Suppliers offered direct access to leading OEMs at manufacturing show
BUSINESSES in the West Midlands will have the chance to market their services and products to some of the leading players in the manufacturing industry at a special trade show today.
The Global Manufacturing Festival is a rare opportunity for industrial suppliers to talk directly to decision-makers from major blue-chip companies including Jaguar Land Rover, HS2, Siemens Energy, GE Oil and Gas and Airbus.
The event is also seen as an important networking event for the large number of engineering businesses in the sector.
Organisers of the annual event say this year’s festival will be the biggest and best yet with 150 stands on display.
Co-organiser Richard Wright said: “We have the best speaker line-up for the biggest trade show to date and we’re already experiencing a lot of interest.
“Businesses don’t often get to talk directly to the right people from prime contractors, but this event gives them that valuable opportunity.
“The West Midlands is traditionally a hotbed of engineering and this is the perfect chance for companies in the area to meet new people and create links that can have mutual benefits.”
Senior figures from HS2 Ltd will be available to talk specifically about accessing its procurement processes, while Siemens Energy will discuss supplier needs for a new £160m turbine blade factory.
More than 60 firms are already lined up to take part in the event, which will take place at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing in Rotherham.
Wright, Chief Executive of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, added: “Delegations are booked in from China and the mining sector in Canada, while we also have exhibitors from all over the UK attending.
“It shows there’s already a great deal of interest from a wide range of companies of all different sizes, backgrounds and locations, but we’re keen to get even more involved.”
