Nimlok the Exhibition Stand Provider

A short history of Nimlok, the world's leading supplier of reusable exhibition stands and event environments: The story of a photographer, three Ps and 400 great people. The story of Nimlok, now the worldwide leader in the supply of reusable display and exhibition products begins with its colourful founder, Neil Nimmo.

Neil, a RAF bomber pilot in World War II, was shot down in France and hidden by the French Resistance until liberated by advancing American armies. He was a resourceful man. After the war he became a successful commercial photographer. Finding that he needed a portable backdrop for his photoshoots for large corporate clients around the world, he set out to invent one. And in so doing invented what was to become a portable display system. The market at the time for portable backdrops for photography proved limited, but there was a new market for modular and portable displays for which Neil's invention, with a little modification, was ideal. As the idea became a business Neil sought the assistance of some commercial friends and this is how Gerald Perutz became one of the founding shareholders in London in 1970.

One of the distinctive features of the display system that Neil invented was that it locked with remarkable firmness. So combining the inventors name and this locking property led naturally to the company name "Nimlok". As usual, with a new venture the first year started slowly. However the early challenges were overcome and a business plan was developed to grow to the company. By the late 1970's Nimlok had grown to then exciting figure of £1,000,000 in annual sales.

The 3 P's

In 1977 Gerald Perutz moved with his family to the United States to pursue a career in Corporate America.

Simon Perutz, Gerald's elder son, took on the challenge of bringing Nimlok into the USA and after a brief study of the UK operation returned and launched Nimlok in the USA in 1981. For much of the first year he spent half the day selling and the other half producing the products, Simon recalls.

Sadly, Neil Nimmo died in 1987. Neil's family were not interested in operating the business, so the Perutz family bought Neil's interest in the company and have been active owners / managers ever since.

In 1984, Nimlok expanded into Canada where the organisation quickly grew.

In August 1992, Tim Perutz, left the restaurant business and joined with a mission to revive the then somewhat flagging fortunes of Nimlok in the UK.

450 Great People

Like any successful venture, the key for Nimlok and the group of business that it has now become, has been recruiting and retaining a great team of people. From humble beginnings, Nimlok has evolved into a group of 11 companies, on 3 continents with distribution in 56 countries. Today the Group employs 400 wonderful people and has revenue of more than £50 million.

Under the banner P3, the group has exciting plans to further broaden its activities within the marketing services sectors. For more information on companies with the P3 Group

Nimlok and the environment

Sustainability has been at the core of Nimlok's philosophy since the original Nimlok product was invented by Neil Nimmo 40 years ago. Nimlok has always believed passionately that there is a better way than the "build and burn" that has too often dominated display and exhibition construction. Reusability with modular, reconfigurable solutions has been a fundamental feature of all Nimlok's products.

Testament to the longevity and reusability of Nimlok products is the very large quantity of Nimlok equipment still in daily use after 20 years or more. Nimlok is proud to be a business with a culture of Environmental Awareness and Best Practice and is delighted to have received formal recognition of its environmental efforts:

Sunday Times Best Green Companies in UK 2009
Nimlok is delighted to have its efforts and achievements recognised by the Sunday Times in May 2009 as one of the top 20 green companies in the UK.

ISO 14001 Environmental Management
Nimlok is the first exhibition company in the world to be accredited to ISO 14001, the internationally recognised environmental management system.

BS8901 Sustainability
Nimlok is delighted to be the first exhibition builder to achieve registration to BS8901 the standard for sustainable events. Read more information on Nimlok's industry leading environmental practices