LiftEx 2025 live from Liverpool
Over 1500 attendees visited LiftEx 2025 at the Exhibition Centre Liverpool across 18th & 19th November, making it the best attended event in the show’s history. LEEA’s annual flagship event was supported by RiConnect, a provider of cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS), as Headline Sponsor, along with sponsors Yoke and Hoist. The show floor was packed with over 100 brands showcasing lifting, rigging, and height-safety solutions.
Speaking in the exhibition floor theatre, members of the LEEA team took the opportunity to update visitors on LEEA’s latest initiatives such as a presentation by LEEA’s Project Officer Adam Chipperfield, along with Director Membership Matt Barber, on the evolution of how the association assesses its members.
The theatre also hosted the member showcase, where some of the many innovative products at LiftEx were demonstrated and explained, such as the ROV Pro Shank Hook from Van Beest. RiConnect demonstrated how RFID-embedded lifting products transform asset management and traceability, including the Digital Product Passport (DPP). A joint presentation from G2 Ocean and Onix looked at how digitalisation is transforming lifting compliance in the maritime sector. To further demonstrate how smart technology is revolutionising the lifting industry YOKE Industrial Corp looked at how connecting physical products to digital platforms enhances traceability, boosts safety and simplifies compliance, and CheckedOK showed the latest feature release for making inspection management effortless.
There was a step into the future with Spanset and Auxivo explaining how Exoskeletons reduce fatigue, improve posture and protect workers from strain across industries. A demonstration showed how wearable support systems can boost productivity, safety and long-term wellbeing.
Core Inspection Software showed how lifting and rigging teams are cutting report turnaround from weeks to hours while eliminating 99% of rework and 99% of missed recertifications. There was an introduction to, and demonstration of, the BUDDIE SYSTEM, claimed to be the world’s first wireless instant safety alert device for crane operators.
Motion Software explored the consequences of non-compliance and how its Motion Kinetic software solution avoids this through efficient inspection workflows, realtime reporting and seamless data management. And Bekaert revealed how cutting edge technologies are transforming rope inspection.
Given that even the best equipment can fail if used incorrectly, there was an informative session exploring real-world examples of lifting equipment misuse across different industries. Providing insights into common causes of misuse, the impact on safety and efficiency as well as how design, training and product innovation can help prevent incidents, the presentation drew on expertise from pewag, Modulift, Load Monitoring Systems and Aberdeen Web. They highlighted practical steps to improve safety culture and ensure equipment is used as intended.
Thought leaders
LEEA CEO Ross Moloney kicked off proceedings at LiftEx’s highly enlightening Thought Leadership Conference, discussing “skills as a way to pay the bills”, as he explored how the lifting industry can attract new talent, develop their skills and retain a strong motivated workforce. Given that people help a business to thrive, he addressed issues around attracting the right people, developing them in the right way and how to retain existing staff.
“We know that when you train people, you have people who are happier,” he said. “There is an increased wellbeing associated to any sort of training and there is a lot of evidence that clearly shows that when firms train, they are far less likely to fail.”
Training is commonly seen as expensive but skills pay the bills, so it is important to see training as an investment with a return rather than something you may resent that has a cost. However, the training that we must offer and the training our industry must offer to its employees must concentrate on regulations. So, training should be chosen carefully. LEEA training, for example, is moving from memory tests to competence assessments, which means linking training to occupation to ensure that a person is good at their job. Having a great team should not be a matter of luck, it requires an investment, and not a cost.
Picking up the theme of people development, in a talk titled: ‘You are only as strong as your team – building the future through talent’, Wim Fabricius, President & MD EMEA of Kito Crosby discussed how the future will belong to the organisations that can unite strong teams with innovation, developing the skills and culture needed to create not just a more competitive industry - but a safer one.
Tim Battersby, Technical Sales Manager at RiConnect looked at the Digital Product Passport, which is essentially a collection of construction, product related, machine-readable data. Implementation has been mandated by the European Commission as part of its new regulations brought in during 2023 that help towards creating a more circular economy in the EU.
Anton van der Zalm, Vice President Corporate Research & Development at Van Beest BV, looked at innovations in load release and retrieval from surface to seabed and back. As subsea operations become more complex and efficiency-driven, the technology behind load release and retrieval continues to evolve. The latest innovations in subsea installation equipment were explored, with a focus on smarter, safer techniques for deploying and recovering loads from the seabed.
Adeoluwa Bamgbade, Temporary Works Coordinator, SCS Railways JV, gave a fascinating exploration of how the complex extraction of tunnel boring machines weighing up to 880 tonnes from the HS2 London tunnels, 45 metres below the ground.
LEEA’s Head of Global Industry Standards & Legislation Ben Dobbs provided an update on the Machinery Directive and was followed by LEEA colleague, Director of Infrastructure Ian Bannister, who updated the audience on the HSE LOLER review.
Harley Parkin of GGR Group offered attendees a view of what’s next for the industry by highlighting the latest innovations designed to boost safety, precision and efficiency across lifting operations. She explored how specialist lifting has been completely redefined in three key areas: glass insulation, confined access work and zero emission solutions. Walking through how manual, high risk methods have moved to engineered precision lifting it was explained how this shift is helping to tackle modern construction pressures such as restricted access, shorter deadlines, and ambitious carbon reduction targets.
Ollie Brown, Economist at Globaldata PLC, briefed LiftEx on the market trends, new project developments and maritime trade dynamics and implications on vertical construction amid evolving international trade. Global construction output slowed in 2025, a year characterised by factors such as funding deficits and supply chain disruption, however it is forecast to grow by 3.3% in 2026.
He highlighted how there is investment for multi-billion dollar projects such as the Jeddah Tower, under construction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, that aims to be the world's first building to exceed 1,000 meters in height. The tower is the centrepiece of the Jeddah Economic City project, a massive urban development intended to help diversify Saudi Arabia's economy.
Achieving a project of this scale successfully depends on having the best sub-contractors, suppliers of materials, architects, engineers and skilled labour. Brown suggested that people still aspire to work internationally and collaborate, which is positive for the construction industry.
Rounding off the session, Kevin Bennison and Darren Biggs, Active Chairs of ILLAPG, gave a passionate delivery on lifting safety through collaboration by explaining how the Industry Lifting Lead AP Group (ILLAPG) is raising standards across Industry and encouraging industry members to get involved.
LiftEx 2026 will return to the Exhibition Centre in Liverpool on 24th and 25th November 2026. Requests for stand space and sponsorship opportunities at LiftEx 2025 will be dealt with on a first-come, first-served basis, so please contact Leah Phelps on +44 20 3488 2865 or at enquiries@L2Events.com to secure a sponsorship package or a prime position at the exhibition.
