Northern Manufacturing sets new attendance record

The exhibition welcomed 2,240 industry professionals over the two days, an increase of more than 10% on the previous event. Over 200 companies and organisations participated in the show from a wide variety of sectors and specialities.

Northern Manufacturing is a leading industrial technology exhibition in the North West of England, which is a region of particular importance to UK manufacturing.

The North West is home to around a quarter of the UK’s £35 billion aerospace industry and produces 12% of the country’s automotive manufacturing output, making it the second biggest region for automotive manufacture in the UK.

The show’s profile in both of these important industries was enhanced by the involvement of their respective regional trade organisations, the North West Aerospace Alliance and the Northern Automotive Alliance.

Also involved were Composites UK, NetComposites, SMMT, CBM, BGA and the GTMA. Other key event partners were the Manufacturing Growth Fund and Made Smarter, offering practical advice on business development. HMRC was also in attendance to help business prepare for cross-border trade, post-Brexit.

Visitor demographics for the 2019 show reveal significant increases in attendance from the aerospace industry, defence, electronics, medical technology and industrial machinery sectors. Materials and composites, rapid prototyping, electronic assembly, sensors and toolmaking all saw significant upticks in interest, reflecting a wider interest in advanced manufacturing materials and techniques.

Although comparatively small compared to, Southern Manufacturing, the show proved extremely worthwhile for many exhibitors.

Atia Bukhari, marketing manager of Grenville Engineering commented: “Northern Manufacturing exceeded our expectations with better quality leads and genuine interest in our services. Southern Manufacturing has been a successful show for us over the last few years and our debut at Northern Manufacturing has proved successful so far.”

David Sinclair, director of Yelo added: “We have made contact with at least seven new potential customers that we would have unlikely met if we had not exhibited at Northern Manufacturing.”

Southern Manufacturing & Electronics 2020 opens from 11-13 February at Farnborough International in Hampshire. Northern Manufacturing will return to EventCity from 7-8 October 2020.

www.industrynorth.co.uk