A spell of hot weather saw unprecedented crowds descend on Hillhead 2018, which took place over three days at Tarmac's Hillhead Quarry, near Buxton, in Derbyshire.
According to the official figures, a record-breaking 19,687 unique visitors attended this year's event, surpassing the show's previous highest attendance record set in 2005. This year also saw more exhibitors (527+) in attendance than ever before, many of them occupying newly created space in the enlarged Registration Pavilion.
Exhibition director Richard Bradbury said: "With clear blue skies, record crowds and all the majors from the plant and equipment world in attendance, business was buoyant and the atmosphere amongst the exhibitors and visitors was superb! Another highlight of this year's show was the Man Engine, which proved to be a real crowd-puller."
As always, the showground, pavilions and various demonstration areas were packed with all the latest plant and equipment for the quarrying, aggregates, concrete, asphalt, recycling and construction sectors, many of the products on show for the first time in the U.K.
Among the multitude of impressive new product launches were the JCB 220X excavator, Volvo L260H wheel loader, Komatsu WA480-8 wheel loader, Powerscreen Trakpactor 550SR impactor, Keestrack H4e hybrid electric cone crusher, Sandvik QE343 screener and EvoQuip Colt 1000 scalping screen, to name just a few.
The next Hillhead show will take place in late June 2020. Further details and precise dates will be announced in due course.