Southern Manufacturing Show outlines seminar plan

An European Trade and Exhibition Services product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Dec 4, 2006

The organisers of the Southern Manufacturing Show have announced the programme for its popular Technical Seminar Programme

The Programme runs over both days of the show - February 7th and 8th 2007 - and is completely free to attend for visitors and exhibitors alike.

The free seminar programme, like the Southern Manufacturing Show itself, is aimed squarely at delivering tangible benefits to engineering and industrial SMEs across the region.

A regular feature of the Southern Manufacturing Show, the Technical Seminar Programme is considered by many delegates to be an essential annual event and is always well supported.

The Southern Manufacturing Technical Seminar programme is sponsored by the Engineering Industries Association, Production Engineering Solutions magazine and the Manufacturing Advisory Service - South East, (MAS-SE) the government body responsible for assisting manufacturers in the South East region.

Presenters from the MAS-SE will host two keynote seminars on each day of the show, focussing on improving manufacturing processes and efficiency.

During the morning session on each day, Wayne Davies of the MAS-SE will examine Six Sigma and its relevance for SMEs.

In the afternoon, Stewart Barrass will discuss how Lean Thinking can improve competitiveness, reduce waste and shorten lead times.

A further presentation by Michael West of BeStrategic, in association the MAS-SE will look at 'Succeeding at New Product Development'- revealing techniques for new product development, strategy and branding.

As well as hosting seminars, MAS-SE advisors will be on hand throughout the show at the MAS-SE stand to offer one-on-one advice.

Of particular interest this year will be two presentations looking at the issue of international business.

On the first day, John Greaves of CIS, plus special guest speakers, will host an open forum discussion on the pros and cons of procuring or manufacturing abroad.

This will be followed on day two by an authoritative look at trends in international supply networks, by Jag Srai, Senior Industrial Research Fellow and Co-Director of the Institute for Manufacturing at the University of Cambridge.

Other topical issues addressed by this year's seminar programme will include a review of CE marking regulations and how they affect manufacturers, the development of Rapid Prototyping and Rapid Tooling Technologies and their impact on manufacturing in the future, and a presentation by Martin Charter of The Centre for Sustainable Design on ECO design strategies.

The Southern Manufacturing Show seminar programme is a fantastic opportunity for SMEs to acquire the very latest knowledge in each of the topics under review, delivered by acknowledged experts in their respective fields.

Free access to such quality advice is rare, and is just one reason why the Southern Manufacturing Show enjoys such strong support from engineering and manufacturing businesses across the region.

Attendance at all the seminars is free and open to all visitors and exhibitors at Southern Manufacturing.

However, demand is always high and so pre-booking is advised.

Visitor pre-registration for the event and seminars, together with full event information, is available online.

Entry to the Southern Manufacturing Show is free, with easy road access via junctions 11 or 13 of the M25, free parking is available as are frequent courtesy coach transfers from Staines railway station.