The World Trade Group
The World Trade Group
World Trade Group (WTG) was established in 1997 with backing from 3i. Their first b2b conference took place in November 1997 with over 200 delegates. As other successful events followed, it became apparent that one of the primary reasons delegates attended was to network with both their peers and industry solution providers. They responded in 1998 with the launch of World Trade summits; events with high quality conference programmes run alongside a series of structured pre-qualified one to one business meetings between delegate buyers and supplier vendors. Whether measured in pounds, dollars or euros, hundreds of businesses have generated substantial revenue from attending a WTG summit, with deals often closed on site.
When 3i shifted their investment policy away from SMEs, WTG’s management took the opportunity to buy back the minority 3i shareholding, making the business entirely owner managed. In 2002, WTG purchased the conference company, Access Events International (AEI), retaining and refining the most successful conferences in its portfolio. The Access brand was formally merged into WTG in 2007. In 2003, WTG launched a Toronto office to replicate European success across North America. This is now a flourishing and integral part of the business, enabling them to provide international coverage for their multi-national corporate client base.
WTG now have five divisions: Manufacturing & Supply Chain, Food & Beverage, Human Resources, Pharma and Energy. Most of their summits are firmly established and enjoy ‘must attend’ status as the leading events in their industry. Their clients are in business to do business and their raison d’être is to facilitate that process. They have recently launched a number of other products and initiatives, all building on the principal of making it easier for their clients to identify common interests and make the personal connections that lead to business opportunities. WTG has been helping the world do business since 1997.
