Fostering the spirit of innovation

THIS YEAR'S Advanced Engineering will expand on the success of two forums introduced last year — the Main Stage and the Advanced Materials and Technologies (AMT) forum. The Main Stage will feature keynotes and key industry players, while the AMT forum will delve deeper into end user case studies across all sectors.

Such expansions have been made to compliment the success of the annual show’s rebrand in 2023, having presented a fresh look for visitors. The event featured a new cross-industry floor layout, which was previously divided into several zones, allowing a broader range of exhibitors from a variety of industries that included newly added sectors like marine, motorsport, construction, medical, rail and sport.

Over 8800 visitors were able to explore both events, which included 400 exhibitors from AE and 202 from its co-located show, Lab Innovations, all with a single badge. Among the visitors were representatives from well-known companies like Airbus, Rolls-Royce, IBM, Boeing, McLaren, BAE Systems, Catapult HVM, the Department for International Trade and Jaguar Land Rover.

“The overwhelmingly positive feedback from 2023 confirmed that the changes made worked, with exhibitors and visitors having found that the new approach created a more collaborative atmosphere for better interaction and networking,” explains Alison Willis, director at Easyfairs, the organiser of Advanced Engineering.

“This year, the forums will offer industry insights on the following trending topics; sustainability, innovation, government and policy, automation, AI and skills and levelling-up, all of which have been curated by our outstanding advisory board and industry partners. We're also planning to broaden our scope by providing high-quality content from an even greater variety of industries.”

Keynote speakers

Heading up this year’s keynote speakers, Brian Holliday, is a leading figure in industrial technology and digital manufacturing. As the head of Siemens Digital Industries for the UK and Ireland, he oversees advanced automation, industry software, systems integration and R&D. He is an expert on productivity, digital manufacturing and industrial strategy, often contributing to media discussions.

Also on the bill is Matthew Atkinson, lead research engineer at Jaguar Land Rover, an expert in automotive engineering, specialising in replacing metallic structures with injection moulded composites. His work focusses on interior mechanical commodities like cockpit, seating and loadspace features and his innovative approach has earned him multiple patents, including for the Range Rover 18MY Executive Seating.

Fruther speakers include: Shaun Harris CBE director of support and chief engineer at the Royal Air Force; Solange Baena, UK lead for the aviation environmental roadmap at Airbus; Leonie Moffat, laser radar sales account manager at Nikon; and Stefan Lawrenson, senior polymer chemist at Scott Bader, who specialises in sustainable technology and polymer chemistry.

“This year's speaker lineup brings together some of the brightest minds in the industry,” comments Willis. “Their diverse expertise will provide deep insights into pressing issues like Industry 4.0, supply chain management and sustainability.

“This lineup highlights the spirit of innovation that Advanced Engineering is all about, and our commitment to fostering knowledge exchange within the engineering community,” concluded Willis. “I’m sure the knowledge and inspiration they'll bring to the event will be of value to all visitors.”

www.AdvancedEngineeringUK.com