The Aluminium Federation (ALFED) (www.alfed.org.uk) will be hosting free ‘Brexit readiness’ briefings at Advanced Engineering (Stand J82e).

Based in the West Midlands, ALFED is one of a select group of trade associations partnering with the Government to help companies prepare for a ‘no deal’ exit from the EU.

Officials from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will be available to answer questions and provide information to visitors about how a ‘no deal’ Brexit could affect their sector.

The briefings are applicable to all UK businesses, not just ALFED members or companies in the aluminium sector.

The information provided will be relevant for any organisation attending the show. As well as face-to-face briefings on the stand, ALFED will be running two speaker sessions each day as part of the show’s main speaker programme.

Tom Jones, ALFED’s CEO, said: “Brexit is a real issue, not just for the aluminium industry but for all UK manufacturing and industrial sectors.

“The EU represents 77% of the export market for aluminium and 46% of the UK export market ove-rall.

“Potential trade barriers and tariffs could have a significant impact on our competitiveness and import/export abilities.”

He added: “Under no deal, the UK will have to trade with the EU on World Trade Organisation terms, and around 40 existing trade deals will no longer apply.

“Despite the uncertainty, our briefings with BEIS will give visitors to the show the information they need to put in place measures to ensure that they can continue trading with the minimum of disruption.”