Event success indicates strong future for UK manufacturing

"Topics covered by the seminar speakers focussed on two key issues namely; Energy Legislation and Solutions and Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things,” says Mitsubishi Electric’s Garry Lewis. "The seminars and complementary exhibition area focused the discussions very much on issues of the day. The exhibition area showcased many examples of integrated solutions from complementary suppliers, which included vision systems, vibration monitoring and energy management.”

Mitsubishi Electric also used the event to launch its iQ-R series PAC controller and the iQ-F compact PLC series. The centre piece of the exhibition featured the Mitsubishi Electric product demonstration wall, which showed Mitsubishi’s total integration capability, from Low Voltage Switchgear (LVS) through robot and motion integration of the iQ PLC platform, the new iQ-F and iQ-R series CNC control, MAPS SCADA and the iQ Works engineering suite.

Kafai Wu of Wallwork Heat Treatments commented: "We have been using Mitsubishi equipment for 30 years and we are here to see how we can save energy which is big part of our spending. It’s been a worthwhile event that has shown us that Mitsubishi can deliver solutions to a range of issues.”

Dr Steve Lloyd of Remote Utility Monitoring & Management (RUMM) presented one of the seminars, explaining about the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) that is a mandatory energy assessment scheme due for implementation in December 2015. Many of the delegates took the opportunity to improve their understanding of this scheme and the ways in which Mitsubishi could help in achieving improved energy savings.

Lewis again: "Judging by the enthusiasm for this event, it is clear that today’s engineers are very keen to develop their knowledge of the latest technologies and also learn how to apply this to the automation environment. The constructive discussions over the two days demonstrate that people are committed to developing smart manufacturing solutions that will lead to constantly improving productivity and quality, combined with energy efficiency.”