IMHX 2004 officially opens at 9.30am on Tuesday, March 2, at the main entrance to Hall 20 of Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre.

From then, Europe's biggest materials handling event in 2004 takes off, with a whirlwind of shows, seminars, flashing lights, music, multimedia, demonstrations and the all-important promotions girls across 20,000 square metres of floor space.

For forklift buyers and users, IMHX 2004 is a dream come true. Exhibition director Richard Hease said more than 90% of UK forklift suppliers would be represented among the 350 exhibitors, and figures suggested 92% of all forklifts sold in the UK this year would be supplied by IMHX-exhibiting companies. Management, IT, logistics, transport, accessories and auxiliary suppliers are also well represented.

Forklift suppliers represented include Atlet; Barloworld Handling; John Bradshaw; BT Rolatruc; Euro Daewoo UK; Finning Materials Handling; Hyster Europe; JCB Industrial; Jungheinrich UK; Kalmar; Linde UK; MasterMover International; Narrow Aisle UK; Nissan Motor; Still GB; Toyota Industrial Equipment (UK); Translift Engineering; Wilmat Handling; Yale Europe Materials Handling; and Yale Materials Handling UK.

"Visitors will certainly benefit from having such a high number of competing suppliers in one place," Mr Hease said. "IMHX 2004 is clearly the place to be if you are interested in specifying materials handling equipment this year."

The seminars program at IMHX 2004 is one of the classiest in recent memory. Named the "Knowledge Zone", a pair of presentation theatres will offer show attendees a range of theoretical sessions.

Three theatres will focus on legislative issues, case studies, new products, and general forum discussions. Topics to be covered include:

* Employment Law - the Information & Consultation Directive
What is the purpose of the directive? What is the deadline for compliance? How will it work? Could existing structures suffice? To what extent does the employer have to take on board the views of employees?
* Working Time Regulations
What types of workers are affected by the Horizontal Amending Directive? What protection applies to truck drivers and others in the distribution industry? How does the opt-out work? What are the latest developments in Europe?
* Thorough Examination of Fork-Lift Trucks: BITA
Find out about the new UK standard for Thorough Examination from the British Industrial Truck Association. Hear how you can most effectively meet the requirements of LOLER 98 and PUWER 98 on health & safety and the use of forklifts.

For the first time, the show, will include a "Property Village", designed for exhibitors in property provision and development, a "Cleaning Village", showcasing warehouse equipment cleaning machinery and supplies, and an "IT Village", for software solutions.

One event that will have attendees' attention is the BT UK Fork Lift Truck Driver Championships, established in 1963, which will run for the full three-day show. The championships, hosted by BT Rolatruc, will test reach truck and counterbalance forklift drivers over the first two days, with the grand final staged on day three.

Forkliftaction.com is proud to co-sponsor the BT UK Fork Lift Truck Driver Championships. Such events promote forklift safety, and Forkliftaction.com is glad to be a supporter. Look out for our logo at the competition.

IMHX 2004 is supported by the British Materials Handling Federation (BMHF), which is the parent of such bodies as the Association of Loading & Elevating Equipment, the Automated Material Handling Systems Association, BITA, the Construction Equipment Association, the International Powered Access Federation, and the Storage Equipment Manufacturers' Association.

Paul Michael, IMHX 2004 show director, said: "The support of the BMHF will benefit the success of IMHX 2004 considerably. The 2001 event was excellent, but 2004 will be even better, with the greatest range of exhibitors from all sectors of the UK handling and storage industry."

Forkliftaction.com representatives will attend the show. Watch out for our trademark orange shirts as team members wander through the exhibition. We hope to visit each exhibitor, but if you see us, say hi!