The medical industry is plagued by fake conferences — events that promise to provide a platform for academics to present their scientific papers but transpire to be made up of shambolic organisation and a poor quality technical programme. Luckily, the engineering sector doesn’t suffer as badly from fake events, but it can still be difficult to decide exactly which shows to attend.

By Jessica Phillips, junior account manager

At the Birmingham NEC, look out for Advanced Engineering, which will be held from October 31 to November 1, 2018. This year, the trade show is celebrating its tenth anniversary, complete with a new nuclear engineering zone and an expanded connected manufacturing section.

Also held at the NEC, MACH is an outstanding showcase for advances in the manufacturing industry. Unfortunately the event, which is brought to you by the Manufacturing Technologies Association, has already taken place this year. If you missed out, you’ll have to wait until April 20 to 24, 2020 to attend. Don’t worry though — it’s definitely worth the wait.

Going international

Some of the largest trade shows in the world happen overseas. To reach an international audience, consider attending events taking place in mainland Europe, particularly Germany. One key international event in your trade show calendar should be SPS Drives, which takes in Nuremberg from November 27 to 29, 2018. Next year, Hannover Messe will be held in Hanover from April 1 to 5 and, if you want to plan even further in advance, book your tickets for Automatica, which is next held in Munich from June 16 to 19, 2020.

If you fancy a trip across the Atlantic, look out for Automate — North America’s largest showcase of robots, machine vision technology, motor control products and other automation technologies. The show takes place biannually, with the next event being held in Chicago from April 8 to 11, 2019.

Our top pick

Last year, the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) hosted Juergen Maier, CEO of Siemens UK, to launch Made Smarter, an independent review of industrial digitalisation. In 2018, the organisation hopes to replicate the success of last year’s sold out Digitalising Manufacturing conference by welcoming Marcus Burton, director at Yamazaki Mazak, as a keynote speaker.

The two-day conference will take place from October 29 to 30, 2018. You could even combine your visit with your trip to Advanced Engineering, as Digitalising Manufacturing is held in nearby Coventry.

Other highlights include expert panels, digital manufacturing demonstrators and workshop sessions. If for some reason you’re still not sold, the MTC is offering SMEs 50 per cent off all tickets.

Now you know where to start, why not start planning how to make your trade show trips as effective as possible? For more advice, get in touch with the Stone Junction team on +44 (0)1785 225416. Alternatively, you can e-mail me directly at [email protected].