A new style of business2business exhibition is being launched in Eastleigh next year.

Working on the theme of greater local contact and non-competitive exhibitors, the Eastleigh Borough Council's economic development team will stage their first business exhibition, complete with seminars, at the Rose Bowl, home of Hampshire Cricket in March.

'Contact B2B Eastleigh' is a concept developed by specialist organisers, Event Works which is based in Poole. 'Contact B2B' takes the classic stand and seminar format, but really makes it work for exhibitors, sponsors and visitors.

"I have been on all sides of the exhibition fence, so I understand what each party wants from it," says Event Works managing director Chris Wood. "We aim to have 40 local - and I stress local - exhibitors and we try to ensure that companies are the only representative of their product or service. We do this by booking space by industry sector on a first come, first served basis."

Eastleigh Borough Council has more than 3,500 businesses registered within its boundary. This number increases rapidly with the close proximity of Southampton, Winchester, Portsmouth and the many industrial business parks within a 30-mile radius.

Project manager Kevin Moore explained that Eastleigh Borough Council was taking the step into the business exhibition arena after some careful monitoring of previous events in the area.

"We decided to promote the one day event as it is manageable for the smaller companies which make up the majority of businesses in the borough area. There will be opportunities to talk to specialists and professionals from other sectors and listen to short seminars," explains Kevin.

"There will be no barrier to entry as we hope to attract a good cross section of businesses and visitors. We will also be running "Meet the buyer" sessions in conjunction with South West Hampshire Enterprise Agencies," continues Kevin.

It has already attracted its first major sponsor, the very prestigious Pentagon Mercedes.

"We are very much looking forward to working with Pentagon Mercedes, the official dealer for Mercedes Benz in the south," said Kevin. "Pentagon Mercedes plays a very active part within Eastleigh's business community and we welcome its involvement in the exhibition."

Maarten Seward, the dealer principal for Pentagon Mercedes added, "We are delighted to be able to sponsor the exhibition as business to business trading is important to us. We offer the full range of commercial and consumer vehicles at our dealerships in the south and understand the importance of supporting smaller businesses, many of whom are our customers."