Product category:
Engineering Exhibitions and Events
News Release from: Subcon
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 25 April 2005
Subcon show gains international
dimension
Subcon will offer visitors a single point of contact for all their subcontracting requirements and an exceptional opportunity to build new sourcing partnerships.
Subcon, the UK's only exhibition dedicated to subcontract manufacturing services, will offer visitors a single point of contact for all their subcontracting requirements and an exceptional opportunity to build new sourcing partnerships Subcon 2005 will be held at the NEC, Birmingham, from 24th to 26th May
Over 120 companies and organisations will be showcasing their services at the show, with the services on offer will ranging far beyond the traditional areas of machining and sheet metal work.
Although subcontractors from these established areas are naturally well-represented, they are complemented by companies offering services such as electrical and electronic manufacture, design services, castings and forgings, plastic and rubber components, mould making, assembly, medical engineering and even nanotechnology.
Subcon is truly international too - with representation from Europe, Scandinavia, Turkey, India and the Far East.
This year's event see more than twice as many exhibitors from Spain, for example, as well as new exhibitors from Turkey, France, Scandinavia, China and the USA.
These overseas companies are complemented by a number of specialists from the growing area of strategic sourcing services - one of which, Shakespeare International, is even offering visitors the chance to win a free trip to Shanghai.
According to Stan Hardy of the Confederation of British Metalforming, one of the speakers in the Subcon seminar programme, companies who see China and other low wage economies as a threat should instead open their eyes to the opportunities they present.
"Although China has and will continue to distort the global market and economy, even UK companies can trade successfully by exporting to China, entering joint ventures with Chinese companies and subcontracting to Chinese companies".
"The growth of China's middle class and its disposable income has created a consumer demand which the Chinese economy cannot satisfy with some surprising results for UK OEMs and their component suppliers", he says.
Another speaker, Jay Bal of Warwick Manufacturing Group, agrees and says that UK-based subcontractors can use their skills to add value and knowledge when OEMs want to source from low-cost markets.
"They are never going to be able to compete on price", he says, "but they can act as a vital intermediary - interpreting and policing requirements - as well as adding high value finishing operations to semifinished products coming in from overseas suppliers".
"The cost of these part-completed components could be scarcely more than the cost of the metal would be here".
Subcon's specially commissioned programme of free seminars focuses on best practice in supply chain strategy, maximising the benefits of the global market and exploiting the benefits of new technology.
The keynote presentation is a masterclass in using supply chain improvement projects to implement lean processes from a global tier one automotive industry supplier, Collins and Aikman, which supplies car interiors to the worlds leading manufacturers.
Automotive supply chain issues are also addressed in a series of presentations from the SMMT's Industry Forum and Warwick Manufacturing Group's International Automotive Research Centre, and Jafar Tall of the SBAC looks at the supply chain initiatives of the Aerospace Innovation and Growth Team.
Other presentations focus on supply chain issues in healthcare and the threats and opportunities of international sourcing.
All these seminars are free and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Visitors can take part in as many sessions as they wish.
Demand for these sessions is certain to be high, but visitors can be sure of a place by prebooking on the show website. Request free introductory details about products from Subcon ...
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