Supply chain show motors ahead 

Held at the NEC Birmingham from 6-8 June, the show will be held in hall 6 and halls 17-20 of the exhibition centre. In 2016, it welcomed buyers from every UK-based vehicle manufacturer, as well as motor factors and independent workshops.

This year the event will be 70% bigger than last year’s show with more than 800 anticipated exhibitors. Its organisers say the show will be the best one stop shop for discovering product launches, the latest technologies and practical solutions, with 70% of the exhibitors from the UK and 30% from abroad.

Dedicated zones have been created for this year’s event with more than 150 exhibitors from all tiers of the supply chain, sited in a new dedicated Supply Chain Zone in hall 6. Some of the new companies in the zone include: Bosch OE, Panasonic, Venta Global, Autocraft Drivertrain Solutions, DS Smith, DJJ Precision Engineering, Tunkers, DTR VMS and Bruderer UK.

The 2017 event will also provide educational content and technical sessions for the supply chain audience. Industry experts from the likes of Jaguar Land Rover, Industry Forum and the National Composites Centre will deliver more than 60 talks and seminars covering the latest in manufacturing practices, business opportunities and cutting edge technologies shaping the future of the industry. The seminars will cover product and technology developments, innovation and R&D, industry trends and updates, connected and autonomous vehicles, manufacturing technologies, Industry 4.0, logistics and advanced manufacturing.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) is working in collaboration with the event. It will bring two flagship networking events to the show. Meet the Buyer and Open Forum.

Meet the Buyer matches suppliers with OEM and Tier 1 buyers through one-to-one meetings. Registration is open at http://www.automechanika-birmingham.com/seminar-programme/smmt-open-forum.

The Open Forum will deliver a series of morning seminars focusing on the automotive supply chain to over 300 senior and high quality supply chain delegates from OEMs, tier 1, medium and small suppliers to attend. Registration is open at http://www.automechanika-birmingham.com/seminar-programme/smmt-open-forum.

The SMMT says a survey of visitor spend at, or as a result of visiting last year event revealed its value of to be an estimated £595 million, making it the ideal platform for Meet the Buyer programme.

Around 1,000 companies applied to take part in Meet the Buyer in 2016, where more than 360 individual meetings took place. The following brands are already confirmed for the event in 2017: Aisin Europe, Alexander Dennis, Aston Martin Lagonda, Bentley, BMW, Dennis Eagle, Faurecia, Ford, General Motors, GLM, Honda, Hitachi Automotive Systems, Jaguar Land Rover, Lear Corporation (UK), Magna, Nissan Technical Centre Europe, Nobel Automotive and Sears Manufacturing.

Simon Albert, event director of Automechanika Birmingham, said: “Visitor registration has opened and we are already 30% up from where we were at the same time, last year. The market reaction speaks for itself, with significantly more exhibitors booked for 2017 and higher visitor registrations; we’re set for a brilliant event in June.”

To register visit: https://automechanika17-visitor.reg.buzz/

AUTOMECHANIKA www.automechanika-birmingham.com