It is hard to know where to begin. When we decided, three or so years ago, to move Halls for the 2018 show – from Halls 4 and 5 over to the atrium side of the NEC Halls 17, 18, 19, 20, 7 and 6, we hoped that the new look MACH would be a huge success and enable our exhibitors to benefit from a refresh of the show. 

We are pleased to report that we have been overwhelmed by the positive responses to MACH 2018 and we’re ready to make it even better in 2020. 

MACH is a shop window for the industry, enabling companies to assess their manufacturing technology needs and see some of the equipment that can improve their businesses in action. 

We were pleased to see the growth of trade visitors to the show, with a 5% increase on 2016. We pride ourselves on creating a fertile environment for all of our exhibitors to do business and that’s what you see across the whole show – business being done. We have heard and seen plenty of stories about companies selling machines directly from their stands, which of course is fantastic.

MACH can also help change perceptions of the industry, which is why we work so hard to bring students into the show and introduce them to the world of advanced engineering.

There is certainly a lot to take in at any big exhibition and we wanted to improve the visitor and exhibitor experience to ensure everyone got the most out of MACH 2018. 

MACH isn't just the top UK manufacturing technology showcase; it is also the manufacturing show with the most government and industry engagement. We were pleased to welcome Juergen Maier CEO of Siemens UK and author of the excellent Made Smarter review, who delivered one of the best seminars of exhibition.

We were also able to release an important piece of research that the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) commissioned on the ‘True Impact of Manufacturing’ on the UK economy. This report revealed that manufacturing accounts for nearly a quarter of the economy and more than 7.4 million jobs depend on it. 

For the first time ever, the study, by world leading economics consultancy Oxford Economics, has taken into account the full impact of the UK’s manufacturing economy, including the indirect effect of increasingly complex supply chains and the induced effect of the spending that manufacturer’s wages create in the economy. And of course what better backdrop to release this information than at the UK’s biggest advanced engineering showcase.

This report enabled us to attract three Government ministers to MACH 2018 to speak with our exhibitors and members about the support they need going forward to help UK manufacturing thrive and grow. 

MACH 2018 may have come and gone, but the important work the MTA does in supporting the industry and creating a platform to showcase the immense talent in the UK continues. MACH 2020 might seem a long way in the future, but plans are already being put in place to ensure we continue to grow as an exhibition and create the right platform for exhibitors to do business. We’re already looking forward to welcoming you back to the NEC in 2020.