The UK’s Advanced Engineering 2018 is taking place on 31 October and 1 November in Halls 2, 3 and 3a at the Birmingham NEC.

Organised by Easyfairs, the annual show — now firmly established as a leading industry event — is celebrating 10 years of connecting technical specialists from a wide range of manufacturing and processing industries, including buyers and sellers of equipment.

The free-to attend event will bring together over 600 supply-chain partners and thousands of visiting engineers looking to source, specify and invest in the most up-to-date products and explore the latest industry innovations.

Last year saw a 15% rise in attendance, with visitors from industry sectors that included aerospace, automotive, composites, high-performance metals and connected manufacturing (Industry 4.0).

Moreover, Advanced Engineering 2018 contains six co-located zones: Aerospace Engineering; Composites Engineering; Automotive Engineering; Performance Metals; Connected Manufacturing; and Nuclear Engineering.

The latter two are new for 2018 and will give visitors an opportunity to ‘grow networks’ in these fast-expanding sectors.

Also new for this year is AE Connect, a match-making service that allows visitors and exhibitors to pre-arrange meetings, target the right people and free up valuable time at the show.

Alison Willis, Easyfairs’ industrial divisional director, said: “Manufacturing is of critical importance to the British economy, and we are really pleased — in our 10th year — to provide engineers and procurement professionals with unrivalled networking and business development opportunities.

“This event is not just about selling but also finding out about the latest advances in manufacturing. Visitors will see how the latest kit is being used in the most up-to-date applications.

“The show will feature a variety of cutting-edge technologies and materials, while giving visitors the chance to meet engineering supply-chain professionals.

“New innovations and technologies will take centre stage in all the zones, presented by a variety of start-ups, SMEs and national research initiatives. The benefits of adopting Industry 4.0 will also feature heavily in the expanded Connected Manufacturing zone.”

Keynote speakers

The high-level forums at Advanced Engineering 2018 include a strong line-up of industry-leading keynote speakers from companies that include Siemens, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVMC).

All of the show’s six zones will have a range of speakers talking about current issues, as well as future projections for their industry.

Moreover, these forums are CPD (Continuing Professional Development) accredited, confirming the high level of expertise offered by the show’s speakers.

Keynote speakers include: Paul Hingley (Siemens Data Services business manager); Rosa Wilkinson (HVMC communications director); James Henderson (major projects manager at Atkins); Ed Andrews (technologist at the Aerospace Technology Institute); Mike Mychajluk (production purchasing manager at JLR); Lawrence Davies (chief adviser at the Department for International Trade); Mike Wilson (president of the British Automation & Robot Association); and Alex Aucken (chairman of Solvay, an advanced materials and specialty chemicals company).

Ms Willis added: “The forums, which are taking place on both days of the show, will provide insights into topics that have a daily impact on companies in the advanced engineering industries.

“Our speakers will stimulate lively discussions with insightful speeches and over 200 presentations.”

To register for a free ticket and for more information about the show, visit the Web site (www.advancedengineeringuk.com) or follow on Twitter (via ) for regular updates.

Manufacturing hotspots

Advanced Engineering recently announced Sheffield as the UK’s top high-value manufacturing hotspot, narrowly beating Bristol — last year’s winner.

The results of the survey are based on the number of visitors from given areas at last year’s show and the number of exhibitors registered to date (taking into account ‘travel factors’).

The highest new entry this year is Cambridge, which comes in at number four. Other new entrants are Northampton, Poole, Telford, Swindon, Banbury and Chesterfield.

The biggest improvers in the table since last year were: Milton Keynes, which moved from 10th to third; Nottingham, which moved from eighth to fifth; and Leicester, which moved up three places from 16th to 13th.

Alison Willis, Easyfairs’ industrial divisional director, said: “High-value manufacturing provides highly paid highly skilled jobs across the country, and our league table shows where the advanced engineering hotspots are.”