Southern 2017: one-stop event for machine builders

As regular visitors will know, the show presents a wide range of suppliers and engineering disciplines within a capacious purpose-built venue. At around 18,000m2, the show occupies an area greater than five halls of the NEC combined, catering for pretty much every branch of manufacturing from precision engineering to high-tech electronics. With a comprehensive selection of vendors covering both production hardware - such as machinery and tooling - and components, it is an outstanding opportunity to solve multiple sourcing problems in a single visit. The event is also one of the key marketplaces for engineering subcontract services in Europe, offering a similarly wide selection of service providers from fabrication to electronics assembly, together with specialist suppliers such as electroplating, coatings and heat treatments among many others.

Southern Manufacturing is an excellent marketplace for components, subassemblies, HMIs, sensors and the many parts required by machine builders. The show hosts numerous global brand names, together with hundreds of smaller suppliers between them catering for pretty much every conceivable need. igus UK returns with live demonstrations of its maintenance-free lightweight bearings and cable management systems. Highlighted will be its new Compact Rotation Module, a system that guides power, signal and fluid power lines through rotational movement. Another well-known name in cable management, Kabelschleppe Metool, showcases an impressive range of products from miniature parts for electronic printers to huge steel carriers for the oil industry. Highlights this year include its TraxLine dynamic cabling systems, and TotalTrax complete turnkey offerings.

Fluid power component suppliers exhibiting include Pneumax. Three new product ranges will be launched at the show: a range of power clamps designed for automotive applications, a range of 316 stainless steel products for the oil and gas industries, including ATEX-certified filters, regulators and valves, and a comprehensive range of vacuum components. Hydraulic and pneumatic systems can also be found on the stand shared by The West Group and Metal Work UK. Examples include hydraulic components, actuators, EB80 valves and control units.

Nearly 50 per cent of visitors last year attended with components at the top of their shopping lists. Visitors arriving with similar intentions this year are spoilt for choice; numerous examples of every type of component and OEM part will be on show at Southern Manufacturing 2017, including thermal management products from Aavid Thermalloy and G English Electronics; connectors from Yamaichi, Molex, Coax Connectors and ODU; Springs from European Springs & Pressings and Lee Spring; LCD displays from Craft Data and Midas Components; EMC parts from Kemtron and literally thousands more.

With so much to see, planning a visit is essential. Fortunately, a searchable database of products, services and exhibitors is available online at www.industrysouth.co.uk. Pre-registered visitors get a comprehensive free show guide on arrival, and those registering early enough will also receive a free copy of the show's official preview magazine profiling over 100 exhibitors, plus details of the show's incredible free technical seminar programme. This information and the essential pre-registration is also available on the website.

Entry to the Southern Manufacturing and Electronics 2017 exhibition and the technical seminars is free, and FIVE Farnborough offers plentiful free car parking. There is easy accessibility by road from the M3 or by rail. A free shuttle bus connects the exhibition and both of Farnborough's railway stations. To apply for tickets, simply visit www.industrysouth.co.uk.