Shipping Container Exhibition Stand | HESCO ExCel London

Project Scope

Complete turnkey exhibition stand design and build for HESCO, a leading provider of defensive barriers and force protection systems for military and security applications. The project for ExCel London required showcasing their RAID (Rapid Deployment) container system - specialised shipping containers engineered for deploying HESCO Concertainer defensive barriers. Our brief was to transform the product itself into the exhibition structure, creating a "cargotecture" display integrated with our HIVE System® modular components for a defense sector trade show at London's largest exhibition venue.

Product-as-Stand Concept & Double-Stack Design

HESCO RAID containers are engineered for rapid deployment of military defense systems, making them structurally ideal for exhibition use. We stacked two 20-foot RAID containers vertically, creating a dramatic 16-foot-high landmark stand on the ExCel exhibition floor. This double-stack configuration provided multiple benefits: elevated branding visible across the venue, full-scale product demonstration showing actual deployment capability, integrated meeting space within the lower container. The containers' robust construction readily supported the exhibition modifications, screens and visitor traffic while serving as authentic product samples for defence procurement visitors.

HIVE System Integration & Transportation Efficiency

The exhibition architecture combined HESCO's containers with our HIVE System® modular components for flooring, internal fit-out and display elements. This hybrid approach delivered a unique advantage: HIVE components packed flat inside the RAID containers for transport to ExCel London, then deployed on-site to complete the stand interior. This solution eliminated separate logistics for stand materials - the containers transported both themselves (as exhibit) and the exhibition infrastructure (packed inside). After the show, everything repacked into the containers for storage or deployment at the next defence exhibition, demonstrating the efficiency potential of container-based exhibition architecture for companies with product-transport synergies.

Impact at ExCel London Defense Exhibition

The stacked container stand became an unmissable landmark within the busy ExCel exhibition halls, leveraging vertical height restrictions permitted for containers. The authentic product display resonated with defense sector visitors who could assess RAID containers' build quality and deployment functionality firsthand. The stand successfully communicated HESCO's rapid deployment capabilities through the exhibition structure itself - containers arrived, stacked, opened and transformed into functional space mirroring how HESCO systems deploy in field operations. This product-as-exhibition approach delivered marketing impact while showcasing real engineering capabilities to military procurement decision-makers at one of London's major defence trade events.