M3P3 brings together over 22 technical communities for two days of insight, debate and collaboration. Delegates will hear from experts and policymakers on industrial strategy, AI, circular economy, critical minerals, infrastructure and the skills pipeline.

A key highlight is the Industrial Strategy panel, part of the Changemakers in Conversation plenaries. The session will explore the UK Government’s Invest 2035 strategy, focused on long-term growth across eight high-growth sectors including advanced manufacturing, clean energy and life sciences. Speakers include Rt Hon Charles Hendry HonFIMMM, Visiting Professor at University of Edinburgh; Dr Cathryn Hickey, CEO of AMRICC; and Jon Bolton FIMMM, Chair of the Materials Processing Institute. They will discuss how the materials community can be recognised and supported, and where focus is needed to deliver sector growth.

Other highlights include four Changemakers in Conversation plenaries, twelve interactive Topical Knowledge Exchange Sessions, IOM3 Training Academy taster workshops, satellite conferences on timber, bio-based polymers and materials for fission and fusion net zero, and a dedicated student and early careers programme.

Keynote speakers include Ed Conway HonFIMMM, Economics Editor at Sky News; Mary Creagh CBE MP, Minister for Nature; Sarah Mukherjee MBE, CEO of ISEP; and David Knowles FREng CEng CSci FIMMM, CEO of Henry Royce Institute.

Dr Colin Church, CEnv FIMMM, CEO of IOM3, said: "M3P3 is about more than technical discussion. It is about shaping the UK’s industrial future. By bringing together our community, we are creating a space where people can connect, collaborate and influence what comes next."

M3P3 is open to all, with one-day and two-day passes available. Delegates can connect, share ideas and explore the developments shaping the sector.

iom3.org

Lucy Hart from Caroline Haslett Primary School in Milton Keynes and Tracey Ellicott of East Wemyss Primary School and Nursery in Fife were joint winners in the primary school category. Dewi Thomas of YGG Bro Edern in Cardiff, and Clare Doherty from St. Mary’s College, Derry, were both awarded the secondary school prize. 

Their schools receive £12,000 over three years to support their STEM engagement projects, and the teachers, who typically run all these STEM activities pro bono and in their own time, receive an individual award.

It is the first year that the Clark Prize has been jointly awarded to two teachers per category of school, and the first time that schools in all four devolved countries of the United Kingdom are represented.

Every year the unique prize, organised by the ERA Foundation and named after former foundation Executive Secretary, the late Dr David Clark, rewards the contributions of teachers working in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) engagement, who do exemplary work to link school children with engineering experiences and activities. David Clark sadly passed away in September and was a devoted servant of ERA Foundation, and Warwick Manufacturing Group.

Tracey Ellicott has been the STEM lead at East Wemyss Primary School since 2014. 

She set up a STEM-based collaborative learning environment for pupils to experience working with materials, “Tinkertots” sessions that offer STEM activities to pre-school children with their parents and has delivered a programme of family STEM workshops. In 2018 the school won the Rolls-Royce Science Prize and used the prize money to invest in resources to support the school’s mission, including a 3D printer, Lego robotics kits (Mindstorms, Education and Spike), 22 iPads and K’Nex engineering sets.

“I have been working co-operatively with teachers to build their confidence and develop their STEM capital, while training classes to use the space safely and productively,” says Tracey. “I delivered a further series of STEM Family Workshops across early, middle and upper stages to whet the children’s appetite for STEM-related activities and learning. During British Science Week in March, our Primary 7 and Primary 2 classes led a whole-school STEM event, for which the older children achieved their Young STEM Leader Level 3 Award.” 

Tracey is a Primary Science Cluster Champion with SSERC, the STEM resource provider in Scotland.

Lucy Hart of Caroline Haslett Primary School has established two after school clubs that use “Educademy” resources to vivify STEM learning. Lucy champions diversity in STEM, and her work led to the school being recognised as an iBelong Champion in December 2024, a scheme to encourage girls to study computer science.

Last year she entered Key Stage 2 learners at her school into the Bebras Challenge, a global competition focused on computational thinking. The children achieved 17% above the national average in computational thinking. At this year’s British Computer Society BBN Prize Award, Lucy took a team of learners to Cranfield University to compete in a national competition, where the Year 6 girls secured first place for their innovative Online Safety Coding project, showcasing their coding ability.

Lucy has also encouraged children to enter the Primary Engineer competition, ‘If You Were an Engineer, What Would You Do?’. 

Stellar secondary schoolteachers

Dewi Thomas founded Engineering and Technology as a subject at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg (YGG) Bro Edern, Cardiff, in 2012 and now leads a dynamic and inclusive STEM culture that is helping students in a socio-economically deprived area. Dewi’s roll call of achievements and awards is remarkable, where his students have achieved national and international recognition in several prestigious UK STEM competitions, including winning the Big Bang UK Young Engineer of the Year, the Engineering Education Scheme Wales Sixth Form Pupil of the Year, and consecutive UK and World Finalist positions in the F1 in Schools competition. 

Bro Edern students have also earned multiple Arkwright Scholarships, IPO Prizes (including patent filings), and numerous placements in the TDI Challenge, Teen Tech Awards, and WJEC (Welsh Joint Education Committee) Innovation Awards, nine of which were won in the past three years. Dewi’s department runs an extracurricular programme that includes LEGO League, CyberFirst Girls, and STEM Racing.

A spokesperson for the school said: “As a WJEC Engineering Design A-Level team leader and moderator, and a contributor to the Made-for-Wales Engineering Design Qualification, [Dewi] has helped raise standards and share best practices across Wales. His….  mentorship has guided students to top universities including Imperial College London, UCL, and Loughborough, as well as apprenticeships with elite organisations including Williams F1 Academy.”

Clare Doherty from St. Mary’s College, Derry has introduced two highly successful Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) events to promote STEM, entrepreneurship and innovation to pupils of all ages. Her award-winning annual Engineers Week event attracts more than 1,000 students from local secondary and primary schools. 

Presenting the awards, Dame Helen Atkinson DBE FREng, said the award committee were pleased that Clare’s work was influencing people far beyond her own school. “Clare’s leadership in Technology, Design & Engineering is now regarded as the blueprint for all similar departments within Foyle Learning Community, a group of 13 post-primary schools in Northern Ireland – and as a centre of excellence for student examination achievement throughout Northern Ireland.” 

Clare is also responsible for initiating the first TeachMeetTD in Ireland, where STEM teachers come together to share good practice in a supportive environment. She runs an annual Entrepreneurship Week, that is affiliated to Global Entrepreneurship Week UK.  Since 2012 students have seen presentations by over 60 entrepreneurs, including panellists on RTE Dragons Den.

“The winning teachers of this year’s Clark Prize are outstanding; it is quite overwhelming to see the amount of work they devote to connecting engineering and manufacturing with school pupils,” says Andrew Everett, executive secretary of ERA Foundation. “Their biographies speak for themselves. The Clark Prize will continue to identify and reward hard-working STEM teachers and schools, and we know there are many more out there.”

Sixteen teachers in total have received the Clark Prize since 2016.

www.erafoundation.org

UNLIKE CLOUD-based AI, Edge AI processes information locally, offering clear advantages. Edge AI eliminates network latency, enabling real-time decision-making in areas such as quality control, predictive maintenance, process automation, and safety monitoring. Edge AI also reduces bandwidth consumption by transmitting insights rather than raw data. Most importantly for manufacturers, it keeps sensitive production data on site.

Edge AI encompasses two types of AI: predictive AI and generative AI. Predictive AI analyses historical data to forecast future events. For example, AI can help create safer manufacturing work environments by predicting potential hazards or ensuring compliance. In automated quality inspection, production lines can continuously be monitored using Edge AI for real-time insights for quality control and significantly reduce the risks of defects.

Generative AI captures patterns and trends in historical data and creates new data and content based on that understanding. Generative AI, or GenAI, can be employed in manufacturing environments to aid the development of new products, enhance digital simulations, and enable users to analyse complex data in new ways. 

The key technical characteristic that enables Edge AI is separating training from inference. Although training large AI models still requires substantial data center resources, the inference phase, in which AI applies what it has learned to new data, is far less demanding. Thanks to advances in processor design and AI accelerators, complex inference workloads can now be carried out on compact, energy-efficient edge servers. This makes sophisticated intelligence practical on the factory floor.

From vision to value: Edge AI in action on the factory floor

Manufacturers recognise the value of Edge AI in its ability to analyse data in real time and trigger immediate, automated responses. Machine vision, for example, has become integral to modern quality assurance. While traditional inspection systems might sample one in twenty parts for defects, Edge AI-powered vision systems can inspect every single part as it comes off the production line. These systems cannot only detect defects instantly but also identify subtle variations in quality that may signal emerging process issues, enabling action to be taken automatically before defects occur and minimising costly downtime.

The impact is measurable. According to McKinsey, the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies - including AI, advanced analytics, and the Internet of Things (IoT) - can reduce machine downtime by 30 to 50 percent as well as reduce quality-related costs by 10 to 20 percent []. These improvements are not limited to quality control. Predictive maintenance, powered by Edge AI, allows manufacturers to move beyond rigid maintenance schedules. Instead, AI continuously monitors equipment, learning to recognise the early signs of wear or failure. In process automation, it facilitates rapid decision-making, enhances operational agility, and streamlines workflows.     

Workplace safety is also an area where Edge AI is making a difference. By analysing data from security cameras, machinery, and operational software, AI systems can identify hazardous situations in real-time, such as workers approaching moving equipment too closely, and recommend or even initiate corrective actions. Edge AI is the only technology capable of instantly processing and acting on large volumes of video and sensor data.

Infrastructure matters: Building for reliability and longevity

As manufacturers transition from pilot projects to production-scale Edge AI, the choice of infrastructure becomes critical. Unlike office IT, manufacturing environments require systems that can operate reliably for years, often in challenging conditions. While standard servers may suffice in some settings, many applications require ruggedised hardware that can withstand temperature extremes, dust, vibration, and shock. Fanless designs are often favoured in dusty environments to minimise maintenance needs and reduce the risk of failure.

Reliability is paramount. Metrics such as mean time between failures (MTBF) and the ability to upgrade or reconfigure systems over time should be carefully considered. Modular server architectures, like those offered by Supermicro, enable manufacturers to customise systems according to their specific workload and environmental needs. This modularity also provides a clear path for future upgrades, ensuring that infrastructure investments remain viable as AI workloads evolve.

Selecting the right AI accelerators should be a key decision. Graphics processing units (GPUs) are the most common type of AI accelerator, and various specialised GPUs are available to address the diverse needs of Edge AI workloads in manufacturing. To ensure optimal performance and support for the intended applications, compatibility between server platforms and AI accelerators must be verified.

Overcoming implementation challenges

Despite the clear benefits, implementing Edge AI is not without its challenges. Manufacturing environments often have space, power, and cooling constraints. Edge servers must be compact, energy-efficient, and able to operate in less-than-ideal conditions. Another hurdle is data management: the sheer volume and diversity of data generated on the factory floor can overwhelm traditional IT systems. Efficient local processing, storage, and robust security are essential.

When considering management, it is important to note that edge deployments are usually spread out over several sites and often lack adequate on-site IT support. The infrastructure must therefore support remote monitoring, updates, and troubleshooting to minimise downtime and operational disruption.

Integrating with existing systems is also often a stumbling block. AI solutions must interface with legacy machinery, manufacturing execution systems (MES), and safety protocols. Careful planning is required as well as the use of software development kits (SDKs) and pre-built modules that simplify integration and accelerate time to value.

Supermicro and NVIDIA: Proven solutions for manufacturing

In close collaboration with NVIDIA, Supermicro has developed a portfolio of Edge AI solutions designed to meet the demands of manufacturing environments. This comprehensive, full-stack approach combines modular, ruggedised server hardware with support for the latest NVIDIA AI accelerators. 

Supermicro’s systems cover a wide range of form factors and performance levels. They range from compact, fanless edge servers for space-constrained environments to high-performance, multi-GPU systems that can handle the most demanding AI workloads on the factory floor. These systems are designed to work seamlessly with NVIDIA accelerators. Each is tailored for specific AI inference and generative tasks.
 
As an example, Supermicro’s ARS-E103-JONX is ideally suited for advanced edge applications in manufacturing, logistics and other industries. It comprises the NVIDIA Jetson Orin™ NX, the most advanced AI computer for applications and processes that require low-power, high-performance data inferencing. Delivered in a compact, fanless form factor, the system allows 157 TOPS for multiple concurrent AI pipelines with a versatile set of high-speed IO interface options, including 5G and Wi-Fi.

Other systems range from compact fanless systems to powerful box PCs and rackmount edge systems, capable of deploying multiple GPU accelerators such as the NVIDIA RTX PRO™ 6000 Blackwell Server Edition or NVIDIA H200 NVL. Each model has distinctive use cases based on the type and volume of data being processed, as well as deployment factors such as size and power consumption. Selecting the right hardware, therefore, includes identifying which AI accelerator is required and ensuring the server platform is compatible. 

The software stack is equally critical. NVIDIA AI Enterprise provides manufacturers with optimized frameworks, libraries, and tools that ensure efficient AI inference and seamless integration into existing workflows. Those developing custom applications will find that the availability of SDKs and pre-built modules further accelerates development and reduces complexity, enabling faster time-to-value for AI-driven manufacturing solutions.

Best practices for a successful Edge AI journey

When implementing Edge AI, manufacturers should start with clearly defined use cases and measurable goals. They ought to select infrastructure that is reliable, modular, and compatible with the necessary AI accelerators. Manufacturers must also consider environmental factors, such as temperature, dust, and vibration, and design systems that allow for remote management and easy integration with existing processes.

Most importantly, manufacturers should view Edge AI as a journey, not a destination. The ability to upgrade and adapt infrastructure over time is essential, given that AI technologies and manufacturing needs are constantly evolving. Investing in robust, modular infrastructure and proven solutions from trusted partners can accelerate manufacturers' AI journeys, helping them achieve greater efficiency, quality, and competitiveness in an increasingly digital world.

Matthias Huber is senior director, solutions manager, IoT/ embedded and edge computing at Supermicro

www.supermicro.com

Helping to mark the occasion, Sir John Lazar CBE FREng, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, gave a keynote speech on the Academy’s strategy and its focus on skills for engineering, was joined by ERA President Sir Alan Rudge CBE FREng, Chair Andrew Churchill OBE FREng, and 130 guests to toast the support of a long list of pro-engineering activities, from value-creating enterprise hubs to engineering fellowships, and teachers whose work has showcased engineering to school children across the UK.

The ERA Foundation was a founding donor of The Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub, ranked for the second year running in the top three enterprise hubs in the UK, and 14th in Europe by the Financial Times and Statista. The Hub’s activities have contributed to the creation of nearly 6000 jobs.

The Foundation has funded 55 industrial Fellowships, linking university research to businesses to help solve engineering challenges more quickly and help society. It has helped fund over 100 young students via the Smallpeice Trust’s Arkwright Engineering Scholarship, that sponsors students aged 16 to 18 to pursue engineering training with mentoring and access to STEM events.

The fellowships it has supported, jointly with both The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 and The Royal Academy of Engineering, involve some of the UK’s best physical sciences research that has advanced space exploration, net zero energy, battery storage, flood detection systems and much more. 

The non-profit foundation, 25-years old but with roots that go back 100-years, also runs The Clark Prize, recognising hard working, inspirational teachers who help students to experience engineering and connect with technical careers, awarding prizes to 16 teachers and schools since 2016. 

Since 2001, over £20 million has been dispersed to programmes that align with the foundation’s goals of inspiring, influencing and implementing, through grants and awards, activities that promote engineering and manufacturing, especially to educate and empower young people.

Engineering enterprise and engineering for all society

The Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub was founded in 2013, supported by an ERA Foundation grant. Since then, the Hub has supported over 600 researchers, graduates, and entrepreneurs, who have helped create nearly 6,000 jobs and whose members have successfully secured over £1.3 billion in additional funding. Hub member startups have raised £3.8 billion to date.

It'a not just the large and high-profile programmes that have benefited, though. With ERA Foundation’s help, the Smallpeice Trust has funded more than 100 Arkwright Scholarship students through their ‘A’ levels, Scottish Highers and International Baccalaureate exams, connecting them to industry opportunities through mentorship. Smallpeice also runs courses to inspire girls to choose physics and engineering, which the Foundation has previously funded.

Last year ERA Foundation supported five British women who enrolled on an electrical and electronics engineering degree, part of the Electrical Association of Women Centenary. And it has funded numerous Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Follow-on Grants, as well as Royal Society Mercer medal winners. 

Sir John Lazar CBE’s speech focused on strategy, skills and society, where much of his work has been the advancement of engineering to benefit society in Africa. He said: “Equity, diversity and inclusion is a vital thread through all three goals [of the Academy’s strategy] because we can’t talk about delivering positive outcomes for people without talking about how engineering designs for all of society, and how engineers therefore need to reflect all of society.”

Rewarding invention in universities and schools

Examples of supporting research include Samuel Winter of BT Group, who is the 2025 Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Industrial Fellow, supported by ERA Foundation. Working with the University of Bath, Samuel developed variational quantum algorithms that optimise telecommunications systems, that will lead to cost, energy and time efficiencies. He is now doing a PhD in quantum physics linked to this work, while working at BT’s research centre.

Clare Doherty, a teacher at St Mary’s College in Derry, has devoted 29-years to technology education in schools and initiated the first TeachMeetTD in Ireland, an event that shares best practice among STEM teachers. 

The work of Lucy Hart, a teacher at Caroline Haslett Primary in Milton Keynes, led to the school being recognised as an iBelong Champion in December 2024, a scheme to encourage girls to study computer science.

Clare and Lucy are two of four winning teachers of the 2025 Clark Prize, funded by the Foundation, that is named after former foundation Executive Secretary Dr David Clark. 

“It is very exciting to celebrate the commencement of our 25th year of the ERA Foundation,” said new Chair of ERA Foundation, Andrew Churchill OBE FREng. “We are very privileged to be custodians of a foundation that has the means to support such an array of brilliant projects right across the spectrum, from big investments like the Royal Academy of Engineering’s ‘Enterprise Hub’, which has funded over 600 entrepreneurs, to the primary schools of teachers such as Lucy Hart and Tracey Ellicott, who infectiously share the excitement of engineering with school children from a young age.” 

Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “We congratulate the ERA Foundation on its inspiring work to promote and enable future engineering innovation and skills over the last quarter of a century. I am delighted to be able to work with this far-sighted organisation, which has played such an active role in supporting the work of our Academy and particularly our successful and growing Enterprise Hub.”

Digital platforms extend influence

ERA Foundation has moved into the digital and social age, establishing the Born to Engineer video platform with films that share the experiences of young engineers, and teacher resources, to help young people connect with engineering careers. From this activity, five content creators have benefited from ERA Foundation grants to boost their engineering-centric social media and get this content onto platforms like Instagram and TikTok. 

And over its 25-year history, ERA Foundation has collaborated with and supported Engineering UK, STEM Learning, Primary Engineer, Kids Invent Stuff, WISE (women-centred EDI in STEM), In2Science and many other programmes, pump-priming these projects. 

With a new industrial strategy in development at a time when the UK badly needs economic growth, the ERA Foundation is a quiet but substantive partner to many far more visible organisations that are driving engineering, and therefore more invention and high-value growth in the UK economy. 

www.erafoundation.org

The system has been engineered specifically for complex industrial environments, where uninterrupted operation is essential for producing high-quality products such as infant formula, cream, evaporated milk, condensed milk, and cheese.

GEA InsightPartner EvoHDry applies real-time condition monitoring, a maintenance approach based on continuous collection and analysis of machine data to detect early warning signs of equipment degradation. Parameters such as temperature, pressure, vibration, and flow are tracked in real time, giving operators a clear view of system performance.

The solution offers an App and web-based component status to receive real-time information on machine health. In the dairy sector, one of the most frequent causes of unplanned downtime is a gradual loss of suction pressure in vacuum pumps within evaporation systems. This condition reduces evaporator efficiency, causing output to fall below target performance thresholds and potentially forcing an unplanned shutdown. Failures of this kind are commonly linked to dry running, wear in pump components, or lubrication loss when product contamination occurs. GEA InsightPartner EvoHDry employs predictive analytics to recognise these patterns early and generate pre-alarm notifications that prompt intervention before a critical failure takes place.

Beyond specific equipment failures, many dairy and liquid plants face broader operational challenges. Modern process plants rely heavily on SCADA systems (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) to monitor operations, but the number of alarms generated can overwhelm operators, making it difficult to filter and prioritise issues. At the same time, shortages of skilled technicians mean fewer personnel are available to interpret alarms or carry out diagnostics.

Traditional manual checks consume time and resources, while the absence of an integrated view of machine health often forces teams into reactive, emergency-driven maintenance. GEA InsightPartner EvoHDry addresses these problems by combining expert maintenance guidance with data-driven decision-making. Through real-time insights and predictive trends, operators can focus on the most critical issues, optimise maintenance schedules, and keep production on track.

The technical setup of GEA InsightPartner® EvoHDry is designed for both accuracy and security. It includes market-leading sensors for vibration, flow, and pressure, as well as links, cables, and an edge gateway – a local computing device that collects and preprocesses data before sending it to the cloud. By processing data locally, the gateway ensures rapid response times and reduces dependence on external networks.

The system operates independently of the customer’s IT infrastructure, so no direct access to plant networks is required, minimising cybersecurity risks. Once preprocessed, data is transferred securely to the GEA Cloud and GEA Portal, where GEA’s proprietary modeling algorithms evaluate equipment condition. Certified vibration specialists then validate diagnostics, adding human expertise to automated analysis.

According to Angela Yeung, digital portfolio and strategy lead for liquid and powder technologies at GEA, the system offers significant operational benefits: “Unplanned downtime remains the biggest challenge for dairy processors. By using predictive insights, customers can intervene before failures occur, reducing costs and improving efficiency. With GEA InsightPartner EvoHDry, operators gain clear insight into machine health. Instead of reacting to unexpected shutdowns, they can plan maintenance based on reliable diagnostics – keeping production stable and output consistent.”

The solution draws on GEA’s role as an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), embedding decades of equipment and process expertise directly into its digital services. GEA InsightPartner EvoHDry has been tailored for evaporators, spray dryers, pumps, and rotating equipment, with monitoring extending from the vacuum stage through to CIP (Clean-in-Place) cycles, providing full coverage of peripheral systems. By aligning maintenance schedules with predictive recommendations, operators can extend equipment lifespan, minimise costs linked to downtime, and stabilise long-term production performance.

gea.com

THIS YEAR'S event comes at a pivotal moment for UK industry, following the government’s announcement of a new 10-year industrial strategy. With measures that could reduce electricity bills by up to 25 per cent for over 7,000 manufacturing firms and billions earmarked for innovation, R&D and AI, the strategy signals a renewed focus on long-term industrial growth — a direction that will be reflected across the show floor at Advanced Engineering 2025.

The show will also champion real-world problem-solving and high-value manufacturing, from net-zero composites to energy-efficient processes. By bringing engineers and innovators together, meaningful change and the industry’s most pressing challenges across all sectors can be addressed, including sustainability and skills development.

A highlight for 2025 is the newly expanded Composites Pavilion, now in its fourth year and fully booked well in advance. Delivered in partnership with Composites UK, the pavilion offers smaller companies and SMEs turnkey exhibition pods, making it easy and cost-effective to showcase their innovations. Strategically located next to the Composites Networking Zone, the pavilion provides high visibility and attracts key OEM visitors.

Hands-on demos

Alongside the pavilion, the Composites Networking Zone will feature hands-on demos from PRF Composite Materials, showcasing cutting-edge prepreg systems including rapid processing RP570 presses and innovative recycled carbon solutions. Insights from end users across aerospace, automotive, marine and renewables will highlight how composites are driving high-performance applications and net-zero ambitions across sectors.

Building on this, Composites UK has reimagined the Composites Forum for 2025, curating two full days of expert-led sessions focused on sustainability, material circularity and new product development, all aimed at strengthening the sector’s innovation and collaboration. Here, the Composites Networking Zone will be a key feature, with PRF Composite Materials hosting interactive demos and networking sessions designed to foster valuable industry connections.

The event will also reinforce the role of SMEs and agile innovators through dedicated spaces such as the SME Village, platforming disruptive technologies across automation, embedded systems, semiconductors and more. These zones underscore the crucial role SMEs play in driving innovation and growth across the UK’s engineering and manufacturing sectors.

“Advanced Engineering is the only UK event that connects every corner of the industrial ecosystem,” said Simon Farnfield, event director of Advanced Engineering at Easyfairs UK & Global. “With zones focused on composites, electronics and SME innovation, and forums designed to address the industry’s biggest challenges, the 2025 edition is set to deliver even more value for visitors and exhibitors alike. This edition will feature over 400 exhibitors, including more than 130 making their debut, meaning that a lot of the stands will offer something brand new to discover.”

Key topics

Over 200 expert speakers are also set to take stage across multiple forums to explore key topics including digitalisation, supply chain resilience, sustainability and government policy. The event will also continue its #MINDTHEskillsGAP initiative launched to help tackle the UK’s ongoing shortage of engineering and manufacturing talent.

In addition, Composites UK will co-locate its prestigious Industry Awards Dinner on the evening of 29 October at the neighbouring National Motorcycle Museum, providing a prime networking opportunity for sector leaders.

Register at:

www.advancedengineeringuk.com

THE WEST midlands has long been at the heart of British industrial excellence. From the first Industrial Revolution to its dominance in automotive and digital innovation, the region has continually taken the lead in manufacturing. Like much of the UK, productivity remains the key weakness. By increasing the accessibility of robotics and autonomous systems, workforces can be supported, productivity can be optimised, and profitability can increase.

The new Industrial Strategy alongside the dedicated Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan provides the catalyst for change. For too long, small and medium-sized manufacturers have struggled to bridge the knowledge and capital gaps necessary to integrate robotics effectively. The initial investment of £40 million toward the creation of a new network of Robotics Adoption Hubs with the relevant expertise, equipment, and connections will harness existing UK resources to accelerate take-up of robotics on a nation-wide scale. This comes alongside clear intent to support SMEs through the extension of the Made Smarter programme.

It is important that industry is aligned on how this investment of £40 million is spent. The UK industrial sector does not need to spend money on new buildings, robotics adoption hubs should instead use existing facilities and online networks. The available funding can then be directed toward joining together existing resources, facilitating collaboration and developing training programmes in order to create a greater impact.

Why now? The urgency of adoption

The global race for manufacturing competitiveness is intensifying. Data from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) reveals that the UK currently ranks 23rd globally in the adoption of robotics and autonomous systems technologies. Without rapid action, the UK risks falling further behind countries such as Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Poland that together accounted for about 70% of all industrial robots installed within the EU in 2022.

The Industrial Strategy specifically identifies the West Midlands as a high-potential area for investment in advanced manufacturing. With strong automotive and digital sectors, established, research organisations such as The MTC, further education facilities, and a history of industrial success, the region is uniquely positioned to pilot and scale robotics-adoption hubs.

National policy has now set the intention and made clear its support for local initiatives to foster collaboration between academia and industry. The West Midlands RAS Cluster plans to leverage these national initiatives to support SMEs on their automation journeys. This can be supported by apprenticeship, funding and reskilling initiatives in both the private and public sectors.

The 2025 Industrial Strategy is ultimately aiming to ‘make the UK the best country to invest in anywhere in the world’. With competitors moving fast and adopting robotics and automation technologies to increase productivity and output the urgency is clear. UK industry must embrace a collaborative ecosystem led by adoption hubs in order to make automation more accessible.

Start your journey now and access expert advice on funding, training and business plans by visiting:

westmidlandsrascluster.org/

Mike Wilson is chief automation officer at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC)

Sami Haddadin, VP for Research at Mohamed bin Zayed University for Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) has worked with his former PhD student Lars Johannsmeier and colleagues Yanan Li from the University of Sussex and Etienne Burdet from Imperial College, and led the work behind the paper published in Nature Machine Intelligence in June.

The paper introduces the groundbreaking embodied AI framework coined Tactile Skills as a theoretically sound, practical and scalable framework, inspired by the human neural system and human vocational training. Their method uses a clearly structured taxonomy based on expert-defined process specifications. In simple terms, it’s like giving robots their own specialised curriculum, helping them rapidly learn and master new physical tasks.“Our framework bridges the gap between human expertise and robotic capability. It’s rewarding to see robots now reliably mastering intricate tasks with precision and adaptability – this isn’t just incremental progress; it’s a meaningful leap forward for practical automation in everyday life,” said Sami Haddadin, VP for Research and Professor of Robotics at MBZUAI.

This approach has been tested extensively on 28 distinct industrial tasks, including complex operations like plug insertion and precision cutting. Remarkably, the robots achieved nearly 100% success and industrial grade performance, even when encountering unexpected changes in object positioning or environmental conditions. These robots not only performed reliably but did so quickly and with minimal error.

A crucial advantage of this method is that it doesn’t rely solely on extensive trial-and-error or massive datasets, as traditional machine-learning methods often do. Instead, it blends expert process knowledge with reusable tactile control and adaptation components, significantly simplifying and speeding up the robot’s learning process. This reduces energy consumption and increases performance dramatically compared to current deep-learning-based approaches.

One of the framework’s standout achievements was successfully assembling a complex industrial device used in bottle-filling plants, demonstrating its practicality for real-world manufacturing scenarios. By bridging expert process definitions and robotic learning in a structured way, this method empowers operators who may not have deep robotics expertise to effectively deploy robots on diverse tasks, greatly reducing setup times and costs.

“This research represents an important leap toward widespread automation, transforming robots from specialised tools into adaptable, skilled assistants and ultimately physical AI agents. Industries can now envision greater automation of complex, tactile tasks, unlocking new potential for efficiency, safety, and scalability. Ultimately, this breakthrough doesn’t merely improve how robots handle specific tasks—it reshapes what’s possible for automation, making versatile and reliable robotic skills broadly accessible for industries and everywhere, and ultimately our homes,” said Haddadin.

mbzuai.ac.ae

Under the theme “Don’t Lose Sleep Over Your Factory Floor", Nulogy will showcase to operations directors and production managers, amongst others, how its cloud-based platform helps manufacturers move beyond constant firefighting and uncertainty.

By delivering real-time visibility into production metrics, equipment status, and workforce allocation, Smart Factory empowers teams to identify issues early, eliminate inefficiencies, and optimise labour allocation. The result is fewer disruptions, smoother shift changes, and improved overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) – all while controlling costs and maintaining quality output amid rising labour costs in the UK manufacturing sector.

Visitors to Stand A92 can see live demonstrations of Smart Factory and speak with Josephine Coombe, chief commercial officer at Nulogy Europe, who will explain how the software helps manufacturers move beyond ‘gut feel’ decision-making to run their operations with trusted, actionable data.

“Production managers are all too familiar with the anxiety caused by unexplained downtime, fluctuating output, and unplanned overtime. Often, critical issues remain hidden until the end of the shift or day, meaning problems escalate before they can be resolved,” said Coombe. “For senior executives such as operations directors, this lack of clarity translates into uncertainty around margins, capacity, and ROI for future investments, creating a barrier to scaling operations profitably and ultimately keeping them up at night.”

Increasing costs are putting unprecedented pressure on manufacturers, making economic savings more critical than ever. Nulogy’s Smart Factory solution provides plant and production leaders with clearer, faster insights for confident decision-making, helping them navigate shifting market demands while cutting waste, reducing costs, driving growth and ending sleepless nights

“Smart Factory is designed to bring clarity and calm to chaotic factory environments,” concluded Coombe. “For businesses under pressure to do more with less, it gives teams the visibility they need to hit targets, hold each other accountable, and sleep better knowing production is under control.”

Visitors attending The PPMA Total Show can book an appointment to learn more about Smart Factory at:

nulogy.com

This latest milestone underscores Technidrive’s growing role in an industry where precision, hygiene and reliability are essential. Designed and engineered in-house, the company’s flagship systems have become widely recognised as a benchmark for energy-efficient milking and milk transfer.

TechniVac is Technidrive’s vacuum pump system, intelligently adapting output to meet real-time demand during milking. By significantly reducing energy use by up to 60% and delivering quieter, low-maintenance operation, TechniVac ensures consistent vacuum performance in a compact hygienic design.

Meanwhile, TechniFlow optimises milk transfer using true variable speed control. Its gentle, controlled flow helps maintain milk quality, reduce refrigeration costs and minimise water usage. With compatibility across 95% of existing dairy setups and installation time of under six hours, TechniFlow is proving to be a favourite among dairy farmers and processors alike.

“Reaching the 1000-systems milestone reflects the consistent demand for more intelligent, energy-efficient solutions in dairy operations,” said Andrew Ritchie, technical sales manager at Technidrive. “Farmers are facing increasing pressures from rising energy costs and the need to adapt to ever-evolving industry standards.

“TechniVac and TechniFlow have been developed in close collaboration with farmers and processors to solve real operational challenges — from energy consumption to milk quality and uptime. This kind of feedback-led engineering is what drives continued adoption across the UK, Ireland and further afield.”

The milestone follows a series of successful installations that have demonstrated the real-world value of Technidrive’s approach. Across UK and Irish farms, the systems have delivered energy savings of up to 55 per cent, enhanced milk cooling, reduced equipment wear and improved milk quality. The technology has proven especially effective on farms facing unreliable power supplies or using legacy fixed-speed systems.

“We’re saving approximately £100 per month on electricity and the noise reduction compared to the old system is impressive,” explained Barry Armstrong, a dairy farmer from Cumbria. Similarly, Paul Kinch from Co. Wicklow noted, “The biggest thing for us is the reduction of noise. We’ve also seen a reduction in running costs.”

Technidrive’s success is built on its close relationships with regional partners, who provide installation, training and ongoing technical support. This model ensures that dairy farmers not only receive high-quality products but also benefit from expert guidance throughout the lifecycle of the system.

As a WEG Premier Distributor and Bonfiglioli BEST Partner, Technidrive also offers customised motor and automation solutions to meet specific dairy processing needs, from vacuum systems to pumps, agitators and beyond.

www.technidrive.co.uk