What IFSEC organisers hailed as a ‘new chapter’ in the exhibition’s 42-year history was announced last night. The official launch of a ‘borders and infrastructure’ part of the show was at the London Guildhall. Simon Mills, group brand director, of the protection and management series, of which IFSEC International is a part, welcomed guests.
He described the new part of the show as an event to provide solutions and services aimed at securing frontiers and national infrastructure. He thanked for attending partners from the BSIA, ASIS UK, product certification body BRE Global – which will speak about its new SABRE assessment scheme at the June 2017 event, at Excel in London Docklands – and the Security Institute. Also speaking were (pictured) Gerry Dunphy, brand director of IFSEC; Trevor Elliott of the BSIA; and Sir David Veness, the former senior Metropolitan Police and United Nations counter-terror man who as the chairman of the London First security and resilience network spoke about the business body’s new report on the security and resilience implications of Brexit.
Dunphy gave some details about the annual show – such as; 56 per cent of its 650-plus exhibitors are UK-based. Describing the show as constantly evolving, he said that there had been a particular growth in end user and international visitors, which he said was due to the event’s move back to London from the Birmingham NEC. While the event had a long tradition as one for the security installer, the audience had become more complex; which was the main reason for the ‘borders and infrastructure’ launch. While it would have an individual brand and its own doors – different carpet and banners – it would be ‘a show within a show’. Like the overall IFSEC, it would have its own seminar theatre, covering such topics as business continuity, critical national infrastructure (CNI) and border control. The ‘drone zone’ exhibition area that featured at IFSEC 2016 would be within ‘borders and infrastructure’, hosted with the UK Drone show. Also offered would be a free meeting service for all exhibitors, matching business requirements of visitors with exhibitors on a one to one basis.
IFSEC 2017 runs from June 20 to 22, alongside sister events covering fire safety, facilities management, and health and safety. For more about IFSEC, and to register to attend as a visitor, visit www.ifsecglobal.com.
