'File 29/28 British Industrial Fair' [‎205r] (409/512)

5
of Birmingham but, miraculously, had not
harmed any of the Fair’s buildings, the
organisers went to work again.
A year later, in 1947, B.I.F. reopened and
proved to be larger in size and a bigger
draw than ever. The space actually occupied
by stands was 847,754 square feet ; the
number of exhibitors had reached 3,410 ;
and 16,751 overseas trade buyers attended.
| From the buyers’ point of view it was, of
course, a special occasion. The world was
genuinely surprised that a country which
had been a principal target of the enemy
for so long could recover to this extent in
so short a time.
Consequently, there was some surprise
when the overseas attendance ligure in 1948
did not drop as sharply as expected. In
fact, 14,500 buyers came to B.I.F. in 1948.
They found that the Fair had grown again
—by 100,000 sq. ft.—to 937,414 sq. ft. of
actual stand space.
STILL MORE OVERSEAS BUYERS
COME
Attendance of overseas buyers at the
1949 Fair was not expected to be more
than the figure for 1948. No one anticipated
that a new record would be created, sur
passing even the exceptional attendance of
the first post-war Fair, with a total of
17,061.
If these overseas attendances, running at
about three times the pre-war rate, show
anything it is that the world has been very
confident in the ability of British industry
to produce the right goods at the right
price and to deliver them at the right time.
The first post-war Fair showed an
amazing variety of products, but delivery
dates were delayed. The second Fair
showed considerable improvement in
quality and prices. By the 1949 B.I.F.,
delivery dates had further improved and.
in some lines, were almost as good as
before the war.
The 1949 Fair added two new and
inspiring chapters to the history of Britain’s
industrial progress. Buyers saw, for the
first time, the physical results of world-wide
market research conducted by United
Kingdom firms with the object of finding
out the special requirements of particular
markets and of making goods to meet those
needs. Buyers also saw a record achievement
in the production of new ideas.
It takes time to overcome the immense
difficulties of completely converting a
country’s industry after seven years of war
production, and to find ways and means of
counteracting inflationary tendencies which
have pushed up the prices of raw materials
to 3i times what they were in 1939. But
British industry is tackling these problems
vigorously, and the post-war attendances of
overseas trade buyers is a high tribute to
the effectiveness with which it is doing so.
1050 It.I.F. to s>liow
Britain making' the
good* to meet world
need*
Designing for the needs of overseas
markets now has first call on Britain’s
resources and skill, and 1950 B.I.F.
will offer more than 1,000,000 square
feet of actual stand space for the
display of the latest products of 3,000
exhibitors.
Ninety British industries will be
represented. Exhibits will be displayed
in 32 groups of closely allied trades
for the convenience of buyers.
Extensions at Castle Bromwich,
Birmingham section of the Fair will
allow the presentation of a special
display of civil engineering con
tractors’ plant, largest show of the
kind ever held at a B.I.F.