Government is part of TEAM

The Government has backed up its ambition to put UK manufacturing at the top of the national agenda by announcing that the Department of Trade and Industry’s Manufacturing Advisory Service will have a major presence at TEAM – Total Engineering And Manufacturing . Eureka is prime sponsor for the Design Enigneering Show (DES) and is also sponsoring Drives, Motors and Controls (DMC) and the Fluid Power sections. Hot on the heels of the publication of The Manufacturing Strategy – the Government’s blueprint for helping companies ‘fulfil their potential’ – and following remarks this week by the Trade and Industry Secretary that “we have to think of manufacturing as an integral part of the future”, comes the news that the Manufacturing Advisory Service is joining organisations like the TUC and the Design Council in taking part in TEAM at the NEC, Birmingham, on 12-14 November. In addition, leading industry and trade bodies like the Engineering Industries Association and the British Fluid Power Association, as well as blue chip companies such as BT, Barclays and Abbey National business, will join with organisations like the Institute of Quality Assurance and the Kaizen Institute to stage the largest and most significant annual forum for all of UK industry. TEAM embraces 10 dedicated events and will feature over 500 exhibitors displaying products, solutions and services that will help all types of manufacturers to improve their bottom-line performance. It is also incorporating eight free seminar streams where visitors can hear presentations from some of the leading brains in world-class manufacturing, including speakers from Chambers of Commerce, IEE, the Design Council, the Engineering and Manufacturing Agency, TUC, Allied Distillers, Heineken, Perkins Engines and many more. The result will be that visitors will 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’. This, says the DTI’s Manufacturing Advisory Service, is where it can play a key role. Working in close co-operation with Regional Developments Agencies, the Small Business Service Business Links and its network of Business Links in England (and with the Welsh Development Agency), MAS is based on the establishment of Regional Centres for Manufacturing Excellence. Each centre has teams of experts who can provide face-to-face contact with manufacturers to, for example, diagnose problems and identify solutions and opportunities. Commenting on the Government’s endorsement of TEAM, Andy Center, managing director of TEAM organiser Penton Media Europe, 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 – in much the same way as all the major trade bodies, exhibitors and visitors who are supporting TEAM. “Another recent endorsement of our creation of this ‘super show’, and how TEAM is a reflection of the trend towards collaborative manufacturing, is the recent move by the British Fluid Power Association to re-brand its International Fluid Power Exhibition (IFPEX) as Motion and Control and move it alongside TEAM from the year 2004." Sir Ronald Halstead CBE, FRSC, President of the Engineering Industries Association, comments: “The EIA is one of the leading trade associations for the industry in the UK. We represent, advise and offer practical help to small and medium-sized companies. TEAM is an ideal event for companies to attend to promote their products and view the latest in engineering technology, and we are delighted to support the show.” And Jim Smith, of the British Standards Institute, adds: “TEAM is the perfect opportunity for industry to meet on an annual basis. It’s a must for engineering professionals.” With three months to go before TEAM opens its doors, and with almost 80 per cent of stand space sold and thousands of visitors already pre-registered, TEAM is well on course to achieving its super-show status, as Andy Center concludes: “And with support from organisations like the Manufacturing Advisory Service, we will not only put UK manufacturing at the top of the national agenda, but we will also keep it there!” TEAM – Total Engineering And Manufacturing – comprises ten dedicated events covering all products and solutions for every type of manufacturer: Computers In Manufacturing; Tooling; Factory Automation; Hand & Power Tools; Fluid Power; Design Engineering Show; Drives, Motors & Controls; Metrology and Inspection Zone; Factory Services; and Contract Manufacturing. Plus eight free seminar programmes covering the major issues, innovations and gurus from industry. Visitors can register for free entry at the show's web site. www.teamshow.co.uk