OMS LubriTek’s Interplas Success: Elevating Oil Management with a Tailor Made Stand
When engineer Jamie Shaw decided to go for it alone and launch his own enterprise, plenty of business decisions were to be made. One, however, has left him in no doubt that it was the right one and less than a month on, he is still reaping the benefits.
“We invested into a bespoke stand design with Smart Display, and it has already paid for itself.” Says the director and co-founder of Oil Management Specialist OMS Lubritek, Jamie Shaw. He followed this by saying, “Having our stand at last month’s Interplas attracted one million per cent more people than we saw at our previous show, and we have already booked again for next time around.”
Working with OMS Lubritek has been particularly poignant for Smart Display because of the shared synergy between the two companies. Located just two miles apart, both were established in 2016. Both survived the impact of the subsequent pandemic despite being fledgling businesses. Smart Display is proud to have become an integral chapter in the OMS Lubritek story as the exhibition business returns to normal.
“I launched the business with my two then-colleagues Stuart Bogg and Paul Howley because we saw an opportunity to maximise the potential of a different type of lubricant,” said Jamie.
“Just a month later, we were invited to exhibit at Interplas 2017 as part of a pavilion organised by industry body PlastikCity. It was one stand divided into twenty two-metre spaces, but we secured a contract with a big customer that we still have. That’s when we realised that potential of trade exhibitions.”
Occurring every three years, Interplas was next set to return to the NEC in 2020. However, Covid-19 hit, and the show ended up being postponed until 2021. OMS Lubritek committed to exhibiting again, but the event became a defining moment in the company’s story.
“That edition of Interplas was a nightmare,” says Jamie. “We were working with a local company who produced our brochures, and they built our stand for us. The night before the show, they put these pull-up banners in place with Velcro, and when we arrived the next morning, they were all on the floor. We invested in a video demonstrating our new energy-efficient hydraulic oil, and the USB wouldn’t work on the screen we had hired. We had to resort to running the video from the laptop with an HDMI cable trailing to the screen, and it just looked awful.”
“We agreed that if we were going to do this again, we were going to do it properly… The investment into a trade show isn’t just the cost of a stand; it’s hotels and time away from the business and, if it is worth doing, you must have the right presence and branding.” Jamie and his colleagues unanimously concluded.
OMS Lubritek sought the help of Smart Display and a few CAD designs later, the brand’s new stand was taking shape. Standing four metres high in the brand’s signature red, black and yellow, the structure seamlessly incorporated two TV screens and barrel-style seating, reminiscent of the brand’s core product.
“The whole process was fantastic,” says Jamie. “It helped to be local because we could pop in and sit next to the designers while they worked. I gave them my budget, and we put the initial design together, tweaking various elements along the way. I deliberated over having our logo in lights, which I didn’t go for because of our budget restrictions.”
The bespoke approach meant that Jamie and his fellow directors could return to their business, knowing their stand was being taken care of.
“The best thing was getting to the show the day before it opened and, instead of fighting our way through pallets and teething troubles, the stand was just there,” explained Jamie Shaw. “It looked fantastic. It was everything I had envisaged. The videos worked, there were no wires – it was much more professional.”
Reassured that the stand was good to go, Jamie and his team prepared for the three days ahead at the plastic industry’s premier trade event. They invested much more into their stand than their previous shell scheme, so they relied on the new structure to attract the business they needed to justify the cost.
Less than a month on, all three directors are still busy following up on the leads they made at Interplas 2023. So, did the investment into a bespoke stand build to pay off?
“Absolutely,” says Jamie. “The bespoke stand attracted one million per cent more people than we would have had with our previous shell scheme. Interplas is a vibrant show with machines running and robots spinning around, but I felt we had a presence. And more importantly, we had a much better presence than our competitors.”
“I think what really struck me was that we were in the same square metreage and the same position as we were last time around, but it just looked so different. If I were in a competitor’s shoes, looking at our stand, I would have felt envious. The quality of the leads and the potential business that we secured means that the stand has already paid for itself.”
As the team at OMS Lubritek catches up with its new business and accounts, Jamie’s thoughts are already turning to Interplas 2026.
“I’ve already booked in for next time, and we will be doing it with Smart Display,” he says. “But this time, I am having our logo in lights.”
Learn more about OMS LubriTek and get in contact with them here.
