Alison Willis, director at Easyfairs, organiser of Advanced Engineering UK explains why the upcoming show really is a ‘visit the future’ event where innovation is at the forefront of everything it does for the industry.

With the vaccine rollout proving successful, the UK is in a great place to push forward global agendas in both sectors and continue to lead in R&D. As an established event now in its twelfth year, Advanced Engineering is creating the perfect platform to reignite parallel industries. The event provides the opportunity for exhibitors and visitors to address their R&D needs and bring the industry together safely, securely and successfully under the government safety guidelines.

This year, Advanced Engineering UK will have a new show zone dedicated entirely to space and satellite innovation. The zone will be part of the existing Aero Engineering floor and will be supported by two of the show’s longstanding partners, the UK Space Agency and ADS Group.

It will bring together the UK’s space and satellite manufacturers, partners and supply chain businesses spanning R&D, design, test, production, manufacturing and advanced materials, showcasing the UK’s incredible achievements in this sector.

It will also be the landing site for one of the UK’s most exciting innovations – the ExoMars Rover, which we’ll have a prototype of on show. It’s equipped with all the same technology as the final rover, including the sensors, actuators and cameras that allow the rover to see in 3D while navigating.

In addition to the new space and satellite area, the Enabling Innovation zone highlights brand new innovations in engineering and manufacturing, not seen anywhere else. We have four open speaker forums with cutting-edge, thought-leading content presented by world-class leaders, as well as many new and exciting exhibitors.

A show of success

Stand space is already over 90% sold out. Registration has been open for a month and we are overwhelmed by the enthusiasm to attend and by the quality of the delegates the industry can’t wait to come together again and do business.

70% of visitors reported that they planned to place orders as a result of relationships formed and an impressive 93% of exhibitors reported that they achieved their objectives at the show.

This year our sister show, Lab Innovations, will also take place in the same hall, making it easier for visitors and exhibitors to attend both shows. One of our main aims is to enable cross-industry collaboration, so we’re looking forward to bringing the laboratories sector into the mix.

In terms of what’s on the agenda for the Aero and Composite Engineering zones, a huge topic this year is decarbonising aviation. During the show, we’ll have presentations on electrification, zero-carbon aviation and hydrogen propulsion from the Aerospace Technology Institute, Rolls-Royce, Ampaire, ZeroAvia and ID TechEx.

Supply chain management is a concern for many companies this year, so we’ve responded to this by welcoming talks from Airbus UK and ADS on supplier expectations and supply chain excellence.

On day two, we’ll have a whole morning dedicated to space and satellite engineering, with talks from the UK Space Agency, Skyrora, D-Orbit UK and the Space Applications Catapult. The morning will also feature a panel session, with audience discussions taking place. In the afternoon, we’ll have talks on sustainability, aerospace composites and data management.

This year, to help the various exhibitors, delegations and VIPs to meet and see each other, we’re relaunching AE Connect, a digital platform that is used to schedule meetings ahead of the show. In 2019, the platform was used to schedule 588 meetings, which generated an average order value of £200,000 per meeting held.

After 18 months of limited in-person meetings, it’s understandable that businesses might not have as many connections as they usually would by this time of year. AE Connect allows both exhibitors and visitors to make the most of their time at the show by filling their diaries with valuable meetings beforehand.

Ties that bind the industry

Over the last twelve years, Advanced Engineering has earned the support of some of the world’s key industry associations, such as The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), Composites UK, Make UK, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, GAMBICA, ADS, SMMT, and SEA all of whom now feature as trade body partners. The show also has 42 media partners due to long-standing relationships with Easyfairs over twelve years.

These partnerships give us the opportunity to feature some of the most forward-thinking industry professionals in our forums – some of whom are even present on stands for the rest of the show. It’s the only show in the UK that gives manufacturing professionals the chance to unite all under one roof.

From the amount of interaction and positive feedback we’ve had from exhibitors so far, it’s clear that the UK is excited to return to in-person events. While I think that online events, such as webinars and podcasts are here to stay, nothing will replace being able to do business and make contacts in person.

With many online events, professionals will look specifically for what they think they need, whereas with an exhibition like Advanced Engineering UK, they can walk to halls and see first-hand what many different companies, from large corporates to SMEs, have to offer.

Business will be conducted in line with the government safety guidelines, going above and beyond to ensure we can open safely and successfully. We will be following the AEO All Secure guidelines, based on DCMS advice. Easyfairs have also partnered with SGS to verify our commitment to the health and wellbeing of everyone who attends and ensure that every visit is a safe visit.

Advanced Engineering UK gives engineering professionals the opportunity to meet with people from outside their industry, as well as those from within, which is rare to find. There are so many ground-breaking technologies being applied in certain industries that could make a huge difference in another – they just need to be discovered by the right person. Having so many industry sectors under the same roof enables just that.

Advanced Engineering really is a ‘visit the future’ event – innovation is at the forefront of what we do. Our established platform and ability to bring everyone together to drive development and forward trends in the industry means that we continue to be the go-to event for engineering and manufacturing professionals.

www.advancedengineeringuk.com