Load-In and Load-Out: A Field Guide

A booth that took weeks to build can be damaged in two hours at the loading dock door. Load-in and load-out are the least planned part of an exhibition and the most pressured: the window is short, vehicles are queuing, and almost everyone in the hall is doing the same thing at the same time.

This field guide covers what to prepare before the vehicle leaves, and what most often holds things up on site.

Read this before anything else: the exhibitor manual

Every organiser publishes an exhibitor manual, and that is where every constraint binding you is written down. The parts that matter most at this stage:

• The load-in time slot — date, start time and end time. Often overnight.
• Which access route you may use, and whether vehicles can back up to the dock or must unload in a separate area.
• Size and weight limits for the goods lift.
• Floor rules — whether nailing, gluing or protective sheeting is required.
• Work that must go through official contractors, usually electrical and rigging.
• Load-out hours and late penalties.

That last point surprises people most. At many venues the hall must be clear by a stated hour after the show closes, and overruns are charged by the hour.

Panel size is set by the door, not the design

A rule of thumb that has saved many projects: before panels are cut in the workshop, confirm that the largest panel fits through the narrowest point on its route. That point is usually one of four — the vehicle bed, the dock door, the goods lift, and the hall door.

Measure the height as well as the width. A 250 cm panel carried upright will not fit a lift with 220 cm of clear height, and tilting it is not always possible in a cramped lift car.

Where the design demands a plane larger than the available route, that plane is split along a planned joint line — not sawn on site on the night of the install. Material choices are covered in our guide to booth materials and finishes.

What travels to site

Documents

• Exhibitor pass or letter from the organiser.
• Proof of power and additional service orders.
• A one-page assembly drawing, packed inside the crate.
• A packing list, so nothing is left behind at load-out.

Tools and spares

• Drill, screwdrivers, spanners, ladder and measuring tools.
• Spare bolts, screws and hinges — these are what go missing in transit.
• Gaffer tape, cable ties and floor protection.
• Cloths and cleaner for finished surfaces.
• Touch-up paint or offcut HPL to cover scratches.

For the crew

Drinking water, gloves, closed shoes, and additional lighting if the install slot falls at night. Halls during build-up are often lit only by the house lights.

An installation order that saves time

1. Mark out the stand boundary against the plan and confirm the stand number is right. Building on the wrong stand happens more often than people think, and rebuilding consumes the entire time buffer.
2. Lay floor protection before the structure goes up, not after.
3. Erect the back structure first, then the sides, then the front elements.
4. Pull cabling before closing panels go on. Forgetting this means dismantling a wall you have just finished.
5. Fit graphics once the structure is upright and no further work will touch those surfaces.
6. Clean and test every light and socket before the crew leaves site.

Load-out: the part that decides whether the booth can be used again

After the show closes, time pressure is higher than it was on the way in, and that is when damage happens. Three things separate a clean dismantle from a destructive one:

• Dismantle in reverse order of installation — graphics first, panels last. Not the other way round.
• Return each component to its crate as it comes off. Stacking panels on the floor to "tidy up later" is where nearly every scratch begins.
• Check against the packing list before the vehicle leaves. Items left in the hall usually cannot be collected the next day.

Also inspect the floor and any rented partitions before you leave the area. Damage recorded after you have gone will be billed without you having a chance to see it.

Questions we get asked

How long should booth installation reasonably take?

It depends on size, structural complexity and access to the stand location. More decisive than size is whether the structure was trial-assembled in the workshop first — a first assembly that happens in the hall always takes far longer.

Does the booth contractor handle load-in permits?

On projects we deliver, coordinating schedule and access with the organiser is part of our work. What still has to come from you are the exhibitor documents, because those are issued in your company's name.

What if the neighbouring stand is not finished while we install?

Normal, and it is why the installation order is arranged so that work touching the stand boundary happens early. If a dividing wall is shared, coordinate first — fitting graphics to a partition that is not final means fitting them twice.

If you would rather this were handled

Our crew loads in, installs, attends during the show and clears the site at load-out. Send your venue name and dates through our contact page. For our full scope of work, see exhibition services.