Manufacturing and Engineering
giants gather at NEC for
PPMA Show 2015
29th September – 1st October,
NEC, Birmingham
T
As growth in the UK’s
manufacturing sector
continues to accelerate, with
manufacturers reporting
a rise in sales and indicating plans for
expansion , industry professionals are
gearing up to visit the PPMA Show 2015,
the UK’s premier, free-to-attend complete
production line event for processing and
packaging machinery – set to be the
largest of its kind in recent years.
Results from the Manufacturing Advisory
Service (MAS) Annual Barometer revealed
that over 95 percent of manufacturers
expect to maintain or increase their
investment on machinery, premises
and new technology, demonstrating a
commitment to continuous improvement
and making the PPMA show the ideal place
for processing and packaging professions
to discover the latest technologies and
product launches from across the UK’s
manufacturing industries.
Returning to the NEC, Birmingham, the
show will run over three days (29th
September – 1st October) and will be
opened by Lord Digby Jones, former
30
PECM Issue 16
di rector General of the CBI and Trade and
Investment Minister. With exhibitor space
up by more than 20 percent compared to
preparations for the 2014 show, this time
last year, the event is quickly becoming the
processing and packaging show that must
be not be missed.
Robotic and Industrial Vision zone
showcases potential for automation
New features to the 2015 exhibition
include a Robotics and Industrial Vision
zone which will showcase the latest
inventive and quirky uses of robotic
technology including robots that can
dance, pour drinks and even play
snooker. Highlighting just how robotics
and automation has come since the first
industrial robotic arms were integrated into
production lines, Rich Walker, Managing
Director for the Shadow Robot company
will demonstrate the ‘Moley robotic
kitchen’ – capable of cooking chef quality
meals using a normal kitchen. Walker will
also speak as part of this year’s seminar
line-up to reveal what robotics could hold
for the future of food manufacturing.
“Robots are smarter than ever, easier
to configure and versatile. They will be
able to cope with a wider range of tasks
and will be easier to modify to undertake
new tasks,” explained Walker. “The use of
robotics could be cost effective on short
run production lines that have as little as
a six month payback period, because a
versatile robot allows a manufacturer to
redeploy the robot to multiple successive
production lines. Robots will no longer
be seen as instruments for speciality
tasks – easily adapted, robots will be
universally used across the food industry.
I’m hoping to have some really profitable
conversations with industry professionals
and finding out how they feel robotics can
benefit their business as well as identifying
potential solutions to any problems they
may have.”
Justin King to take centre stage at
seminar theatre
A leading figure in the FMCG and Grocery
retailing sectors, Justin King CBE is set to
headline this year’s PPMA Show seminar
theatre. Taking to the stage, Justin will
discuss the future for multiple retailers,
how the growing market shares of discount
retailers will affect the supply