AARC Professional Services heads to Glasgow for its first Scottish trade event
They say time flies but it really is hard to believe that we are almost halfway through the year already, with three trade events (as exhibitors) now under our collective belt. April saw us visiting Dublin for Rail Link, whilst Rail Infrastructure Networking (RIN) staged their first event of the year in London in March, followed by last week’s RIN Glasgow, both of which we attended.
RIN itself is the brainchild of rail specialist insurance broker Jobson James Rail, with the aim of bringing together businesses from the rail infrastructure industry, particularly small to medium size enterprises (SMEs), for a variety of networking opportunities at locations across the UK. And with no speeches or presentations, the focus is squarely on networking – perfect for a business such as ours. So, aided and abetted by AARCPS associates Liz Parkes (HSQE Manager) and Jim McGrory (Operations Consultant), last week (22nd May) we set out our stall at the Hilton, Glasgow, to join the other 100 plus exhibitors showcasing their wares.
"AARC notebook and pen...an invaluable aid!"
It had been a while since I was last in Glasgow with work so it was great to be back and, having arrived the day before the actual event, I took the opportunity to stroll round the city centre in the warm spring sunshine. The following day I arrived in good time to ‘set up shop’ at the venue – perfectly placed, but due to be replaced by a bigger venue next year, as this time around the event sold out in just a couple of weeks. First memorable moment came courtesy of Event Co-ordinator Antoinette Stevenson, who took the time to come over and thank me for the AARCPS notebook and pen, picked up from a previous event and now an invaluable aid! Second memorable moment was, of course, the RIN breakfast bap, only this time served with haggis!
‘Extensive experience of public transport operations and HSQE…’
With over 600 people in attendance, we again had some great conversations, enhanced by Jim and Liz’s extensive experience of public transport operations and HSQE, particularly across the Scottish public transport sector, with a few familiar faces dropping by to say hello. One of the organisers of the Rail Link – Dublin event was over and dropped by for a chat, whilst one of the most promising conversations we had on the day came right at the end when a former colleague of Liz and Jim’s stopped by for a chat about the possibility of AARCPS providing some support, with a follow-up meeting planned for the near future. Liz also proved to be a dab hand at promoting our merchandise, with the stand actually running out of notebooks, leaving me with just two mugs and a few of our branded bags to take home. Next year I’ll have to drive up with a bigger box of notebooks to meet the increasing demand! If anyone sees one of our notebooks, mugs or bags in use, do please sends us a photo (info@aarcps.co.uk) – we’d love to see where they end up!
Great events for meeting great people…
As for the event itself, as I’ve said in previous blogs, I really like the format the RIN events take and Glasgow was no exception. With networking at its core, we again met some great people and I would like to thank both Antoinette Stevenson and Keven Parker from Jobson James for another well organised event. As SME suppliers, we really do appreciate the amount of effort that goes on behind the scenes to make these events happen. As such, we’ve already registered for the two remaining RIN events this year, taking place as follows:
- RIN Derby – Thursday 11th September 2025, Derby Arena, Derby
- RIN Harrogate – Thursday 13th November 2025, The Great Yorkshire Events Centre, Great Yorkshire Showground
And as always, if you’re attending the above, do please stop by, say hello and claim your free goody bag!!!
