April 2020

NEWS n 5 Drives & Controls Show is postponed until January 2021 THE DRIVES & CONTROLS EXHIBITION and the other shows that were due to take place at the NEC this month, have been postponed because of the Coronavirus outbreak. The exhibitions – Fluid Power & Systems, Air-Tech, Plant & Asset Management and Smart Industry Expo as well as Drives & Controls – will now take place from 25-27 January, 2021, alongside the Mach exhibition, which also been rescheduled by its organiser, the Manufacturing Technologies Association. Ian Atkinson, managing director of DFA Media, which publishes Drives & Controls and organises the exhibitions, says:“As a responsible events organiser, ensuring the health and well- being of all our exhibitors, contractors and visitors (many of whom face travel restrictions) has to be our top priority, and it is therefore with reluctance that we have taken the decision to postpone the event until January. “The rescheduled dates provide clarity and ensure we have the time and the space to deliver the same high-quality event we promised, providing a safe and secure environment conducive to business, networking and career development for the manufacturing sector that we serve.” The rescheduled Mach exhibition will now run for four days rather than the five days originally planned. The epidemic has taken its toll on other industry events planned for the coming months, some of which have been postponed while others have been cancelled. The organisers of the world’s biggest industrial trade show, the Hannover Fair , which was due to take place this month, initially announced that it would be postponed until July. They later abandoned this plan and announced that the event had been cancelled. The next Fair will take place in April 2021. To bridge the gap, Hannover’s organisers are planning a“digital information and networking offer”that, they say,“will provide exhibitors and visitors with the opportunity for economic policy orientation and technological exchange”. The Industry 4.0 Summit & Expo , which was due to take place in Manchester a few weeks ago, was cancelled, The organiser, GB Media and Events, was subsequently placed into liquidation. The table below summarises the current state of play for some of the major industrial events scheduled for the rest of the year. Among those being postponed are the German robotics show Automatica and the new Sensor Show which was due to run alongside it in Munich in June. Both have now been rescheduled to December. The biennial Hillhead quarrying event that was due to take place in Derbyshire in June, has been put back by a year until June 2021. At the moment, most of the events scheduled to take place after the summer are sticking to their original dates. www.drives-expo.com www.drivesncontrols.com April 2020 Event Location Original Dates Latest status* Web site Drives & Controls Show NEC , Birmingham 21-23 April Postponed to 25-27 Jan, 2021 www.drives-expo.com MACH NEC , Birmingham 20-24 April Postponed to 25-28 Jan, 2021 www.machexhibition.com Hannover Messe Germany 20–24 April Cancelled www.hannovermesse.de UKIVA Conference & Exhibition Milton Keynes 14 May Cancelled www.machinevisionconference.co.uk Automatica 2020 Munich, Germany 16-19 June Postponed to 8–11 December www.automatica-munich.com The Sensor Show Munich, Germany 16-19 June Postponed to 8-11 December www.thesensorshow.com Hillhead 2020 Buxton, UK 23-25 June Postponed to 22-24 June, 2021 www.hillhead.comt PPMA Show NEC, Birmingham 29 Sept – 1 October Going ahead www.ppmashow.co.uk Northern Manufacturing & Electronics Manchester 7-8 October Going ahead www.industrynorth.co.uk Engineering Design Show Coventry 14-15 October Going ahead www.engineerindesignshows.co.uk Sensors & Instrumentation Live NEC, Birmingham 29-30 September Going ahead www.sensorsandinstrumentationlive.co.uk Advanced Engineering 2020 NEC, Birmingham 4-5 November Going ahead www.advancedengineeringuk.com Smart Factory Expo Liverpool 11-12 November Going ahead digital-manufacturing-week.com SPS Germany 24–26 November Going ahead https://sps.mesago.com/events/en * The information in this table is subject to change. It was correct at the time of this issue going to press.