Exhibition main contractor and logistics specialist Exhibit 3Sixty has acquired a second unit at the National Exhibition Centre.

The new unit will serve as the primary storage hub for the company’s shell scheme, truss and structural metalwork used across major exhibitions and trade shows. It will primarily support events at the NEC but also provides access to regional venues including Manchester Central.

The acquisition allows Exhibit 3Sixty to repurpose its original NEC site as a dedicated logistics staging hub. By consolidating exhibitor assets at off-site staging units before venue delivery, the company says it significantly reduces the number of vehicles accessing venues simultaneously, cutting congestion as well as transport emissions.

The model was recently applied at Hillhead, the quarrying show held in Buxton, where restricted site access required strict management of vehicle movements. Exhibit 3Sixty consolidated exhibitor freight at the off-site unit and was able to manage a series of timed deliveries more effectively as a result.

Matt Williams, logistics director at Exhibit 3Sixty, said: “When managing complex events, high volumes of individual delivery vehicles create unnecessary congestion and environmental impact.

“For a recent event at Excel London, we were tasked with transporting exhibits for 25 different exhibitors. By using our consolidated staging concept, we eliminated the need for 24 additional separate vehicles arriving at the venue simultaneously.

“Expanding our footprint at the NEC gives us the capacity to scale this managed approach, making trade show logistics smoother, greener, and far more reliable for everyone involved.”