Goodwood Festival of Speed - 'The Garden Party of the Gods'

Few motor racing events can be compared to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. For three days each June the Duke of Richmond's Estate plays host to the world’s biggest and most diverse celebration of the history of motor sports. From steam power to the latest Grand Prix technology, it brings together some of the top drivers past and present, and their machines. This year an astounding 150,000 visitors flocked to the event for another weekend of high-octane thrills.

The Goodwood Road Racing Company brings the event to life and prepares the estate for its large number of visitors. In order to do this however, they rely heavily on a team of suppliers who can deliver without exception. The unique nature of the event means that suppliers must fully understand the concept and peoples' expectations of the Festival of Speed.

Power Electrics, one of the largest providers of generating systems in the UK, is one of Goodwood's key suppliers. The Goodwood Road Racing Company awarded Power Electrics a three-year contract in 2003 to supply generators to both the Festival of Speed in June and the Revival meeting in September.

Power Electrics' expertise in the events industry and involvement in other major events like the British Grand Prix Silverstone and The Cheltenham Gold Cup were key factors in the Goodwood Road Racing Company's decision to award the contract to the Bristol based company.

"Goodwood is unique. It is still a private family business and it's our event team, customers and suppliers that make it work. The companies that supply Goodwood must buy into the total concept of working together and meet our high and exacting standards which, Power Electrics have done," said Christopher Salmon of the Goodwood Road Racing Company.

This year Power Electrics supplied 80 generators ranging in size from 15kva sets to 350kva synchronised sets. With 150,000 visitors on site, Goodwood's power requirements were wide and varied. Power Electrics generators supported the Festival's catering and hospitality facilities, temporary structures such as marquees and site offices and mobile screens. In addition to the generators, Power Electrics supplied 20 Hushtower lighting units to Goodwood for the first time, to light the entrances, roadways and crossovers.

Power Electrics are also Goodwood's preferred supplier for all private hire at the event. Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, BBC Top Gear Magazine and the Highways Agency are among 220 exhibitors at the Festival of Speed all of whom have power requirements. Power Electrics has designed a system whereby six concessions can be supported by one generator through a purpose built distribution board.

As part of the service Power Electrics provide the manpower necessary to install and maintain the equipment. Two engineers were on site for the duration of this year's festival and many more were involved in the run up to the event. Power Electrics believe that one of the reasons they are so successful in the events sector is that they offer customers like Goodwood a complete service package.

"We own the process from start to finish," said Steve Williams, rental sales manager at Power Electrics. "We have our own satellite tracked transport fleet, that’s a definite advantage, it means that we can guarantee our equipment will arrive on time and with an engineer who can install and maintain it on site."

"It's also important that our equipment looks the part, particularly at high profile events like Goodwood and the British Grand Prix. Our fleet is subject to a three-year renewal policy. That's really important when we are highly visible at these type of events."

Christopher Salmon: "Powering the festival is obviously a top priority and one where there is simply no room for error. We worked very closely with Power Electrics both this year and last to determine precisely what the requirements would be and then pretty much left them to it, it's the perfect customer/supplier relationship really."

"We are very proud of our involvement in such high profile events like Goodwood. Our hard work and commitment has earned us a highly respected reputation within the industry. Power Electrics has doubled in size in the last ten years but we are still a close knit, family run business at heart," said Steve Williams.