moulding machines.

In typical lower-tier supplier fashion, we are unable to name names and list the brands that came to see us and discuss their plans for the next few years.

But suffice to say whilst the Tier 1 suppliers and their design teams may not be household names, the marques for which our components form an important part are very much the top of the wish-list for most car drivers.

As the UK’s leading plastic chrome plater, we know it’s important to get out and meet our customers and demonstrate our expertise, which can be easily forgotten thanks to the speed of change of personnel within the automotive supply chain sector.

This year the show was all about combining quality and style to create components and designs that will shape the future of car manufacturing – nothing at the show will appear on a car within the next two or more years, given the long gestation period for new models.

The informative insightful seminars and presentations for which the Expo has become famous, ranged from those covering very specific subjects, like ‘Bicomponent 3D spunbond non-woven material for automotive markets’ and ‘How glass can enable cars to switch to true colours’.

All were well attended, which demonstrates the sectors appetite for knowledge to ensure best practice is shared and exploited for the benefit of consumers.

Unsurprisingly perhaps, Brexit was a popular topic of conversation as was President Trump’s threat to impose import tariffs on European cars, an issue that appears to be receding thankfully.

Many of the European visitors to our stand expressed understanding of the frustrating position in which the UK finds itself.

However, everyone was optimistic that we would all find a way to continue growing the important relationships UK manufacturers like Borough have developed over the past 50 years with EU based automotive supply chain partners.

We left Stuttgart feeling the outlook is brighter than many would have us believe and we will certainly be exhibiting next year and reminding everyone that the UK still leads the way in chrome plating plastic components.