The Nineteen Group has announced a range of activities that will take place during Manufacturing & Engineering Week 2023.

The week-long festival has four centrepiece exhibitions and combines both live and digital events, celebrating the best that the UK industrial sector has to offer.

A major part of Manufacturing & Engineering Week 2023 is the free conference programme that will take place across two Keynote Conferences and six Solutions Theatres. Emphasising the importance of M&E Week is the fact that on Day 1 the keynote address in the main theatre will come from Government on the topic of their plans for supporting UK manufacturing while on Day 2 the shadow government will talk on the same subject. The conference agendas include topics including What next for UK manufacturing? Led by former Siemens UK CEO, Juergen Maier and The story of a British engineering icon that looks at the story behind Triumph Motorcycles.

Similarly, top level support for M&E Week can be seen in the make-up of its advisory council with such luminaries as Stephen Phipson CBE, chief executive Make UK chairing the council and Clare Porter, head of manufacturing Dept for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Rosa Wilkinson, director of policy, High Value Manufacturing Catapult being high profile members.

Highlighting innovation is at the forefront of M&E Week. Made Smarter’s Innovation Alley, for example, will showcase all the new and developing technologies that will change the landscape of manufacturing over the next five to ten years. Similarly, the Innovation Village, run by the seven High Value Manufacturing Catapult research and technology centres, is an immersive and interactive demonstration area that will take visitors on a journey from fossil fuels to renewables, demonstrating the technological advances that will transform industry for a sustainable world.

As well as looking to manufacturing’s future, M&E Week will also celebrate its current leaders be they businesses, individuals or products. A Best of British showcase will celebrate domestic manufacturing, featuring world-beating new designs, innovative modes of manufacture, products that redefine categories and export successes that plant the flag in overseas markets. Continuing the theme of best in class, each year The Manufacturer magazine celebrates the achievements of 100 inspiring individuals from the UK's manufacturing sector at its Top 100 awards ceremony. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on the evening of the 7th of June.

Recognising the fact that the future of the industrial sector is as much about people as it is about technology is the Manufacturers of the Future programme developed with partners Engineering UK, Make UK, Engineers Without Borders UK and the IMechE. Taking place on the afternoon of Day 2 (8th June) the event enables students and apprentices, about to take the first step into their careers, to engage with the rapidly evolving world of manufacturing.  

Not everything at M&E Week is of a serious nature, injecting some fun into the week is the Guitar Legends Competition where entrants can win a Nexa3D printed guitar. A winner will be announced on each day of the major NEC events and the winner on Day 1 will even get the chance to play with the live band who will be entertaining both visitors and exhibitors alike at the Day 1 after party.

Ensuring that the legacy of M&E Week continues to benefit the next generation of engineers is the announcement that Engineers Without Borders UK has become the official charity partner of M&E Week. The charity will have a booth on the exhibition floor so that visitors can stop by to find out more as well as having a conference spot for a major announcement. Senior members of the EWB UK team will also be contributing to several panel sessions.

The week beginning 5th June 2023 is Manufacturing & Engineering Week with the centrepiece exhibitions Design & Engineering Expo, Smart Factory Expo, Maintec and the Drives & Controls zone taking place at Birmingham’s NEC on 7th and 8th June. Other exhibitions are also taking place at the NEC during the week run by other event organisers and these include Automechanika run by Messe Frankfurt; Med-Tech Innovation Expo and TCT 3Sixty from Rapid News Group and Subcon from the Mark Allen Group. A Visitor pass provides access to all events.

www.mandeweek.co.uk