An outstanding year for the Advanced Engineering show

The two-day open conference, which was newly ‘Continuing Professional Development (CPD)’ accredited for this year, by the CPD Certification Service, had a raft of speakers and topics, including talks from the Department of International Trade, Composites UK, GKN, Siemens, Nissan and more.

Visitors saw a variety of cutting edge technology and materials from exhibitors as well as show floor features. It was the only place in the world where you could find, in the one place, a hydrogen powered car, the latest in aircraft landing gear, a battery made 100% from recycled materials, a ground based test rig for electric contra rotating propulsion, and a Libralato hybrid engine to name but a few. In addition the Enabling Innovation showcase, sponsored by Magna and supported by Innovate UK, significantly expanded and provided a unique opportunity for 50 start-ups and researchers to showcase the next generation of exciting new technologies.

Alison Willis, industrial divisional director at Easyfairs, organisers of the show, said: “This year was outstanding. The visitors, the conference speakers, the companies who supplied the show floor features and the exhibitors have all contributed to making Advanced Engineering 2017 a success. “Our new zone, Connected Manufacturing, was hugely popular, with a particularly well-attended open forum, demonstrating the importance of Industry 4.0 to companies of all sizes. Watch this space for an expanded Connected Manufacturing in 2018. “And now, we are looking to even more areas of expansion for Advanced Engineering, with the addition of our new Nuclear Engineering zone, addressing nuclear energy build, operation and supply chain. We will be in touch with all exhibitors and visitors in the next few months. We’ll be pulling the stops out even further next year as 2018 is the Show’s tenth birthday, and it’s set to be bigger and better than ever!”

What did some of the exhibitors and visitors have to say? John Darlington, exhibitor TenCate’s global director for product and market strategy, said: “The Advanced Engineering show is a fantastic opportunity to support our industry partners in meeting new clients. This year was no exception, and indeed has been the most successful ever, delivering more leads, more contact with suppliers and, as importantly, the ability to meet TenCate’s existing customers and partners.”

Robert Slade, automotive consultant at Mackenzie Jones Engineering, said: “An excellent show for networking and very important for my company. We visit every year. It was enjoyable and worthwhile.”

Roz Bird, commercial director of Silverstone Park, commented: “The Advanced Engineering Show has exceeded our expectations – hosting the VIP Lounge in the middle of such a big industry event and offering people the chance to chat over coffee in informal and comfortable surroundings was one hundred per cent the right thing to do. It’s made for a brilliant couple of days of networking. In fact I have always thought the show has the right sort of audience for us in terms of advanced engineering, electronics and software development and that has proven to be very true.”

The show consisted of five co-locating zone which were: Aero Engineering; Composites Engineering; Automotive Engineering; Performance Metals Engineering; and Connected Manufacturing – which was new for 2017. Next year’s show (from 31 October to 1 November) will see the addition to these co locating zones of Nuclear Engineering.