Buzz of positivity

easyFairs UK, organiser of MAINTEC 2012, says the event was a success yet again for both exhibitors and visitors, as the hall buzzed with conversations about the latest products and services on offer and visitors went away with new ideas, approaches and inspiration to improve their maintenance strategy for the coming year.

Exhibitor Andy Baker, UK and Ireland sales manager at FLIR Systems, said: "We've been exhibiting at MAINTEC for a number of years now, but this year seemed one of the best yet. We launched three new thermal cameras at the show, as well as discussing our latest software and other offerings. We were delighted by the response that we got from visitors, and have picked up a number of high quality leads." As well as new products and services, MAINTEC played host to some new insights revealed by its expert speakers. For instance, Simon Hatson, regional QSE manager at Britvic Soft Drinks, explained how the company's autonomous maintenance (AM) initiative is delivering results.

He says: "AM in our factories has yielded major improvements in our operational efficiency on the lines it has been completed upon. An improvement of just 5% in any of our factories significantly helps us to reduce waste, energy, packaging materials and unnecessary running time; that all adds up to a huge saving, while helping to make our teams feel more engaged in the process and give them more ownership of their machines." The learnShops programme included speakers from Siemens, Schaeffler, and Britvic. During the third day, the Dragons' Den-inspired contest 'Lions' Lair' took place, with Pickering Lifts winning the competition with its new HVLS Fans.

Matt Benyon, MD of easyFairs UK, concluded: "MAINTEC 2012 has to be our best yet. We could not be more delighted with this year's show, and hope our exhibitors and visitors have a productive year before we welcome them back in 2013." Maintec 2013 takes place from 5th to 7th March.