Industry 4.0 Summit is delighted to welcome Richard Halstead of the manufacturers organisation EEF as Chair of the first day of its second annual event.

Industry 4.0 Summit is delighted to welcome Richard Halstead of the manufacturers organisation EEF as Chair of the first day of its second annual event.

The 2nd edition, which takes place on the 28th Feb - 1st March 2018 at the Manchester Central Convention Complex, aims to build on the success of the inaugural event that attracted almost 300 conference delegates and a plethora of great speakers from government, industry associations and manufacturers & technology leaders such as Airbus, ABB, Siemens, TechUK, Gambica, IBM & Unilever.

The Industry 4.0 Summit is again aiming to set the bar high with outstanding speakers showcasing adoption of industry 4.0 which will help UK manufacturers get a better understanding about implementing it across their organisations.

Running alongside the summit is its sister event the Factories of the Future Expo, which will showcase cutting edge technologies & solutions to enable companies to transform their manufacturing operations and make them smarter.

EEF Membership Engagement Director of the North, Richard Halstead will oversee proceedings on the first day of the Summit and looks forward to sharing experiences with a stellar line-up of speakers from leading companies who have adopted industry 4.0 and have real cases studies to share. Companies confirmed to speak include GE Digital Europe, Schneider Electric, TRUMPF UK, Babcock, the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) & INTEL.

Jo Britton, Marketing Director at EEF commented "The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is the biggest change in UK manufacturing in a generation. Our survey of manufacturers reveals that 80% believe that 4IR will be an industry reality by 2025. At EEF, were working with manufacturers to ensure they are on the right track to take advantage of the opportunities that new technologies bring and to prepare and train the workforce with the types of skills needed for the future"

Hosted in Manchester - the worlds first industrial city - the Industry 4.0 Summit will attract manufacturers from around the UK and further afield to see how industry 4.0 will impact their operations and provide business models, and technology solutions to do so. The last event attracted visitors as far afield as Australia, Brazil, Vietnam, Myanmar and Japan to see how the UK is adapting for the 4th industrial revolution.

Emma Hilditch, Conference Director, commented "Building on the success of this years inaugural event has been challenging. Industry 4.0 is a growing area of concern for manufacturing companies, large and small. Clearly the big players are further down the road but the fact that these leading global companies wish to share stories and knowledge only confirms the importance of this topic. We even have some hard-won case study presentations showing that UK manufacturing is not just talking about Industry 4.0 they are also putting it into practice and reaping the benefits."

She added "We are absolutely delighted that we have received the support of EEF and that Richard Halstead has accepted our invitation to chair. In addition, EEF will have an exhibition booth where their experts will be available to provide visitors with advice on digital transformation."

The organisers will be delivering 40 leading speakers on industry 4.0, IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) and smart factories. The event aims to attract 300 conference delegates as well as 80 exhibiting companies & 2,000 visitors to the free-to-attend trade exhibition.