Southern Manufacturing & Electronics makes its long-awaited return to Farnborough from February 8th to 10th 2022.
As in previous years, the 2022 show will host a remarkably wide exhibitor list covering the complete spectrum of industrial manufacturing, from high-tech machine tools and automation to components, workshop equipment and subcontract services. Firms from across the UK will take part, along with a significant number of international companies from continental Europe and beyond. With stands almost completely sold out, the 20,000m² Farnborough International Exhibition Centre in Hampshire will play host to hundreds of vendors, large and small, representing a great opportunity to see the latest technologies and solve multiple procurement challenges in one, time-efficient visit – an opportunity made even more fortuitous in the current climate, with the spectre of Covid-19 still making travel difficult.
Happily, it seems that many of the show’s regular participants have emerged unscathed from the difficulties of the last 20 months. Some well-known names returning for 2022 include Brady, Faro, Guhring, Mitutoyo (UK), Laser Lines, Boxford, Loctite-Henkel, Leybold, Nikon Metrology and a good many others. As usual, there is an excellent selection of machinery vendors giving live demonstrations, among them Haas Automation, C. Dugard, Hurco, Mills CNC and XYZ Machine Tools. Of particular note this year is the growing emphasis on automation and collaborative working. XYZ Machine Tools will unveil its first multi-spindle turning centres, a move driven by demand from customers looking for increased productivity, reduced spindle downtime and less dependence on hard-to-find skilled labour.
Design & Automation Solutions will be demonstrating an example of human-machine collaborative working on its stand at Southern 2022, using a MELFA ‘Assista’ Collaborative Robot, supplied by Mitsubishi Electric Automation Systems UK. DAS creates custom cobot solutions for a variety of applications, recent examples being a tooled Grimm linear to a cap feeding system for a UK based biotech automation company and a project to provide a high-performance powered gantry system.
The show is also a great place for see more down-to-earth products, which are nevertheless essential for the smooth running of day-to-day operations. Examples include handling, storage and packaging systems. HSM (UK) will showcase options for waste management, demonstrating how one of its vertical baling presses can reduce the volume of waste by up to 95%, saving valuable space but generating a secondary and valuable raw material. Also exhibited will be its packaging machine, ProfiPack, which generates universally usable packaging from used cardboard. Workplace storage equipment manufacturer, Bott, will showcase a professional storage system, created from products in its cubio range. Ergonomically designed, the modular system is configurable to suit individual processes and adaptable to expand with a business. The range also integrates with the company’s CNC tool storage options, incorporating Lean, 5S and Six Sigma initiatives, promoting efficiency and productivity in the workplace.
Energy saving solutions and a turnkey installation service of renewable energy and low carbon technologies will be showcased by Noble Green Energy. The company delivers a range of key low carbon technologies nationwide for high energy usage clients across a variety of sectors, including manufacturing, automotive, chemical, food/drink, printing and agriculture. Technologies include solar PV, battery storage, combined heat and power (CHP), biomass, heat pumps, LED lighting as well as asset finance and PPAs, monitoring and maintenance.
The ever-popular free seminar programme also returns for 2022 in a socially-distanced format. With UK business now operating in a post-covid, post-Brexit world, keeping abreast of the latest legislation and management strategies has never been more important. This year, among the topics discussed, Paul Grabham looks at the impacts of post Brexit and Covid-19 on HMRC R&D Tax Credits. Tim Scurlock of Applied Lean Consulting gives some ideas on how to drive continuous improvement in your business; Graham Cooper offers tips on energy usage reduction in manufacturing and Nick Aitken and Dr Alex Martin give advice on how to handle a product safety incident. Sessions run over all three days and a full list is available on the show’s website at www.industrysouth.co.uk
Farnborough International Exhibition Centre is among Europe’s most up-to-date exhibition sites, with extensive infection control measures in place to help ensure as low-risk an environment as possible. There’s free onsite car parking for 3,500 vehicles, as well as a dedicated free bus service between Farnborough’s train stations straight to the show. The venue itself delivers a very good standard of services including a free WiFi service and on-site catering.
Southern Manufacturing & Electronics 2022 opens from February 8th to 10th. Admission to the exhibition is free. More information and tickets are available from www.industrysouth.co.uk
