July/August 2020

n NEWS July/August 2020 www.drivesncontrols.com 6 THE GOVERNMENT HAS given the green light for trade exhibitions to start again from October this year. One of the first events to be held will be the cluster of nine manufacturing exhibitions, including the Drives & Controls Show and the Smart Industry Expo, taking at place at the Birmingham NEC next January. The Association of Events Organisers (AEO) has issued new guidelines – endorsed by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport – to ensure that shows and exhibitions can go ahead safely. The guidelines, known as the All Secure Standard, cover aspects such as social distancing, crowd densities, staggered admissions, visitor transport, conferences, food and drinks, cleaning and communications. Three more events – the subcontract manufacturing show Subcon, The Engineer Expo and the Manufacturing Management Show – have recently joined the NEC January line-up, potentially creating the largest UK manufacturing event in a generation. The roster now includes: n Drives & Controls n Smart Industry Expo n Air-Tech n Fluid Power & Systems n Plant & Asset Management n Mach 2021 n Subcon n The Engineer Expo n The Manufacturing Management Show The first five of these events are being organised by DFA Media, the publisher of Drives & Controls , Smart Machines & Factories , and Hydraulics & Pneumatics magazines. Mach is organised by the MTA, and the three new events by MA Exhibitions. The DFA events will run for three days from Monday 25 January until Wednesday 27. The Mach show will run for four days from 25–28 January, and the three new events will run for three days from 26–28 January. Together, the events will take over eight halls of the NEC and are expected to attract many thousands of visitors, who will be able to access all of the events. The previous DFA events in 2018 attracted more than 13,500 visitors, while more than 23,100 attended the five-day Mach event. When it was last held in 2019, the Subcon show attracted more than 250 exhibitors and more than 4,000 visitors. “January 2021 will be a pivotal period for UK manufacturing, therefore the Drives & Controls Show and its co-located events will be a unique opportunity to help manufacturers source the technologies they need to help them both recover and take advantage of new opportunities,”says DFA Media’s managing director, Ian Atkinson. The organisers of Mach and Subcon say that, by pooling their resources, expertise and experience, they will be better able to help UK manufacturing and engineering businesses to bounce back as the economy starts to rebuild and adapts to the “new normal”. “We want to create a celebration of UK manufacturing and engineering, where we can showcase all of the amazing work that this industry has done in the battle against Covid-19, not just in the UK, but overseas as well,”says Subcon portfolio director Gordon Kirk. www.drives-expo.com Government gives the go-ahead for trade shows to restart p The automation and controls distributor Routeco has announced a restructuring of its branch network to create customer service centres in Manchester, Leeds, Bristol and Milton Keynes. It says it has been planning the changes for 18 months and they are not a response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It adds that it has retained some of its staff in a“remote working capacity”and has thus“minimised several redundancies”. The company, which is part of Sonepar UK and employs around 200 people, plans to invest in areas such as technical workshops, technology updates and networking sessions. In a separate move, YamahaMotor Europe Factory Automation has appointed Routeco to distribute its robots, controls and accessories in the UK. p The Brazilianmotors and controls manufacturer WEG is acquiring a 51%stake in Mvisia , a Brazilian start- up specialising in applying AI (artificial intelligence) to computer vision systems for industry. The acquisition is part ofWEG’s strategy of expanding itsWEG Digital Solutions and IoTWEGnology IoT platforms, which it launched recently tomeet Industry 4.0 demands. p Bonfiglioli has merged its UK operations, previously located in Warrington and Redditch, to create a new 2,416m 2 facility in Calver Quay, Warrington. The company says that the move will give it more space, improved logistics, upgraded IT systems, and improved customer service. The operations being brought together are Discrete Manufacturing & Process Industries and Mobility &Wind Industries. The new site will combine assembly operations with storage, and will employ 23 people. p Microsoft is buying the Israeli IoT/OT cybersecurity specialist, CyberX , for an undisclosed sum, reported to be around $165m. The acquisition will complement Microsoft’s existing Azure IoT security capabilities and extend them to devices such as those used in industrial IoT, OT (operational technology) and infrastructure applications. p Cheltenham-based ALS Controls has changed its name to ALS Mechatronic as it expands into new sectors, and has formed a partnership with the with the South African industrial turnkey company Directech which is active in areas includingmachine-building, AGVs, robotics and packaging. ALS says the partnershipmeans that it can widen its automation capabilities. ALS has recently set up an office in the US and says it is recruiting extra staff. The Drives & Controls Show will be one of nine manufacturing events drawing visitors to the NEC in January 2021 NEWS BRIEFS