# How to run an open house and innovation day at your own facility A factory open house works when buyers see what a trade show cannot show them, namely how you build, who stands behind the product and the equipment running. Keep the agenda short with talks, small-group tours and live demos, invite selectively, set clear access rules for sensitive areas and film the day so it feeds your content for months. [Web version](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/guides/open-house-innovation-day-facility/) By David Monje, crida studio · Published 2026-03-26 · Updated 2026-03-26 ## When it makes sense to open your plant to customers It makes sense when your product is hard to show on a booth. A production bioreactor, a TFF skid or a single-use consumables line is hard to bring to an exhibition hall, and buyers want to see where it is built, how quality is controlled and who will support them after the sale. At your own site all of that is within reach. It also helps when the customer is close to a decision. A procurement, engineering and QA team from a pharma company or a CDMO understands a supplier far better after seeing the workshop, the test area and the applications lab before writing the URS or booking a FAT. If the decision is still far off, a trade show or a webinar gives more reach for less effort. ## An agenda with short talks, a tour and live demos Leave room in the agenda for conversation. Two or three trend talks are enough, on topics customers deal with at work, such as scale-up from lab to pilot and production, single-use versus stainless steel, or contamination control under Annex 1. Then run the tour in small groups and the demos at separate stations. - Welcome and safety briefing before anyone enters the workshop. - Short talks, ideally with a customer or an outside expert. - Guided tour in small groups, with one engineer per group. - Demo stations, for example a lab bioreactor, a TFF system and the control software. - One-to-one meetings with engineering or sales, booked in advance. - A proper lunch so people can talk without rushing. ### How far ahead should we plan a customer open house? It depends on the size, but remember that visitors from abroad need to book travel and that industry calendars fill up around the big shows. Pick a date well away from weeks such as ACHEMA or CPHI, send a save the date early and follow with the full invitation and agenda later. Demos and talks are what take the most preparation. ## Who to invite and how to send the invitation Invite fewer people and choose them well. Start from your CRM, meaning open opportunities, customers who could expand, distributors who need to sell the equipment and an expert or two who give the talks weight. Ask for company, role, project stage and scale on the registration form so you know who needs a meeting and who is coming to learn. Be careful with how invitations go out. In Spain, Article 21 of Law 34/2002 (LSSI) bans promotional email to people who have not asked for it or expressly agreed to it, unless there is a prior contractual relationship and the message is about your own products or services similar to what they bought. Article 13 of the GDPR also requires you to say, when collecting the data, who handles it, why and how long it is kept. ### Can we run a demo with live cells or microorganisms? At an open event, better not. Water or a buffer is enough to show the control system, the software, a single-use bag change or how a TFF system runs. That avoids biosafety and cleaning risks and lets you repeat the demo as often as needed. If someone wants to see real culture data, show it on screen. ## Access rules for cleanrooms and GMP areas If your plant has a cleanroom or GMP areas, plan the route starting from where nobody can go. Point 2.13 of Chapter 2 of the EU GMP guide says visitors should preferably not be taken into production and quality control areas. If it cannot be avoided, they should be briefed in advance on hygiene and protective clothing and closely supervised. Annex 1, written for sterile medicinal products, goes further. Point 7.2 asks for only the minimum number of personnel required in cleanrooms, and point 7.5 says unqualified personnel should not enter grade B cleanrooms or grade A in operation, except in exceptional cases under a written procedure. Even if you do not make medicines, many of your visitors know these rules and will notice if the tour ignores them. ### Can we film and photograph attendees? Yes, as long as you tell them. Article 4(1) of the GDPR defines personal data as any information about an identifiable person, including through factors specific to their physical identity. Explain on the registration form that there will be photos and video, what they will be used for and how to opt out. On the day, mark who does not want to appear and check images before publishing. ## Reception, and what nobody should see Reception sets the tone for the day. Have badges ready, explain the route and the rules in a few minutes and make it clear where photos are not allowed. A simple map with stations and times keeps groups from mixing and stops anyone from wandering the workshop alone. Check what will be in plain sight that day too. An equipment plant often has other customers' machines in assembly or in FAT, with drawings and screens showing project data. Move them off the route or cover them, scan the registration list for competitors and, if needed, ask for a confidentiality agreement at the door. ### Is an open house realistic for a small company? Yes, and sometimes it makes more sense than a large booth. A small group of customers and distributors, one talk, the tour and two demos is enough. What you cannot skip is a clear agenda, one person leading each group, access rules worked out in advance and a plan to film the day and follow up. ## How to turn one day into months of content The day can feed months of content if you plan for it. Film the talks with the speakers' permission, shoot short clips of each demo, take photos of the tour and record quick interviews with customers or experts. That gives you a page with the talks for people who could not come, LinkedIn posts, sales assets and a recap for next year. David Monje, founder of crida studio, organised TECNIC Bioprocess Solutions' presence at the #MEVO 2024 event while he led its marketing. The summary video TECNIC published on 7 May 2024 shows the interactive showroom, the equipment and expert opinions. It is the kind of piece that keeps being used long after the day itself. If you will film or photograph attendees, say so on the registration form and give people an easy way to opt out, for example a badge in a different colour. And run the sales follow-up that same week, using what each person asked at the demos. [Exploring the Future of Biotech with TECNIC at #MEVO 2024 | An Exclusive Insight](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYx1k3LCsQ0) — TECNIC Bioprocess Solutions, YouTube, 2024-05-07 A piece that outlasts the event day itself. TECNIC's #MEVO 2024 summary, with the interactive showroom, the equipment and expert opinions, from when David Monje led its marketing. ## References - [European Commission, EU GMP Chapter 2, Personnel](https://health.ec.europa.eu/document/download/11f4f8e6-a6e9-4897-afe3-f21e1dc56cb8_en?filename=2014-03_chapter_2.pdf) - [European Commission, EU GMP Annex 1, Manufacture of Sterile Medicinal Products](https://health.ec.europa.eu/document/download/e05af55b-38e9-42bf-8495-194bbf0b9262_en?filename=20220825_gmp-an1_en_0.pdf) - [General Data Protection Regulation, in the Spanish Official Gazette (in Spanish)](https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=DOUE-L-2016-80807) - [Spanish Law 34/2002 on information society services, BOE (in Spanish)](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2002-13758) ## The crida perspective We are a marketing, brand and technology studio based in Girona. We bring identity, content and development together so a digital experience makes sense from beginning to end. crida studio, Caldes de Malavella (Girona, Spain). David Monje, founder and director. ## Planning an open house at your facility? Tell us what you build, who you want to invite and which areas can be shown. We will look at the agenda, the invitations and how to turn the day into content for your website and sales team. 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