UK Government signs up for CIM 2002 and TEAM event

The Department of Trade and Industry’s recently launched Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) is to have a major presence at the TEAM exhibition and conference event (Total Engineering And Manufacturing) which runs from November 12—14 at the NEC, Birmingham and includes the Computers in Manufacturing (CIM) Show, now dubbed CIMroi (return on investment). For more details of the event, go to CIMroi The announcement follows the Government’s publication of its Manufacturing Strategy a couple of months ago and remarks this week by the Trade and Industry Secretary that “we have to think of manufacturing as an integral part of the future”. Organiser Penton Media Europe’s managing director Andy Center says says: “While Westminster has always declared that manufacturing matters, the fact that MAS will be playing a central role at TEAM is hard evidence that Government does take UK industry seriously.” MAS (http://www.dti.gov.uk/manufacturing/mas/index.htm), will join a long list of prominent organisations, like the TUC, Design Council, Engineering Industries Association and the British Fluid Power Association, Institute of Quality Assurance and the Kaizen Institute. Blue chips already committed include BT, Barclays and Abbey National, along with more than 100 of the top 200 manufacturing organisations in Europe. It’s a big undertaking. TEAM has involved Penton and Reed Exhibitions burying their differences and working together to subsume their respective flagship shows, Computers in Manufacturing and Tooling, and Manufacturing Week, to stage this 10 Show event. The Show portfolio now comprises CIM, Tooling, Metrology and Inspection, DES (Design Engineering Show), DMC (Drives Motors and Controls), Factory Automation, Factory Services, Fluid Power, Contract Manufacturing and Hand and Power Tool. And in 2004 to these will be added the British Fluid Power Association’s IFPEX (International Fluid Power Exhibition) rebranded as Motion and Control and moving alongside TEAM. Centre says the event is being groomed to be the Hanover Fair for the UK, “the largest and most significant annual forum for all of UK manufacturing industry.” CIM itself, with sponsorship from this journal, will focus on everything from ERP (enterprise systems), to CAD/Cam (design) systems, and on through CRM (customer relationship management), supply chain and so forth systems. In brief detail, there are to be four sub-shows covering the main aspects: Plan IT (ERP, APS and associated application integration), Automate IT (process management systems, SCADA, MES, etc), Source IT (e-procurement, supply network management, supplier relationship management, etc) and Design integration for CAD/CAM and DFM (design for manufacture). It’s also worth noting that the whole event now incorporates eight free seminar streams, with presentations promised from some of the leading brains in world-class manufacturing. Events include: Manufacturing Visions with a high level debate on the future of manufacturing with speakers from Government, EMTA, IEE, the TUC and the Design Council as well as Allied Distillers and Black and Decker; IT strategies, with a focus on product lifecycle management and supply chain issues led by BAT and Nestle; an ‘automation university’; and an ERP symposium. For this year, to date there are 600-plus exhibitors set to display products, systems and services. Visitors should be able to find all the answers they need to ‘move up the value chain and reap the benefits of high-skilled, knowledge-intensive manufacturing operations’ – which is where the DTI’s MAS comes in. This will be an opportunity to get talking with the Regional Centres for Manufacturing Excellence and the Regional Developments Agencies, the DTI’s Small Business Service Business Links and its network of Business Links in England (and with the Welsh Development Agency).