An eye on innovation

An eye on innovation

This April’s MACH 2024 trade show in the UK featured live demonstrations; knowledge hubs; new product launches; seminars and hands-on activities. ISMR was at the show….

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MACH 2024, a key UK trade show for inspiring, innovating and connecting manufacturing, attracted thousands of visitors, who filled the five halls at the NEC in Birmingham from 15-19 April 2024. It provided an opportunity for buyers and visitors to see the latest products and technologies from a line-up of over 500 exhibitors and a reported record number of business transactions during the week-long show. The exhibition halls were vibrant with live demonstrations, product launches and seminars.

“The 2024 edition of the exhibition saw a 6% increase in the number of visitors, meaning that full attendance of the event is rapidly approaching 30,000 people. The halls were abuzz with excitement and anticipation each day, with exhibitors showcasing their latest engineering-based manufacturing technologies and solutions including enthralling demonstrations and product launches,” said the show organiser, MTA.

Owned and organised by the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA), and sponsored by Lloyds Bank, MACH brings together suppliers of machine tools; cutting tools; metrology equipment; additive manufacturing (3D printing); surface engineering; robotics and automation; sheet metal; metal forming and fabrication technology; and specialist software which is both enabling and driving the digitisation of manufacturing.

Event highlights

Monday 15 April was a very successful opening day at MACH 2024. A highlight of the day one seminar programme was the launch of the MTA’s latest ‘True Impact of Manufacturing Report’ which revealed the significant positive impact that manufacturing is having on the UK economy, which is far greater than first thought.

Rt. Hon. Michelle Donelan MP – UK Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology delivered a keynote speech on Tuesday 16 April which included an insight into thinking behind current and future UK Government policy and how this aligns with both the immediate and future needs of UK manufacturing.

“The Minister’s speech aligned well with the MTA’s new knowledge hubs which were launched at MACH 2024. The five hubs were automation & robotics; sustainable solutions; additive manufacturing; consumable tooling and AI & data. They provided visitors with opportunities to learn how to implement new technologies into existing manufacturing processes,” commented the MTA.

Education and Development Zone

As part of her visit, Michelle Donelan MP also took time to speak to some apprentices at the Education and Development (E&D) Zone. The MTA’s aim is to attract engineers of the future to visit MACH to discover the wide range of career opportunities offered by the engineering sector. This year’s show attracted a bumper number of students and schools.

James Selka DL, CEO, MTA said: “Attracting new talent into the engineering-based manufacturing sector is a key driver for the MTA. The dedicated E&D Zone at MACH continues to be our biggest opportunity to inspire a future generation into engineering as an exciting career.”

The E&D Zone was once again sponsored by global metal-cutting specialist, Sandvik Coromant. The zone included a range of exhibitors from different sections of the engineering industry as well as exciting hands-on activities provided by organisations such as University of Wolverhampton Racing, F1 in schools and World Skills.

MACH 2026 will take place from 20-24 April 2026 at NEC Birmingham. The MTA has reported the greatest number of re-bookings at a show for MACH 2026. The live floorplan can be accessed at: https://www.machexhibition.com/onsite-booking-for-mach-2026/  

To read the full show report in the June 2024 issue of ISMR, see https://joom.ag/UVkd/p20 or see www.machexhibition.com