The second annual National Manufacturing Summit will focus on sustainable manufacturing in a UK which is working towards a net zero economy.
Following on from COP26 and the successful inaugural National Manufacturing Summit in March, the 2022 event will be an opportunity to set a framework for sustainable manufacturing, pulling together the UK’s world class manufacturing sectors, the opportunities of emerging technologies, and the need to remain globally competitive.
The summit, hosted by the Coventry-based Manufacturing Technology Centre on February 8 and 9 will be a hybrid event featuring live, face-to-face presentations and discussions as well as an interactive virtual audience.
The 2021 National Manufacturing Summit was a virtual event attended by more than 1,500 delegates who joined in discussions with industry leaders, experts, influencers, academics and politicians representing all four nations of the United Kingdom.
That event established a national platform, bringing together the many voices of UK manufacturing industry and setting a framework for the sector to contribute to the national recovery based on resilience, innovation, and the reshoring of manufacturing industry.
An advisory board has been established to identify the priorities for the National Manufacturing Summit 2022, to represent industry sectors and to act as a liaison body for national and regional Government. The board is made up of founder and chairman of Cobra Beers and University of Birmingham Chancellor Lord Bilimoria, the chair of Make UK Dame Judith Hackitt and MTC chief executive Dr Clive Hickman.
Dr Hickman said the summit was the perfect opportunity for the manufacturing sector to reflect on past achievements, but more importantly to come together to create a vision for the challenges that lie ahead.
“The event will acknowledge our national significance and frame our shared priorities. The agenda will be broad, engaging and interactive covering a wide range of manufacturing issues, but the over-arching theme will be sustainable manufacturing and the drive for a net zero carbon economy. We will celebrate the resilience of UK manufacturing as well as its ingenuity and diversity and demonstrate how those qualities combined with emerging technologies can enable change for a sustainable future,” he said.
The summit will focus on five themes, the principal one being sustainable net zero manufacturing, supported by technology and innovation, supply chains, SMEs and skills, and innovation and finance. It will explore opportunities in the UK’s most successful sectors such as aerospace, automotive and food and drink, but also newer sectors such as space and medical technology.
The MTC was founded by the University of Birmingham, Loughborough University, the University of Nottingham and TWI Ltd. The MTC’s industrial members include some of the UK’s major global manufacturers.
The MTC aims to provide a competitive environment to bridge the gap between university-based research and the development of innovative manufacturing solutions, in line with the Government’s manufacturing strategy. The MTC is part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, supported by Innovate UK.
More information about the National Manufacturing Summit 2022 can be found at https://nmsummit.co.uk
