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What are the key elements of Northern Manufacturing & Electronics 2017?
The show has three main aspects: manufacturing, electronics and its ‘RoadRailAir’ feature, which focuses on the supply chain for aerospace, automotive and public transportat manufacture in the north-west.
Across those three areas, it offers the opportunity to meet a huge range of suppliers, and this diversity consistently rates highly in visitor surveys as a key element of the show because it means multiple production or sourcing issues can be addressed in a single visit.
How has the event evolved since it began in 2012?
Essentially both the Northern and Southern Manufacturing shows have followed the same basic formula since the beginning. However it is also true to say that each has evolved in a unique way to reflect the needs of the region it serves.
Whereas Southern has become very pan-European in scope, Northern has retained much more of a regional flavour.
How do these changes reflect trends in the industry in the UK and Europe?
The vast majority of engineering businesses across Europe fall into the SME category.
While we have seen a decline in popularity for the big industry exhibitions due to the expense and logistical challenges of taking part, we see continuing enthusiasm from SMEs for the shows as they are both accessible and highly relevant to their activities.
How does the event’s location affect the identity of the show?
Northern is one of the most important UK shows for the big machinery and tooling vendors due to the active regional engineering supply chain supporting the aerospace and automotive sectors.
For the same reason, the show features a lot of CEMs with particular expertise in these areas.
The north-west of the UK is also home to a lot of process industries, so areas such as automation, components and OEM parts are also key feature of Northern Manufacturing.
What do these characteristics tell us about the future of the manufacturing and electronics industry in the UK?
UK manufacturing is experiencing a period of strong resurgence. While the weaker pound has undoubtedly helped, it would be a mistake to attribute this growth merely to short-term economic trends.
The recent encouraging performance is underpinned by the high degree of engineering expertise available in the UK’s supply chain ecosystem.
The UK aerospace industry, for example, has almost a decade of work in hand, with an order book of more than 13,000 aircraft worth up to £195bn to the UK. There are over 800 firms in the north-west alone directly involved with servicing these orders.
We are seeing continued investment in the UK, with recent announcements by BMW, Toyota, CAF and others indicating that global confidence in the long term future of UK manufacturing remains strong. Uncertainties remain as the Brexit negotiations continue, but there are enough grounds for optimism that the future for manufacturing and electronics in the UK is a positive one.
Northern Manufacturing & Electronics 2017
- When: Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 September 2017
- Show hours: Wednesday 9.30am to 4.30pm, Thursday 9.30am to 4.00pm
- Where: EventCity, Phoenix Way, off Barton Dock Road, Urmston, Manchester M17 8AS
EventCity is close to the M6, M62, M56 and M60. There are parking spaces for 3,000 cars on-site.
The site is easily accessible by bus from Manchester’s train stations, Piccadilly and Victoria.
If travelling by train, arriving at Manchester Piccadilly station, take the X50 and 250 bus routes from Piccadilly Gardens bus station to EventCity.
