SOLEX (The Summer Outdoor Living Exhibition) is the Trade Show organised by LOFA for LOFA members and held in July. It is an annual 3-day event attracting national and international retail/contract Purchasing Directors and Managers. This unique event brings together all the leading manufacturers of garden products – furniture, barbecues, gazebos, parasols, outdoor lighting and play equipment – and provides a showcase for all the exciting new developments in design, environmental manufacturing, sustainability and production for both the retail and contract markets.
The first SOLEX show took place in July 2008 and was acclaimed a great success by our industry members, suppliers, buyers and opinion formers, taking place at the Telford International Centre until 2012.
In 2012, despite the poor summer, a good number of high-quality visitors attended SOLEX. In 2013, the show moved to Hall 5 at the NEC, for the biggest SOLEX so far! SOLEX 2014 was even bigger with more companies exhibiting, with a fantastic new showcase at an even bigger exhibition in 2015. SOLEX continues to grow and was bigger than ever in 2016, with 70 exhibitors stands.
The 2017 event, our 10th anniversary show, was even better, building on the first nine successful shows with more exhibition space, new exciting developments and more exhibitors, but retaining the relaxed, friendly and business-like atmosphere of this key event, and in 2018 we will aim to attract more visitors, greater media/press enquiries and professional specifiers of garden products including landscape architects, designers and contractors. We look forward to meeting you at SOLEX 2018 at the NEC, 10-12 July 2018.
For your Diary, SOLEX 2019 will be 9-11 July 2019, and SOLEX 2020 will be 7-9 July 2020
