Hillhead 2024: Unparalleled Success

First published in the July 2024 issue of Quarry Management

Attracting more than 19,500 trade visitors and featuring an impressive 598 exhibitors across three show days, Hillhead 2024 – the biggest working quarrying exhibition on the planet – once again raised the ante, showcasing a plethora of new products, cutting-edge technologies, and innovative trends that promise to shape the future of the industry

Hillhead 2024 is over for another year, but there is no denying that the biennial quarrying industry extravaganza once again delivered its trademark combination of exciting new product/service launches, countless technological innovations, and more live plant/equipment demonstrations than ever.

This year’s hotly anticipated event – held from 25–27 June at Tarmac’s Hillhead Quarry, near Buxton, Derbyshire – proved to be a huge success on all counts and underlined its status as the UK’s (and perhaps even the world’s) biggest live demonstration trade show for the quarrying, construction and recycling industries.

Building on the momentum of the hugely successful 2022 exhibition, Hillhead 2024 was the most visited edition ever in terms of the volume of visits over the three days, with visitors spending more time at the show than ever before and a record number attending for more than one day. In total there were a staggering 26,626 visits over the three days – marking an 8% increase from the 2022 edition.

In terms of unique visitors, with 19,577 attendees from 67 countries (+6.2% compared with 2022) this year’s edition had the second highest ever number of trade visitors (only 2018 was higher at 19,753, although that show had less volume over the three days). Hillhead 2024 also recorded the event’s busiest day ever in its 42-year history, with almost 10,800 visitors attending on day two of the show (Wednesday 26 June).

Put simply, there is no trade show quite like it in the world. With every square metre of exhibition space – including an extended Showground Pavilion – fully booked and occupied, and a record number of machines taking part in four live demonstration areas around the quarry, not to mention a host of site improvements (eg additional catering areas, more car parking spaces, new hydration stations etc.), Hillhead 2024 was bigger, better, and busier than ever before.

Commenting on this year’s show, event director Richard Bradbury said: ‘With the sun shining and visitors spending more time at the show than ever before, it was fantastic to see Hillhead continuing to break new attendance records. It’s an exciting time for the industry as digitalization, automation, and decarbonization continue to drive change within the quarrying, construction, and recycling sectors, and this was represented by the scale and quality of the 600 or so companies that exhibited.

‘But my abiding memory of Hillhead 2024 is of the unique ‘human’ platform it provided for buyers and sellers to engage....to feel, touch, and interact with the products on show, and, of course, to catch up with colleagues and network with the wider industry.’

Global platform

With nearly 600 UK and international companies showcasing new machines, breakthrough technologies, and cutting-edge service solutions at the event, and thousands of visitors flocking to the showground and pavilions, Hillhead is the grandest working quarry show in the world.

From brand-new products and services to key partnerships announcements and the launch of major industry initiatives and developments, this year’s edition had it all. As well as exploring the latest advancements in equipment, technology and processes, the show is also where the industry’s leaders and pioneering thinkers take the stage to address the most relevant issues of today.

With safety being the upmost important consideration in the mineral products sector, it was perhaps no surprise to see five sector organizations – the MPA, BAA, IQ, MPQC, and QNJAC – come together to launch the ‘Strategic Safety Forum (SSF) for Health and Safety in the Mineral Products Sector’ during the morning of the opening day at Hillhead 2024.

The collaborative forum will help to ensure that the industry achieves the highest possible standards of performance in health and safety by encouraging alignment of members’ initiatives and facilitating collaboration and sharing. Martin Riley, chair of the SSF, said: ‘I am delighted to see the collaborative work initiated by the previous Strategic Forum being taken forward with the support of the five key member bodies here. We all have a duty to ensure that our sector is safe, and that the well-being of our employees is delivered on a day-to-day basis.’

Hillhead 2024 also provided a fitting venue for the launch of ConSpare’s second industry white paper, entitled: ‘The right mix: Addressing the ‘S’ of ESG for concrete batch plants – putting people at the centre of investment decision-making’, which addresses how operators in the concrete production industry can boost employee well-being through improvements made to the batch plant.

James Bullock, chief executive officer of ConSpare, explained: ‘The concrete industry has made significant progress over the past decade in ensuring its approach to environmental, social and governance is robust, but as well as tackling sustainability challenges such as carbon reduction, it’s important that we address the people at the heart of the concrete plants themselves.

‘Developing an understanding of the positive impact that batch plant performance can have on colleagues’ motivation, productivity and loyalty is important for any concrete business…We’ve heard from plant supervisors and managers how much of an impact the long hours, challenging conditions and repetitive tasks often involved in concrete production can have on their well-being, and it’s up to us to do something about it as one collective industry.’

This emphasis on partnership and greater collaboration continued on the Omega Crushing and Screening stand, where the business announced a strategic partnership with Propel, a leading OEM in the Indian crushing and screening market. Making its Hillhead debut, the South Asian plant manufacturer has recently acquired a major stake in Omega and both companies will work together to deliver cutting-edge solutions to the global aggregate processing market.

‘As well as showcasing our flagship machine – the J1065T tracked electric jaw crusher – at this year’s Hillhead exhibition, we were also eager to announce our key partnership with Propel,’ said Aine Kelly, marketing manager for Omega. ‘Hillhead 2024 is the perfect venue for us to meet new/existing customers in the industry and explain the reasons behind our partnership with Propel and our plans going forward.

‘We’re really excited about the future because the collaboration marks a significant milestone for us as we combine our strengths to drive innovation and growth in the global crushing and screening industry.’

The general consensus among the exhibitors and visitors at Hillhead 2024 was that the trade show continues to be a highly popular showcase event for businesses to promote their latest plant, technological innovations, and services to a high-calibre international audience.

As usual, key industry players and leading OEMs including JCB, LiuGong, Develon, Terex Washing Systems, Case, Komatsu, McLanahan, SANY, Bell Equipment, Wirtgen, HD-Hyundai Construction Equipment, Astec, SMT GB / Volvo CE, Liebherr, and Hitachi were all in attendance, together with a host of other Hillhead regulars and new companies making their show debuts.

Feel-good factor

Long spells of sunshine and warm temperatures helped to ensure preparations for this year’s iconic trade fair went smoothly and according to plan, and the fine weather continued throughout the three show days, albeit with a refreshing touch of fine drizzle and light winds in the morning of the final day.

Over the last few years low-carbon technologies, sustainable working practices, and machinery innovations have made huge strides in the construction and quarrying sectors. And at Hillhead 2024, it came as no surprise to see decarbonization and sustainability dominating conversations from stand to stand, and seemingly powering every major launch during the show.

Regular exhibitors CDE, for example, used this year’s Hillhead exhibition as a showcase platform to present their latest sand and aggregate wet-processing solutions, including the global launch of the company’s brand-new ProPress filter press. Developed to meet the needs of the quarrying, mining, and C&D waste-recycling industries, the ProPress integrates technologies to deliver operational efficiency and maximum water recovery.   

According to CDE, their ProPress benefits from a flexible design and variable throughput that can be scaled to fit the processing volume of any operation. Unlike traditional filter presses, the CDE system is dual feed, meaning sludge is fed from both sides of the filter press for improved efficiency and faster cycle times.

‘Hillhead is one of the best trade shows around and we are delighted to have used the event as a worldwide launch pad for one of our most significant product launches in recent years – the ProPress,’ said Colum Bryson, head of operations UK and Ireland at CDE.

‘The feedback on all our product innovations, including the latest generation FreeFlow fully-mobile washing solution for aggregate and sand classification, has been extremely pleasing. Overall, it has been a very positive and productive event for us – the visitor footfall was fantastic, particular on the opening day [Tuesday] and Wednesday, where we saw lots of customers old and new.’

Another company to enjoy a hive of activity on their stand were EDGE Innovate, who generated a large number of quality leads which they are now busy following up. ‘It’s very important for us to be at Hillhead and to showcase our latest innovations, technologies, and service offerings to the quarrying and waste-recycling sectors,’ said Adrian Donnelly, marketing manager for EDGE Innovate.

‘Hillhead 2024 in particular has been an extremely strong event for us regionally and internationally. We’ve been incredibly busy throughout, helped, of course, by the great weather, not to mention the buzz and unmatched atmosphere coming to a show like Hillhead. The timing for the event has worked out perfectly too, as we have introduced new machines, notably the Screenpro S18 heavy-duty tracked scalping screen and VS750i primary waste shredder, which made its debut at the show.’

As usual, the middle day of the event (Wednesday) turned out to be the busiest of the three show days, with many exhibitors reporting very busy stands with deals being struck, plenty of high-quality leads to follow up, new contracts being made, and old contacts being renewed.

Visitors to the joint Lippmann/McCloskey stand were treated to a host of new product solutions and innovations for mobile aggregate processing, stockpiling, and washing. Products on display included: the all-new McCloskey I5 mobile impactor; and industry-proven Lippmann 1060j-t jaw crusher.

Kelly Blickle, head of marketing for MPP Global, McCloskey International, and Lippmann, described Hillhead as one of the ‘world’s best’ trade shows of its kind. ‘As a business looking to make further inroads into the UK and European markets, there is simply no better showcase event than Hillhead,’ she commented.

‘We made our show debut two years ago and this year’s event for us is step or two up from the 2022 edition. For the first time ever, we are demonstrating our brand-new 624s-t screener in the Rock Processing demonstration area, which is the largest screening machine on the market. The show itself has been a huge success for us with lots of footfall on our stand as we’ve been busy all day, every day.’

Ammann were equally positive about the benefits of exhibiting at this year’s Hillhead, as Chris Beckingsale, sales manager for Molson Group, established UK distributors of Ammann equipment, remarked: ‘Once again, we’ve been impressed by the large number and quality of visitors to the show. It’s been terrific with a huge amount of interest shown in our latest paving and compaction equipment. We’ve even managed to sell some machines during the show, including an ARS 50 soil compactor, and I am confident there will be more sales to come as we have good-quality leads to follow up.’

Likewise, Dynapac used Hillhead 2024 as a global platform to showcase the many key benefits of their pavers, compactors, and light equipment range. Expressing his delight with the strong interest shown in the company’s product offering, James Stephenson, area sales manager for Dynapac, confirmed that several deals were concluded on their stand during the second day of the show.

‘Hillhead has always been an excellent trade show for us; not only to promote our latest range of products and services, but also to share important developments, market trends, and network with people,’ commented Mr Stephenson.

‘During Hillhead, we officially announced SMT GB as an exclusive distributor for all Dynapac product lines in the UK. We are really excited about this new partnership as it’s a bold and positive step for both firms. As a bonus, we’ve received new orders for some of the new and updated machinery models from our extensive product line-up. We had a busy Tuesday but Wednesday – as expected – was by far the busiest day.’

Another company enjoying brisk business at the show were regular exhibitors CMS Cepcor, who unveiled a new logo/brand identity that was soft launched earlier this year. ‘As flag-bearers for British engineering excellence, we couldn’t have asked for a better venue to share our new logo and recently rebranded products with visitors, customers, and partners than this year’s Hillhead event,’ said Amy Gray, support manager – export sales for CMS Cepcor.

‘Visitor footfall on our stand was phenomenal, especially on the Wednesday when we saw lots of familiar faces and many new ones. We supply premium-quality crusher, screen, and asphalt plant spare parts, and the response to our vast range of products has, again, been fantastic. It has also been hugely satisfying to see our brand refresh receive such positive and complimentary feedback from visitors and customers alike.’

David Underhill, business manager – industrial couplings for Renold, said Hillhead 2024 was one of the company’s busiest ever shows and he cannot wait for the next edition of the world’s biggest quarry exhibition. ‘For me, I don’t think there’s anything bigger than Hillhead,’ said Mr Underhill. ‘This is where companies get business done, meet new/ prospective customers, network with potential partners, and develop relationships within the industry.

‘We’ve seen plenty of high-quality visitors coming to our stand and, as a result, received a substantial number of quality leads and enquiries, some of which will hopefully be converted into orders. All in all, the show was a massive success for us and we’re already looking forward to the next Hillhead.’

Among the other exhibitors enjoying a highly rewarding Hillhead 2024 were Kelly Tanks, who displayed a full range of water-treatment and concrete washout systems, which attracted a lot of attention from visitors. ‘This year’s Hillhead was the perfect showcase event for bringing customers up to date with our innovative products and services, and keeping them informed of new advances in technology,’ commented Kelly Bryant, director of Kelly Tanks.

‘At Hillhead 2024, we can get as close as possible to new and existing customers and offer advice to help them operate as efficiently as possible. Our stand attracted a record number of visitors and significant enquiries, so overall it’s been a very successful and worthwhile show for us.’

In a similar vein, Willie Doyle, manager director of Doyle Machinery, said Hillhead was a must-attend event for anyone involved in the aggregates, construction, and recycling sectors. ‘We have a long history of exhibiting at Hillhead and with the UK and Ireland being our home market, the show is a great chance to catch up with industry friends, colleagues, partners, and customers.

‘It also serves as an excellent platform to engage with the wider industry and show how our latest product developments and innovations can help maximize the sustainability and profitability of businesses. Business aside, Hillhead is a fantastic opportunity to showcase and celebrate everything that’s great about quarrying, construction and waste-recycling.’

Another company with good reason to celebrate success at this year’s show were first-time exhibitors McHale Plant Sales, who presented an impressive line-up of Metso machines, including the 68-tonne LT400J mobile jaw crusher and the trailer-mounted Nordwheeler NW8HRC portable crusher, both of which caught the attention of many visitors to their stand.

‘As first-time exhibitors, we are very pleased to be at Hillhead 2024 to showcase our quarrying capability to aggregate producers and materials processing contractors, and further promote our brand to the UK market,’ said Sean Ryan, sales and marketing manager for McHale. ‘The company recently completed its first year as exclusive distributors for Metso mobile equipment in the UK and we wanted to showcase exactly what we represent within the quarrying and recycling industry, and reflect our growth as a business.

‘During the show we’ve had an incredible response to Metso’s new diesel-electric power line and growing Nordwheeler NW Rapid range, and, of course, the unrivalled after-sales support that we pride ourselves on. We’ve seen plenty of high-quality visitors coming to our stand and, as a result, received a high number of good leads and enquiries. We will definitely be back again in 2026.’

Air-quality solutions experts Air Spectrum Environmental used Hillhead 2024 to highlight their full range of mobile dust-suppression, odour-control, and air-management solutions, including the ecotech Rotary Atomiser (RA) – the UK’s first battery-powered, zero-emissions dust-suppression misting system.

‘Exhibiting at Hillhead helps us to promote the Air Spectrum brand and our latest product innovations across the market sectors in which we serve by maintaining contact with our existing customers, as well as opening doors to new clients,’ commented Charlotte Walters, marketing manager for Air Spectrum Environmental.

‘There’s been a high level of interest in our ecotech RA units, which have been the result of three years of comprehensive R&D, designed to reduce carbon emissions during the dust-suppression process. It represents our commitment to our customers, the environment and prioritizing air quality in all our solutions. The ecotech RA is a first for us and for UK industry.’

Live demos galore

As always, the Quarry Face demonstration area proved to be one of the most popular attractions at this year’s show. Following a 20,000-tonne blast earlier this year, this newly reconfigured area looked bigger and more spectacular than ever with machinery operating at four different levels on either side of a central ramp, set against the backdrop of a now much wider quarry face which looked magnificent bathed in the warm summer sunshine.

In this area alone, no fewer than a dozen medium-to-large-size crawler excavators took part in regular live displays of digging, lifting, loading, feeding, breaking, sorting etc, including, a first appearance at Hillhead for Chinese manufacturer XCMG with their 40-tonne XE380E. Further evidence of Chinese manufacturers’ increasing presence in the UK and European marketplace included a 50-tonne SY500H and 40-tonne SY390H from SANY, a 40-tonne 942F from LiuGong, and a 24-tonne Sunward SWE 215F. Other excavators being put through their paces in this arena included the new 37-tonne JCB 370X, a Cat 336, Develon DX420, Hyundai HX480A, Komatsu PC490, Hitachi Zaxis 530, and Liebherr 956.

Wheel loaders taking part in the live action at this end of the showground included a Develon DL550, Hyundai HL980A, Liebherr 580 XPower, and XCMG XC978, whilst articulated dumptrucks (ADTs) included a Develon DA30, Hyundai HA30A, Komatsu HM300, and Liebherr TA230. Aside from these driver-operated ADTs, a fully autonomous Bell B40E took part in live driverless demonstrations during the intervals between the main demo sessions. This was the same machine that Chepstow Plant International (CPI) have been using at Sibelco’s Cornwood china clay quarry, in Devon, since March this year, when it was launched as the first autonomous ADT in the UK.

‘We were excited to demonstrate our autonomous ADT at Hillhead and to have a static display so visitors could see exactly how the hardware is incorporated into the machine,’ said Bell Equipment product manager Brad Castle. ‘Supplied by technology platform specialists xtonomy, the hardware includes robust radar sensors, high-precision GPS, multi-channel communication systems, and on-board processing hardware to create a drive-by-wire solution.’

Also operating in the Quarry Face demo area was a REMAX 450 mobile impact crusher from SBM Mineral Processing, along with a variety of crushing and screening buckets, hammers and other excavator attachments, whilst effective dust control was provided by MistCannon and DustLayer dust-suppression units from Corgin.

Meanwhile, just around the corner in the Rock Processing demonstration area, otherwise known as ‘Crusher Alley’, a wide range of mobile crushers and screens took part in regular demonstration sessions to highlight their capabilities, serviced by a host of excavators and wheel loaders from manufacturers such as CASE, Develon, Hidromek, Hyundai, Komatsu, Kubota Liebherr, SANY, Volvo, with effective dust suppression once again provided by Corgin.

Closest to the face end of the showground, a McCloskey I5 mobile impactor was put through its paces feeding a Lippmann 624s-t 6x12 screen, whilst next door Tesab demonstrated the capabilities of their new 700ie hybrid electric jaw crusher. In the adjacent plot, Finlay unveiled new electric variants of their I-120RS mobile impactor and 883+ mobile scalping screen, both powered by the company’s new TG500 genset. An EvoQuip Bison 220R compact mobile jaw crusher was given a work out in the next berth, whilst beyond that was a Powerscreen Premiertrak 450 tracked jaw crusher feeding into a 1300X Maxtrak mobile cone crusher.

Completing the line-up of mobile equipment along the main stretch of Crusher Alley, Astec demonstrated the capabilities of their FT4250 horizontal-shaft impactor, which fed into a GT205S screener. However, just around the corner a Rubble Master J110X was put through its paces, whilst completing the live action in the Rock Processing demonstration area were Anaconda, with their J12 tracked jaw crusher feeding a DF514 scalping screen.

Not far from here, at the southern end of the showground, the Recycling Demonstration area was another hive of activity with Warwick Ward demonstrating a Keestrack B4 crusher and K4 screen, whilst Herbst were in their usual location demonstrating an array of smaller, compact equipment, including their C900 tracked jaw crusher, 900 Agricrusher, and TS52 and TS28 screeners. Likewise, Engcon were also in their usual spot demonstrating a variety of hitches, tiltrotators and other attachments. Other exhibits in this area included a crusher from Barfords and a Jet Mister unit from Dustquip. Meanwhile, at the top end of the Recycling Demonstration area, LiuGong demonstrated another 942F excavator, along with 890 and 856 wheel loaders, whilst JCB returned to this year’s show, having skipped the 2022 event, with a machinery line-up that included a 22-tonne 220X excavator, 457 wheel loader, 4CX backhoe loader, and 560-80 telehandler, among others.

Last but not least, near the top of the ramp, not far from the Registration Pavilion, Hillhead’s fourth demonstration area offered visitors an eclectic mix of live-action plant and equipment displays by crusher manufacturers such as Red Rhino and RubbleCrusher; specialist attachment manufacturers such as Attach2, MB Crusher, Rototilt, and Steelwrist; and dust-suppression systems from companies such as Air Spectrum and INMALO.

On the right track

With good weather, a record number of visitors coming from all parts of the world, and virtually all the majors from the plant and equipment world in attendance, business continued to be buoyant going into the last day of the show. As always, Hillhead has proved to be a great networking event and an invaluable platform for the wider construction sector to emphasize the most important issues facing the industry.

In partnership with Tarmac, Hillhead hosted the ‘Changing Face of Construction’ roundtable on the final morning of the show. The event – which was chaired and moderated by former BBC presenter Susannah Streeter (now a professional broadcaster and conference host) – focused on embracing diversity, encouraging more representation for women in the construction sector, and making the industry as inclusive as possible to attract the best talent.

The panel – which included Lisa Saunders, HR director with John Wainwright & Co. Ltd, Peter Kay, head of learning and development at Tarmac, and Clare Howcutt-Kelly, digital editor with The QMJ Group – addressed the drive for creativity, challenged the status quo, and debated how organizations and companies can support the construction industry in accelerating the pace of change.

Judging by all the positive comments from Hillhead exhibitors and visitors alike, everyone involved clearly enjoyed a hugely successful show. Not only were expectations exceeded – the iconic quarrying, construction, and recycling exhibition, once again, proved to be an innovation platform for the industry, particularly showcasing important trends such as electrification (see separate report following this article), digitalization, and enhanced safety.

To help their customers reap the full environmental and cost-saving benefits of operating more sustainably, Rubble Master showcased their new RM J110X mobile jaw crusher, with a hydraulic version put through its paces in the Rock Processing demo area. Incorporating the company’s new high-efficiency drive concepts and other innovative features, the jaw crushing plant (also available in fully hybrid electric version) has been introduced to open new business opportunities in the mineral products sector, especially the UK market.

‘We are ready to turn current challenges into opportunities for growth and development,’ said Gerald Hanisch, founder and owner of Rubble Master. ‘With the RM J110X, we are convinced this is the right step to take. At Hillhead, we had the support of long-standing customers such as KKB Group, whose high demand prompted the development of this machine.’

Another Austrian OEM looking to break into the UK and wider European markets are SBM Mineral Processing, who highlighted their diesel-electric/hybrid crushing offering to Hillhead attendees. Taking centre stage on the SBM stand, and making its official UK launch, was the company’s flagship REMAX 600 heavy-duty mobile impact crusher, which can produce up to five different finished products at a production rate of up to 600 tonnes/h.

One exhibitor looking forward to the next edition of Hillhead are crawler undercarriage specialists A-Trax (a subsidiary of global sourcing experts ATG), who described the working quarry show as one of the most important industry trade fairs on their events calendar.

‘Hillhead has been an exceptional show for the business and gives us the perfect opportunity to catch up with our industry friends, colleagues, partners, and customers,’ said Matthew Cox, technical sales at A-Trax. ‘The number of visitors to our stand, as well as the strong interest in our product innovations and engineering expertise, was simply overwhelming. It really could not have gone any better, so much so that we are keen to take a larger stand at the next Hillhead exhibition.’

Acknowledgements

The QMJ Group – the organizers of Hillhead 2024 – would like to express their gratitude to Tarmac Ltd for permission to use the Hillhead site. Also, with a range of visitor services and facilities made possible by the generous support of the show’s sponsors, QMJ would like to thank the following companies: Air Spectrum, ATG, A-Trax, Enviro Volumetric Mixers, Hitachi, Invest Northern Ireland, LiuGong, McLanahan, Ninehundred Communications, Portcullis, Siemens, The UK Concrete Show, and ZappShelter.

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