THE National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) has hailed the success of the recent ScaffEx 26 event in Manchester – and reiterated its commitment to growing and evolving the event.
ScaffEx combines an exhibition, conference, and awards ceremony. The two-event expo highlights the latest products and innovations to hit the scaffolding and access industry, provides a forum for stakeholders to discuss the biggest issues facing the sector, and recognises the outstanding achievements of individuals and organisations.
More than 70 exhibitors attended this year, representing a 35% increase on the inaugural event in 2025.
Clive Dickin, group CEO for NASC and CISRS, told Project Scotland there were so many highlights that it’s hard to pick out even a few.
“The sheer size and scale of the stand builds in the main exhibition hall was staggering, not to mention that they were built so quickly – and safely – in a very short time frame,” he explained. “The conference programme was excellent, as were the live demos out on the floor. The awards is always a great way to round things off, and the tribute to Wayne Connolly (NASC president and chairman who sadly passed away late last year) was exceptionally moving.”
Clive added that it was great to see such a wide range of scaffolding firms in attendance, but alongside all that system scaffolding, he was also thrilled to see trucks and hoists, recruitment firms, design engineers, consultancies, and software companies.
New for 2026 was the NASC Village, a recreation of a small village complete with village pub and some carefully controlled ScaffEx-branded beers. There was also the brand-new Skills and Safety zone, which showcased practical safety guidance including a rescue from height and mask fitting.
Clive revealed while there are plenty of future plans for the show, it’s a bit early to reveal much at the moment. However, NASC has committed to hosting the event at Manchester Central for the next three years.
In terms of Scottish presence, Clive revealed there was ‘more than one kilt’ at the awards! “But seriously, yes thanks to ‘our man in Scotland’ Lloyd McKenzie there was good representation for Scottish firms, both among the exhibitors and in the delegate list,” he added. “And the ScaffEx-branded beers, Ledger Lager and Hop-Up IPA, were both brewed by Scotland’s very own Fierce Beer.”
There was also Scottish interest at the Scaffolding Excellence Awards where JMAC Group triumphed in the Project of the Year (Small) category for its work on the Forth Rail Bridge. The firm was tasked by Balfour Beatty to deliver innovative access solutions to enable maintenance work on the structure to be carried out safely.
Clive described the general buzz around ScaffEx as ‘really positive’, with the NASC Village and membership areas well used throughout. “In general, there seemed to be a strong feeling that the exhibitors had surpassed what they achieved last year and how good it was to see so many new and innovative products in one place at one time,” he revealed.
Of course, in-person events like ScaffEx provide the perfect opportunity for industry leaders to network and discuss major issues.
Reflecting on the challenges and opportunities currently facing the scaffolding and access sector, Clive expects the skills shortage will continue to be a factor, with recruiting and retaining talent remaining an issue for firms in every region of the UK.
“On top of that one current challenge is the cost of doing business,” he added. “Diesel costs are at an all-time high. That’s bad enough in itself for scaffolding firms who always have to get materials and labour to and from site, but there are also secondary effects from fuel inflation as it knocks on to all other areas and starts to bake inflation into the economy. The economy itself seems quite precarious at the moment with lots of uncertainty.
“As already mentioned, finding and keeping hold of talent is getting harder and harder. In any area there seem to be more firms chasing a smaller pool of talent and we are potentially looking at a cliff edge at the other end of the situation as more older workers look to come off the tools or retire completely. We need to get people to view scaffolding differently. We do lots of work through our scaffoldingcareers.com initiative to get more employers more engaged with youngsters in their area and also to get schools engaged.
“Our Teacher Tours initiative, which kicked off in Scotland, is a great example. We also have our Talent Packs, which are a really engaging way of getting the message out there about the possibilities of scaffolding as a career.
“On a more prosaic level we also need more trainers and more training places. This is partly about funding, but it is also structural. CISRS has introduced its Train the Trainer programme specifically to address this shortfall without the loss of any quality or experience. The interest in this programme has been excellent so far and we look forward to it starting to have a real impact soon.”
The Scaffolding Excellence Awards, held following the second day of ScaffEx, saw prizes handed out to the likes of GKR Scaffolding (Project of the Year – Major), Alandale Plant and Scaffolding (Project of the Year – Large), Chris Sedgeman Scaffolding (Project of the Year – Medium), Benchmark Scaffolding (Design of the Year), AT-PAC (Product of the Year), and George Roberts (Service of the Year). Leo Bradbury of High Peak Scaffolding was the recipient of the Wayne Connolly Apprentice of the Year award, while Christopher Sedgeman was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement accolade.
Clive Dickin told Project Scotland that no-one on the NASC or CISRS teams gets to see the entries for the awards, as they are judged by an independent panel who are ‘pretty ruthless’ in their determination that the trade bodies won’t have any involvement in the judging process.
“It’s definitely the best way to run things and it’s a bit different from the old days where there wasn’t such a clean distinction. It is more professional and adds gravitas to the awards.
“So, all I can tell you is what the judges said and the entries I saw that made it onto the shortlists, which were all of an extraordinarily high standard. The judges’ comments also confirmed that, as well as having more entries that ever before. The calibre of those entries was at a new level. Long may it continue as it’s a great showcase and celebration of the brilliant people, projects and products from across our industry.”
• ScaffEx 27 will take place at Manchester Central from September 9-10, 2027.
