High flying industry insight

Now in its ninth year the Advanced Engineering Show has grown to be one of the biggest annual trade events dedicated to high-value manufacturing in the UK. The two-day event, held this year on November 1-2 at the NEC Birmingham, showcases the very latest manufacturing technology, processes, products and services found in the UK’s industrial landscape.

More than 700 exhibitors will be attending the show as well as thousands of engineers, procurement managers and senior decision makers from large and small companies; all looking to source, specify and invest in the most up-to-date products and explore industry innovations.

The show’s organisers Easyfairs say the events continued success is due to its ability to keep abreast of the very latest manufacturing advances accommodated in dedicated show zones. Aero Engineering, Composites Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Performance Metals, and a new addition this year, Connected Manufacturing can all be found in halls 2, 3 and 3a of the National Exhibition Centre.

“How we evolve the show and develop new sectors and zones ensures we remain relevant and offer the visitor the right exhibitor experience,” begins Easyfairs’ industrial divisional director, Alison Willis. “This is largely thanks to our advisory board made up of industry stakeholders who are the leaders in their field from all the various sectors and industries we feature.

“It means we can look to the future to see what is happening in engineering and reflect that back to our visitors. We also partner with the right industry organisations and associations to ensure that the show not only has credibility, but includes the right content.”

Aerospace advances

Aero Engineering is the longest established zone at the show. This year, visitors are expected from leading names such as Marshall Aerospace and Defence, The Advanced Propulsion Centre and GE Aviation, who will be looking to meet and do business with other industry individuals. Major OEMs such as Airbus and Boeing will also be participating.

Aero Engineering is said to be the only tradeshow entirely dedicated to the UK aerospace supply chain. Visitors will see everything that can be found in today’s aerospace industry, including: specialist industry tier parts, components and sub-systems; engineering design/development services; materials processing services; testing, evaluation and inspection services; raw materials suppliers; jigs and tooling suppliers; standard parts suppliers; electronics contract manufacturers among others.

The show is supported by the government trade body ADS, who will also be giving a keynote presentation on SC21 and the requirements for companies involved in supplying parts for aerospace.

Jeremy Whittingham, head of marketing at Advanced Engineering says: “This year, we have had more support from ADS than ever before. They have worked with us on content that we believe will be of interest to the supply chain and to help ensure our exhibitors can maximise business opportunities. We also get great attendance from the OEMs, such as Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, Doncasters, and Meggitt amongst others.”

At the Aero Engineering open conference programme, there will be talks on topics such as: Airbus and The Wing of the Future; Innovation and technology effectiveness in the supply chain from Boeing; developing export opportunities from the Department of International Trade (DIT) and the latest on the NATEP aerospace technology programme from its director, Nigel Price.

“Our conference programme is CPD accredited,” says Willis. “We can confidently say that it is the UK’s largest engineering conference programme at a trade event. One of the features that most appeals to visitors is the flexibility of the talks and seminars. People can pick and choose which presentations they want to attend located in each show zone. They are not stuck in a single conference room. We also keep the presentations intentionally short so there is plenty of time to see the rest of the show.”

Bridging boundaries

One of the great pluses of Advanced Engineering is the crossover between the various show zones. Exhibitors involved in aerospace manufacturing and applications are also likely to be found in the Composites Engineering or Performance Metals zones. There is also a broad cross section of exhibitors from global tier 1 companies down to the smallest specialist subcontractor.

Innovation is very much a driving force at the show. This year the Enabling Innovation hub sponsored by Magna International and supported by Innovate UK partner, the Knowledge Transfer Network, has expanded and will feature 50 start-ups and researchers presenting the next generation of new technologies across all engineering sectors. The zone will be an opportunity for those selected to attract investment in their ideas.

“This year more start-ups will be able to access this fantastic marketing opportunity,” notes Willis. “We will welcome thousands of visitors, many of whom will be potential investors, customers, suppliers and technology professionals. We are still accepting applications for the showcase until September 30th, so start-ups can apply on our website.”

Ian Simmons, vice-president for business development at Magna International, R&D adds: “Sponsoring the Innovation Hub at Advanced Engineering has given Magna a direct link to the start-up and research communities. At last year’s showcase, we received a strong response that led to direct potential for projects and proof of concept engagement.”

The biggest development at this year’s show is the introduction of the Connected Manufacturing zone, dedicated to the latest manufacturing buzzwords Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things. Visitors will see cutting edge technology and service providers, focused on connected manufacturing advances, including: 3D printing; analytics; automation and IT; autonomous vehicles; laser systems; cloud computing; predictive maintenance; energy efficiency; robotics; human machine interfaces and more.

Key company exhibitors here include Siemens, Rockwell Automation, ABB Robotics, Dassault Systèmes, and associations such as GAMBICA and the British Automation and Robot Association (BARA).

“Demand for this zone has come from many of our exhibitors,” says Willis. “As we know this is the way manufacturing is developing but in the UK, there is still a need to enlighten some in manufacturing about the benefits of Industry 4.0, from large companies down to SMEs. Small companies may feel that these advances don’t really benefit them but it could just come down to the introduction of a simple new process that can increase their efficiency significantly.”

R&D and academic institutions are also well represented at Advanced Engineering, which this year is also being staged at the same time as its sister show Lab Innovation.

“We have been targeting more and more universities mainly through the Enabling Innovation hub and Lab Innovation,” states Whittingham. “We’re very aware of the skills gap in manufacturing so we are working with our industry partners to encourage more young people into engineering.”

Other developments include the laser and surface engineering hubs which bring together manufacturers within these fields, along with their respective trade organisations – the Association of Laser Users (AILU) and the Surface Engineering Association (SEA).

Repeating business

So what is the feedback from those that both attend and exhibit at the show?

“The retention year on year from our exhibitors is very high, which shows they have a great show with us,” Willis concludes. “At Easyfairs, we feel our role is not just providing a stand for the two days of the show but also all the additional support that we offer our exhibitors throughout the year, so that they get the ROI for being at the event. We want to ensure they get maximum exposure and generate as many leads as possible.

“The show has built on its success by remaining close to the industry, ensuring that we have the support from the advanced engineering and manufacturing community so we create a must attend event both for exhibitors and visitors.”

www.advancedengineeringuk.com