Cold Comfort 2027 | 19 to 20 May | CBS Arena, Coventry
What actually works when the weather turns
Road winter service runs on uncertain forecasts, tight timelines, stretched resources and high public expectation. When conditions deteriorate, there's no room for theory.
Cold Comfort is two days of practical conversation about winter service and road resilience: how decisions get made when certainty is impossible, what genuinely improves outcomes on the ground, and how the sector adapts as weather becomes more volatile.
5,000
visitors across Cold Comfort, Traffex and Parkex
57%
of Cold Comfort visitors came from the public sector in 2026
3
shows on one floor, all on a single badge
Free
to attend, for everyone working in the sector
The Resilience Theatre
A programme built around the decisions you actually make
Every session has to pass one test: does this make a practical difference on the ground? Practitioners share what worked, what didn't and what they'd do differently.
What actually improves winter service
Tools, technology and operating practices that have made a measurable difference to safety, resilience or value in live winter service.
Decisions under uncertainty
How forecasts, data, experience and professional judgement come together when the call can't wait.
Clients, contractors and shared risk
How responsibility, incentives and accountability are split across delivery contracts, with lessons from what went right and what didn't.
Resilience beyond winter as usual
Climate adaptation, flooding and weather volatility, and what they mean for how winter service is planned and paid for.
Speakers in 2026 came from organisations including:
- Norwegian Public Roads Administration
- Climate Change Committee
- National Highways
- Transport Scotland
- Welsh Government
- Road Haulage Association
- Kent County Council
- Lincolnshire County Council
Who you'll meet
The people who keep the network moving
Cold Comfort brings together the whole winter service chain, from the people setting policy to the people out on the routes.
- Winter Service and Highway Operations Managers running gritting, routes and duty decisions
- Network Resilience and Severe Weather Leads planning for storms, flooding and disruption
- Asset and Climate Adaptation Managers making the long-term case for resilient roads
- Contractors and Term Maintenance Teams delivering winter service on the ground
- Meteorologists and Forecasters turning weather data into operational decisions
- Fleet, Equipment and Technology Suppliers from salt and spreaders to sensors and software
The exhibition
The full winter service supply chain, in one room
Hear an idea in the theatre and the people who can help you put it into practice are a short walk away on the show floor.
Weather intelligence
Road weather forecasting, surface sensors and decision-support platforms.
2026 exhibitors included MetDesk, Vaisala, DTN, OpenWeather and Findlay Irvine
Salt, de-icing and surface treatment
Rock salt, additives, liquid de-icers and saturation systems.
2026 exhibitors included Compass Minerals, Peacock Salt and Safecote
Vehicles and equipment
Gritters, spreaders, snow ploughs and traction systems.
2026 exhibitors included Econ Engineering, Bucher Municipal, Romaquip and RUD
Technology and operations
Fleet tracking, route optimisation and depot solutions.
2026 exhibitors included Exactrak, WinterTech Systems and Winter Service Solutions
Where the industry connects
See what Cold Comfort is like
What visitors say
From the people who were there
Excellent conference, well worth going as it gave fantastic opportunities to network and also to find out about latest initiatives, procedures, legislation and how others are implementing these into their winter plans.
Assistant Network Manager, Hertfordshire County Council
I found the Cold Comfort experience to be informative and interesting, with a good balance of different topics and speakers covered, which has provided a good background to help us enhance our winter maintenance service in the future.
Senior QS and Winter and Emergency Project Lead, Skanska
For a first timer the event was way over my expectations!
Head of Infrastructural Services, City of Espoo
Co-located with Traffex and Parkex
Three shows. One floor. One badge.
Your badge gets you into everything, and the theatres run side by side, so you can build your own day. A winter service manager can go from the Resilience Theatre to a session on asset management or procurement at Traffex without leaving the hall.
Cold Comfort
Winter service and road resilience.
Traffex
Roads, traffic management and highways delivery.
Parkex
Parking, enforcement and EV charging.
Be there for 2027
19 to 20 May 2027, CBS Arena, Coventry. Visitor registration opens on 1 February. Register your interest now and we'll let you know as soon as it's live.