M&E Week becomes industrial sector’s biggest event

09 August, 2023

Senior manufacturing leaders attended the Manufacturing Digitalisation Summit and the SME Growth Summit, while also finding time to visit the Google Leaders’ Lounge. As part of the STEM programme more than 450 students attended the exhibition on the final afternoon finding much to inspire them in the Made Smarter Innovation Alley, the Innovation Village and beyond.

Haf Cennydd, Portfolio Director for Manufacturing & Engineering Week said: “To have built the biggest UK event for the industrial sector in just two years has surpassed our expectations and clearly demonstrates that bringing together Smart Factory Expo, Design & Engineering Expo and Maintec was a great idea. With industrial events also taking place at the same time and venue run by other event organisers plus the addition of Drives & Controls, Air-Tech and Fluid Power & Systems, there will only be more to see and do in 2024.”

Manufacturing & Engineering Week has the support of most of the high-profile organisations, institutions and trade bodies representing the UK’s industrial and manufacturing sector, none more so than Make UK. Stephen Phipson CBE, CEO of MAKE UK and chair of Manufacturing & Engineering Week said of this year’s event: “Manufacturing and Engineering Week has gone from strength to strength from last year to this year and we expect it to grow even further next year. Key challenges were high on the agenda for the second year with skills, supply chain and sustainability discussed in detail. It was great to see the show also offset their carbon emissions once again by planting thousands more trees in the M&E Week Forest.”

Maintec in particular has benefited from its inclusion in M&E Week with Chris Hansford of Hansford Sensors commenting: “I have been coming to Maintec for 36 years and this is the busiest one I can remember. The event has had a shot in the arm which is great for our business and the maintenance sector as a whole.”

Engineers Without Borders UK, the official charity partner for Manufacturing & Engineering Week, used its presence as an opportunity to launch a global responsibility competency compass to address the sustainability skills gap in engineering. John Kraus, CEO said: “The event has given the whole team a boost. It’s given us a platform for our launch and an opportunity to network directly with people working in industry and their representative bodies. Our ambitions and those of Nineteen Group align in that we wish to ensure that responsible engineering principles are being embedded at every level and that decisions made balance the needs of all people with the limits of our planet.”

Peter Jones, CEO of Nineteen Group commented on the success of the event: “We gave our team the licence to disrupt the accepted norms of what an industrial sector trade show looked like, felt like and achieved and they have over-performed by every measure. From the Nexa3D guitar players’ competition to the festival-like stilt walkers and branding to the sheer sense of excitement generated on the exhibition floor it’s been superb, and it will only get better next year as we add Drives & Controls, Air-Tech and Fluid Power & Systems into the mix.”

Dates for the live events for M&E Week in 2024 have been confirmed as 5-6 June for Smart Factory Expo, Design & Engineering Expo and Maintec (2 days, Hall 4) and 4-6 June for Drives & Controls, Air-Tech and Fluid Power & Systems (3 Days, Hall 5).

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