Advanced Engineering celebrates a hugely successful 14th edition

The UK’s largest annual gathering of engineering and manufacturing professionals, Advanced Engineering, opened its doors once again on 1-2 November at the NEC, Birmingham, and cross the two days, 8,943 visitors descended on the venue to see the latest innovations that the UK has to offer.

More than 400 companies exhibited at the show, along with a further 202 at its co-located show, Lab Innovations. Visitors, which included representatives from Airbus, Rolls-Royce, IBM, Boeing, McLaren, BAE Systems, Catapult HVM, the Department for International Trade, Jaguar Land Rover and many more, had the opportunity to access both shows with one badge, meaning that they had the opportunity to explore an even wider range of products and services. The co-located visitor total of over 13,000 professionals made for a successful event for exhibitors.

Roy Higginbotham, procurement contract specialist at Leonardo Helicopters, said: “The show was even better this year than last year. We have an agenda and a list of companies we wanted to see depending on the equipment we want to buy for the next five years. For us, it is about having a ‘one-stop shop’ where you can spend one or two days finding the supplier you need. It is all about networking and finding contacts for the future.”

This year, the composites zone, in partnership with Composites UK, proved popular. Here, high quality visitors and exhibitors were actively seeking the latest innovations in composite materials. Elsewhere, Advanced Engineering visitors were treated to a fresh look thanks to a recent rebrand. This was coupled with a new cross-industry floor layout, which allowed for a more diverse range of exhibitors from various industries including newly added sectors such as marine, motorsport, construction, medical, rail and sport.

Meet the Buyer programme
For companies targetting the aerospace and defence sectors, ADS returned with its Meet the Buyer programme, during which 90 brands participated in 105 supplier engagements — a 132% increase on last year and could lead to new partnerships that enable huge engineering breakthroughs in the sector.

Visitors also had access to over 150 industry-leading speakers across its forums. Because of Advanced Engineering’s partnership with The CPD Group, all of the talks counted towards visitors’ CPD. This year, the show introduced a main stage, which was sponsored by Lloyds Bank and supported by Make UK, where speakers such as Richard Noble, former holder of the world land speed record and serial innovator at ThrustWSH and Stephen Phipson, chief executive of Make UK took to the stage. There were also several panel discussions, including one on women in manufacturing, which was led by Dr Megan Ronayne and supported by some of the leading female figures in the industry.

Across the exhibition’s four other forums, automotive, aerospace, composites and advanced materials and technologies, visitors could hear from industry experts on topics ranging from supply chain management, digitalisation, and the skills gap.

All of the above led to this year’s edition of Advanced Engineering being labelled as the best event to date, with an increased net promotor score that illustrates the improved quality of visitors, making it attractive to leading manufacturing and engineering professionals.

Opportunity to network
Mr Phipson said: “There is a great buzz at the show. It is very active and we have had lots of interest from people. Shows like this are absolutely vital because it is an opportunity to network to learn from each other. It is also an opportunity to think of something or see something you never thought would happen. It is the sense of community and collaboration that is very important for our industry.”

‘Enabling Innovation’ returned for another year, where 10 start-ups competed to win £2,000 towards the establishment of their business. OxDrive, a provider of rugged, high-torque electric drivelines was the winner, with Christopher Horton, managing director, accepting the award. He said: “This is the first time that OxDrive has been recognised with an award, and we are over the moon to win it. We manufacture a lot of our products externally, so we plan on using the prize money to take us further on the R&D and production road.”

At the exhibition, both exhibitors and visitors commented on how well attended the event was. Hannah Khusainova, marketing director at PRF Composites, said: “We return to Advanced Engineering every year because it is the meeting place of the UK composites industry. We have come to show what we have to offer, to network and to meet new faces. The show has been excellent — visitors have stopped at our stand and want to engage with us.”

The organiser Easyfairs has reported that 80% of exhibitor space is already sold for 2024, which will take place on 30 and 31 October at the NEC, Birmingham.