Stand production, from workshop to show floor

1–10 days

on-site build time; the workshop time is a multiple of it

Stand types

Production starts where the drawing ends

What goes to the workshop is not a visual, it is a drawing. The approved design becomes a shop drawing: every panel dimension, every profile length, fixing details, cable routes, the exact sizes of the graphic areas. Parts of the design change at this stage, because the drawing exposes what the visual hid. A cable that has to pass under a shelf, the swing direction of a door, the joint where two panels meet.

No board is cut before the drawing is signed off. Cutting early means that a single late dimension change sends cut material to the skip. How the design stage runs is set out on our stand design page; production takes over where that page ends.

The drawing also produces the cutting list. Board optimisation happens here: how many parts come out of one sheet and what the waste rate will be. A good cutting list lowers material cost visibly.

The drawing also settles the purchasing list. Profile lengths, connector counts and the square metres of graphic are known at this point, so the order goes in once. A short order is the one thing that stops a workshop mid-flow.

Cutting, structure, finishing

Boards are cut on the CNC bed, edged, drilled and grooved. In the same week aluminium profiles are cut to length and their connectors fitted. The structure goes up first, because finishing work is only accurate while the frame is standing.

Finishing is the longest leg: primer, sanding, paint, a second coat if needed, laminate, edge cleaning. Drying time binds the calendar directly, which is why the spray booth is usually the bottleneck in a workshop plan. Printed graphics run on a separate line and meet the surfaces on the same day.

Furniture, display cases and counters are produced on their own work orders and join the main body later. That split stops a delay in one part from halting the whole stand.

Sequencing is a cost in itself. A part queuing outside the spray booth delays everything behind it, which is why the workshop plan is built around drying time rather than machine capacity, and is kept by the day rather than by the week.

The dry build and packing

The stand is assembled in full once, in the workshop. The dry build is where every problem you do not want on site shows up: a joint two millimetres out, a hinge fitted the wrong way, a graphic that does not match its panel. Solving those in the workshop takes an hour; solving them in the hall takes a day.

Once the build is signed off, the stand comes apart and is packed. Every part is numbered, the numbers follow the assembly order, and a packing list is produced. The site crew works from that list, so which crate opens first is never a discussion.

Packing is also preparation for the second show. On a reusable system, the quality of the crates and covers decides how the stand looks next time. How many fairs a given stand type survives comes down to this detail.

The last job is the loading order. Whatever goes up first on site is loaded last, and when that is reversed the crew loses half a day unloading and reloading half a lorry.

How many weeks before the fair does production start?

On a custom stand, production usually starts four to six weeks out. That window is set less by cutting and assembly than by paint drying and the print schedule.

Can we see the dry build?

Yes, and you should ask. A workshop visit is both a chance to see the stand before the show and the last moment at which a change request is still cheap.