Southern Electronics I Preview
Holding a mirror to UK Electronics
CIE takes a look at next month’s Southern Electronics show and finds out why it has become, in the eyes of many industry professionals, the UK’s leading electronics trade show
S
outhern Manufacturing & Electronics is returning to FIVE in Farnborough on February 15th and 16th 2012 and,
according to its organisers, is promising an even greater number of exhibitors and features than featured in last year’s record- breaking show. Exhibitions are something of a paradox; to be successful, an exhibition has to combine dependability with the perennial promise of something new and exciting. If successfully balancing these objectives can be judged by consistently surpassing attendance records and exhibitor numbers each year, then Southern Electronics can be proud of what it has achieved to date. Now in its 11th year, the show has broken attendance records for the last three years running, growing in size and stature to become what many industry professionals consider to be the premier electronics event in the UK. The rate of growth took a dramatic upswing following the show’s relocation to its new home in Farnborough in 2008. Co- located with the Southern Manufacturing and Auto Aero shows, Southern Electronics has grown to occupy around 50% of the total exhibition area and is now attracting exhibitors from all over the UK, and indeed as far away as the USA and China. But despite this growth, the basic formula of the show has remained constant. “Southern Electronics is primarily a show for SMEs,” says Show Director, Phil Valentine. “The UK electronics business is built upon small to medium enterprises and on specialist suppliers offering high- value engineering expertise. The format of Southern Electronics suits these kinds of businesses very well.” Despite its long- running success, the organisers have kept stand space within reach of the SME exhibitor, allowing an incredible range of suppliers to take part. “Walking the show is like taking a snap-shot of the entire UK electronics business – virtually every aspect is represented, which makes it possible for visitors to meet a whole range of suppliers in a single visit.”
28 December 2011/January 2012
The show enjoys an incredible level of support from its regular exhibitors, with most returning year on year. “Consistency is a very important aspect to the show,” argues Valentine. “Visitors have to be confident that they are going to see enough of value to warrant time away from the normal routine.” With so many well-know firms returning every year, such confidence is very rarely misplaced. But consistency does not mean
predictability. Southern Electronics 2012 will be both bigger than the 2011 event and feature new areas that will appeal to visiting electronics professionals. Hall 2 - an additional 750m” added last year alongside the Electronics area – will house a new Electronics Production, Automation and Machine Control area. The extra floor space will be needed: The exhibition area booked for 2012 passed the 2011 total in October, with the organisers predicting a further 900m” of exhibitors will be confirmed before the show opens. For many of these, Southern Electronics 2012 will be their first. Phil Valentine: “Something like 20% of exhibitors will be appearing at Southern for the first time”. Like the show itself, the newcomers are a diverse mixture. But there are interesting trends emerging. “We are seeing a steady increase in the number of companies and visitors involved in medical devices,” says Phil Valentine. “Something like 20% visitors in 2011 were involved with medical manufacturing and this area seems to be growing very strongly.” Reflecting this trend, the show’s ever- popular free technical seminar programme will highlight the opportunities in the UK medical manufacturing sector. A key session, delivered by Karen Booth of the University of Sheffield Health Gateway, will examine in detail the growing opportunities in the UK’s burgeoning Medical Devices and Healthcare technology business. Booth will be joined by a host of influential new speakers and leading experts in their fields presenting in 2012, including representatives from The Smart Group (Surface Mount & Related
Components in Electronics
Technologies), BAE Systems, EDF Energy, NAMRC, Farnborough Aerospace Consortium, University of Sheffield and The Composite Systems Innovation Centre, amongst others. With sessions running over two days in two theatres, there is no shortage of choice.
Popular sessions on How to Succeed at Product Development, Successful
Innovation and the principles of Manufacturing Best Practice, will return in 2012. New topics approached this year include How to Sell to the Energy Sector and Doing Business Abroad. Other topics covered include practical sessions on marketing, Lean, CE marking and many more. ■
www.cieonline.co.uk
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