Graham Stuart, Minister for Investment, hailed Advanced Engineering 2018 “the country’s largest sector show”, as exhibitors and visitors had a fantastic time, completing new contracts, developing business relationships and seeing the latest innovations the industry has to offer.
Mr Stuart MP, of the Department for International Trade, added: “I’m delighted to be here at Advanced Engineering 2018. It’s the country’s largest sector show of this kind and we are surrounded by great British engineering. The UK leads the whole of Europe in terms of the amount of investment it attracts, and just over recent weeks, we’ve seen another £10m of foreign direct investment into UK advanced engineering. Advanced Engineering offers enormous opportunities for the future and young people right across the country should consider entering this buoyant market.”
Other testimonials include: “It’s been a really good show; the quality of visitors has been excellent. For the first time ever, I have actually sold a machine straight off the stand for the value of GB£54k – which is incredible,” commented Sean O’Neill, Roaches International.
“What a fantastic show this year. With the launch of our new Curabox Benoxazine resin, the number of visitors to our stand has been brilliant. By having the opportunity to put faces to names and create new leads, the Advanced Engineering show has allowed us to not only make new connections but improve on existing ones. The show has really set us up for next year,” commented Dominic Hopwood, Bitrez.
Also at the show, was the West of England Aerospace Forum (WEAF). Colin Turner, commented: “We are delighted at the huge numbers of visitors who came to see us. We had a very productive time catching up with familiar faces and meeting new businesses in the aerospace and defence sectors and it was great to showcase our services, especially NATEP and Aerospace Cornwall. We have come away from the show with some fantastic leads. We have been exhibiting at Advanced Engineering for several years now and we will continue to do so for many more.”
Added to this, the features area allowed visitors to get hands on and up close to some of the latest technologies in the industry, including autonomous vehicles and the first graphene skinned drone.
Advanced Engineering 2018 also hosted a series of thought-provoking talks from industry leading professionals from large companies such as Jaguar Land Rover, Siemens, Boeing and the Aerospace Technology Institute. These covered a wide range of issues that could radically affect the industry, including Brexit, future proofing the supply chain and filling the huge engineering skills gap.
“What a way to celebrate our 10th birthday. There was a real and heightened buzz about the show this year thanks to everyone who took part; from the exhibitors, the visitors, conference speakers, the companies who supplied the show floor features through to the staff at the NEC. They all contributed to a fantastic event. Now we are preparing for next year with stands rapidly flying off the shelf at a record-breaking rate, book yours before it’s too late,” commented Alison Willis, industrial divisional director at Easyfairs, organisers of the show.
This year the show also had two new zones, Nuclear Engineering and UK Contract Manufacturing, which complimented the existing areas dedicated to; Aerospace Engineering, Composites Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Performance Metals and Connected Manufacturing. Next year there will also be a newly introduced ‘Medical Device Engineering’ area to the show floor.
Having spent a decade in the fastener industry experiencing every facet – from steel mills, fastener manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, as well as machinery builders and plating + coating companies, Claire has developed an in-depth knowledge of all things fasteners.
Alongside visiting numerous companies, exhibitions and conferences around the world, Claire has also interviewed high profile figures – focusing on key topics impacting the sector and making sure readers stay up to date with the latest developments within the industry.
