Northern Manufacturing & Electronics, September 2016

The 2015 show set a new high water mark for both the number of businesses participating and visitor attendance. 2016 promises even further expansion, with more products and services on show. Northern Manufacturing has quickly emerged as a key exhibition in the North for industry, engineering and manufacturing. One event presents visitors with a dazzling array of machinery manufacturers, tool suppliers, subcontractors and vendors addressing almost every possible production requirement. Along with its well-established Southern sibling event - celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2017 - Northern Manufacturing presents a rare annual opportunity to meet up with such a wide range of suppliers at a single show.

Rather than focusing on a single theme, the shows take a much broader view of engineering and manufacturing. Big names such as igus, Renishaw, Amada, Trumpf, Variohm Eurosensor, Haas Automation and Olympus, are certainly well represented, and they are joined by many more small to medium-sized firms offering all manner of specialist components and subcontract services. The SME-friendly theme of the show accurately reflects the contemporary industrial landscape where over 80 per cent of engineering firms are classed as micro or small businesses. The show therefore provides a vitally important regional forum for the great number of these high-value engineering enterprises, many of whom are actively involved in the extensive supply chain underpinning the regionally important industries of aerospace, automotive, defence and public transportation, which together generate billions of pounds revenue annually.

Northern Manufacturing & Electronics is described by the organisers as the most important marketplace in the North for components, both electronic and mechanical. Nearly half of visitors last year identified components as the main reason for their visit. With such a huge diversity of products on show, it is not surprising that the show has become a key event in the calendar for machine builders, system integrators designers, engineers and procurement professionals from a wide range of industries.

Free technical seminars

In addition to the a huge number of components and products on display, Northern Manufacturing & Electronics is also a good opportunity to acquire new expertise, courtesy of the free technical seminar programme that runs over both days of the show. A series of one-hour sessions presented by top industry experts in their particular spheres will cover many technical and operational topics such as Lean, CE Marking, product development, designing for hazardous environments, 3D printing and much more. The full programme and pre-registration is offered on the show's website at www.industrynorth.co.uk.

Entry to Northern Manufacturing & Electronics 2016 is completely free to business visitors, and Event City offers 3000 free on-site car parking spaces, with easy access by road, rail and air. To register online for tickets visit www.industrynorth.co.uk.