UK Manufacturing Excellence
Highlighted at NEC Extravaganza
B
ritish manufacturing and
tasking culture of today’s design engineer,
machines. Vanda Jones, BCAS’s executive
engineering excellence
covering critical areas such as energy
director, commented: “Air-Tech was a
was said to be ‘well and
efficiency, machine safety, drives, motion
great show for BCAS. BCAS hosted its
truly alive and kicking’
control, robotics and automation all under
spring conference at Air-Tech, which was
one roof.
attended by members from both the
according to the organiser of the recent
co-located of events; Drives & Controls,
Fluid Power & Systems, Plant and Asset
Management, European Offshore Energy,
and Air-Tech Exhibitions, which returned
to Birmingham’s NEC last month (12-14th
April), alongside MACH 2016 and National
Electronics Week 2016.
Collectively the exhibitions made up the
For the first time the show also included
a dedicated area where some of the
latest industrial robot technology were
demonstrated. Interest in robotics is
growing rapidly as t he significance of
smart factories continues to rise, and
prices come down and capabilities
increase.
largest manufacturing and engineering
procurement and energy generation.
discussions. Speakers offered expert views,
information, guidance and advice on a
The demo attracted many big names
wide range of important and topical issues
including: ABB Robotics, Applied
relevant to each show.
Engineering, B&R, Harmonic Drive AG,
Mitsubishi, Universal Robot, RA Rodriguez,
Staubli, Active8 Robots Ltd. There were
several examples of the new generation
of “collaborative” robots – or “cobots”
– designed to operate safely alongside
human workers, without needing a
protective cage.
the industry sectors represented by these
Show organiser, DFA Media, explained that
exhibitions.”
SM&F will drive the technology revolution
attracted a mix of first-time exhibitors
and established regulars, and brought
together key suppliers of state-of-theart equipment representing the multi-
22
PECM Issue 20
right audience. All in all a very successful
production, design, maintenance, upgrade,
more than 50 technical seminars and panel
Drives & Controls Exhibition & Conference
impartial expert advice to exactly the
offshore energy marketplace – exploration,
in the hundreds of delegates attending the
market strength and optimism felt within
an excellent opportunity for us to provide
service providers for the entire upstream
optimism. The success was also reflected
we believe reflects the continuing overall
traffic was brisk on all three days and it was
one roof, suppliers, manufacturers and
to date, and highlighted industry
alike has been highly encouraging, which
knowledge base on the website. Show
also returned to bring together under
the 2016 co-location the most successful
we received from exhibitors and visitors
survey, our technical guide and the new
European Offshore Energy Exhibition 2016
official attendance figure of 13,115 made
yet for the co-located shows. The response
use the platform to launch our end user
contacts and existing members.”
Show organiser, DFA Media, said the the
Atkinson, said: “This was the best outing
For the end users we were also able to
three days; it enabled us to link with new
events of 2016.
DFA Media managing director, Ian
manufacturer and distributor sectors.
in factories where they become more
Ryan Fuller, commercial director at DFA
Media (Energy Division), commented: This
year’s event came at a time of significant
challenge for the offshore industries, and it
is why as organisers of European Offshore
Energy 2016, we were heavily focused on
helping visitors find ways bringing costs
down and improving efficiency through
the latest technologies and services in the
offshore industries.”
The biennial co-location of events returns
to Birmingham’s NEC alongside MACH
between 10 – 12th April 2018.
automated, IT driven, proficient, smarter,
www.maintenanceuk-expo.com
safer and sustainable and simulate the
www.drives-expo.com
greater use of automation, efficient data
www.fluidpowersystems-expo.com
exchange, new technologies, processes
www.europeanoffshoreenergy-expo.com
and the networking of products to
www.airtech-expo.com