UK’s Digital Manufacturing Week to welcome 25% more visitors in 2019

Posted on 1 Mar 2019 by Jonny Williamson
Virtual Reality practical demonstration at Smart Factory Expo 2018 - image courtesy of The Manufacturer.

More than 200 UK manufacturing leaders and supporters gathered at The House of Lords to help launch The Manufacturer’s 2019 flagship series of events - Digital Manufacturing Week.

Digital Manufacturing Week 2019 was also launched at the reception – image courtesy of The Manufacturer.
Digital Manufacturing Week 2019 was officially launched at an exclusive reception – image courtesy of The Manufacturer.

Digital Manufacturing Week 2019 (12-15 November, Exhibition Centre Liverpool) has been officially launched at the House of Lords.

Over 200 leading manufacturers, industry supporters and politicians gathered to see how the event was building on a record-breaking 2018 with the introduction of industry-leading new features.

Digital Manufacturing Week is made up of a series of interlocking events – each of which is the largest in its space:

The Manufacturer MX Awards 2019 – now open for entries! Click here for more details

Nominations for this years’s The Manufacturer Top 100 are also now open! Click here for more details

New manufacturing events as part of Digital Manufacturing Week 2019, include:

Founders’ Forum:

This is a half-day event, exclusively for manufacturing business owners, with a schedule of speakers and networking sessions focused on growth and finance. A unique opportunity to build connections with your industry peers.

Manufacturing People & Skills Summit:

A day of talks from the men and women working hard to widen UK industry’s access to talent, develop and retain the existing workforce, and remove barriers to women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and other minority groups to apply, thrive and assume leadership positions within British industry.

Lean Manufacturing Summit:

A practical one-day conference programme delivered by Operational Excellence and Continuous Improvement practitioners, which looks at the impact of people, process and technology on driving the next wave of efficiency gains within your business.

Directors’ Forum Breakfasts:

Before the doors open at Smart Factory Expo and the Manufacturing Leaders’ Summit, we host a series of working breakfasts for Director-level members of our reader community to help build their professional network and discuss business challenges and opportunities for the year ahead.

Marketing to Manufacturers Night Summit:

If manufacturers are to thrive in the digital revolution, they will need technology partners that understand their business. This Night Summit is designed to help solutions providers learn how to speak the same language as manufacturers, delivered by the editors responsible for sustaining The Manufacturer’s 158,000-strong reader community.

Exciting features for SMART FACTORY EXPO 2019: 

  • Visitor Zones

Eight dedicated Visitor Zones group together exhibitors thematically, and help visitors meet with the companies most relevant to them: Manufacturing Innovation, Digital Transformation, Supply Chain & Logistics, Industrial Automation, Internet of Things, Industrial Data, Field Service, and Smart Factory.

  • Solution Theatres

More than 200 free-to-attend conference-style presentations during both days of Smart Factory Expo delivered by world-class manufacturing and technology experts.  Places fill up fast for these unique learning opportunities, so make sure you get in early!

  • Visitor Trails 

With so much going on at Smart Factory Expo, how do you make sure you are always in the right place at the right time? Simple – our Visitor Trails are recommended itineraries for you to discover those exhibitors and presentations that share you focus. Pathways include: Discrete Manufacturing, Process Manufacturing, Digital Manufacturing (Beginners), and Digital Manufacturing (Advanced).

  • Innovation Alley 
Innovation Alley runs through the centre of the exhibition linking all the Visitor Zones together and providing a platform for the UK’s most innovative manufacturing technology start-ups. With over 60 early-stage businesses exhibiting in Innovation Alley, this is where show visitors can forge new partnerships with companies yet to make it onto their radar – with particular focus on: AI, cyber security, data analytics, digital manufacturing, IoT, and the circular economy.
  • The Manufacturer Studio 
Come along and say hello to our editorial team and watch us as we interview the great and the good of UK manufacturing about their successes and failures, explore the latest offerings of our exhibitors, and invite show visitors to share details of their digital manufacturing journey.
  • Consultant Clinics 
Smart Factory Expo has arranged for subject matter experts to be on hand for no-fee consultations throughout the two days, available in 15-minute slots to answer questions on a range of business financing, digital transformation and strategy issues.
  • Best of British Showcase
The latest products from across the UK manufacturing landscape – featuring world-beating new designs, innovative modes of manufacture, environmentally-sustainable production, products that redefine categories and the customer relationship, and export successes that plant the flag in foreign markets.
  • Speakers’ Corner
Pull up a deckchair and enjoy interacting with our line-up of manufacturers, entrepreneurs, and technologists in as intimate a setting as you can imagine in the middle of a crowded exhibition floor.
  • STEM Focus
Manufacturing is in the middle of a renaissance, and we want UK students to know about it. A schedule of speaking presentations which aims to inspire the next generation of British manufacturing talent. If you see students visiting the expo – please share some words of encouragement, and let them know how a career in manufacturing has benefited you!

Register to attend Smart Factory Expo 2019 for free.

Manufacturing Leaders’ Summit 2019

Lean in and learn at Manufacturing Leaders’ Summit – UK industry’s premier Director-level conference. Now in our 11th year, our unique event format lets you sit alongside speakers in a series of high-level discussion groups. You choose which issues to engage with, and who to sit alongside.
Featuring the experience of industrial champions and agile disruptors, Manufacturing Leaders’ Summit equips you with the fresh perspective to unleash the potential of your team.

What’s  new for 2019:

  • 2 Streams – Two days of board-level focus on manufacturing Innovation and Growth.
  • 32 Discussion Groups – Take your pick of expertly-hosted discussion groups.
  • 64 Manufacturing Experts –Sit alongside and learn from some of the brightest minds in European manufacturing.
  • 300 Executive-Level Delegates –Build your professional network and interact with like-minded industry peers.
  • 12 Keynotes – Original perspectives to change the way you see your business.

If you lead a team and want to benefit from the hard-won experience of other successful manufacturers – register now!