Event gathers momentum

With major new show features, lots of first time exhibitors, plus a growing HAZEX area, there's a real buzz building around easyFairs MAINTEC 2013, which returns to the NEC in Birmingham on 5-7 March 2013

The first big new initiative for 2013 is the MAINTEC Conference. Run throughout the show, this will provide an opportunity for all those involved in plant or facilities maintenance to hear from leading experts and practitioners. Names such as John Davenport, operations director, Alcon; Paul Dennis, technical facilities manager, Experian; and Dr Sethuraman Muthuraman, condition monitoring engineer, Scottish & Southern Energy, will draw on their experiences, new research and case studies as they explore the industry's hottest topics, challenges and trends.

Award winners unveiled Adding some awards drama to the proceedings, the winners of the MAINTEC 2013 Maintenance Professional Awards will be announced on the show floor. The awards recognise those who have applied know-how and technology to the maintenance process and delivered real commercial benefits as a result. There are two categories: 'Maintenance Professional of the Year' and, in support of newer entrants to the industry, 'Maintenance Apprentice of the Year.' Paul Sacker, managing director of Crimson Industrial Vision and Mike Brook, business development director at ERIKS Industrial Services are on the judging panel. Mike Brook explains why he thinks the awards are a good thing: "It is hard enough for maintenance to get recognition from within its own company that it is doing a good job, so for maintenance professionals to get recognised by peers at MAINTEC for the job they are doing and to be given an award for it, not only encourages the winner but also boosts the maintenance profession as a whole." Paul Sacker agrees: "At a time when all businesses are managing their costs very tightly, the management of maintenance can be crucial in ensuring profitability.

Maintenance professionals have been the unsung heroes within a business for too long and they should receive due reward for their contribution to the efficient running of plant and equipment."

Exhibitors On the exhibitor front, MAINTEC 2013 will see show regulars such as Schaeffler (UK), Flowcrete UK, R.Stahl, ERIKS, Idhammar Systems, SPM Instrument, PRUFTECHNIK and Prevost UK joined by an array of new exhibitors such as James Walker, Decksafe Solutions, AW Chesterton, Metool, SAACKE Combustion, Intertek, Keytracker and Lubricus Grutzner and Ernst Schad.

First time exhibitor, SAACKE Combustion, will be outlining how it has helped Harveys Brewery, the oldest independent brewery in Sussex, improve the operation of its boiler plant. The small turndown of the burner on Harveys new boiler meant that to maintain the boiler at its required level the burner would start and stop every few minutes. This significantly reduced plant efficiency.

SAACKE recommended fitting a burner with a superior turndown, thus allowing the boiler to match the site's steam demand. Alongside this SAACKE fitted its SCanView, a combined burner management and air/fuel ratio controller. It also identified the brewery's original feed water system as an area for improvement and using its SCanView Boiler Water Control controlled the flow of water from the pump - reducing wear and tear on the pump motor.

MCP Consulting and Training will show how an Operator Asset Care programme equips the very people operating production equipment to improve its reliability and performance.

T-Cards Direct is launching the latest upgrade to its new T-Cards Online at the show. Developed over two years, it is a webbased tool that helps keep track, allocate, and improve efficiency. All the features and benefits of a traditional T-Card system are present plus additional special features that an online system offers. Clients can use the system to keep track of engineers and contractors out on site.

Xetec will show its FlexMaint computerised maintenance management software. It is both network and web based, and has a facility to edit every menu, button and screen, not only from customer to customer, but also from user to user within a company.

Food and drink processors looking for proactive assistance in the handling, evaluation, and control of maintenance chemicals should check out the CRC Industries UK stand. It will be demonstrating its new StopLight Food Safety Programme. The colour coding system, developed specifically for MRO chemicals, is said to be beneficial in the control of chemical product movements. It gives users and auditors an instant, verifiable, visual check on the products going into and being used in zones. By assigning a colour-code to each applicable factory department, and to each Ambersil product, the system limits or negates the potential problem of MRO chemicals being taken into an area that they are prohibited from. Furthermore because it complements existing HACCP controls and policies a company may have, the system is easy to adopt.

Valves from steam system and flow control specialist Valveforce, are playing a key part in the success of a new balloon dipping plant supplied to China by Greenbrook Automation. Valveforce's Thermal Oil Threeway Pneumatic Control Valves are proving robust and reliable. Furthermore, in addition to thermal oil, Valveforce's pneumatic control valves can be designed to handle a wide range of fluids such as steam, water, nitrogen and natural gases.

Dust extraction specialist, Dustcontrol UK, will be showcasing its latest centralised dust vacuum system. The DC 11 Module is a complete central unit for source extraction and industrial cleaning. The company can install one of these systems in a plant within just a few days, with limited disruption to plant productivity. Plus, by reducing noise to 65 dB(A), this makes the DC 11 Module easier to fit in a building where noise is a challenge.

The ranks of exhibitors will be further swelled by the HAZEX area, which made a promising debut at the show in 2012. The area, which is supported by Sira Test & Certification, brings many of the UK's top hazard prevention experts under one roof to address the growing health and safety responsibilities of engineering professionals.

learnShops & Lions Lair Providing yet more show content will be the 'free to attend' learnShops seminar programme. Featuring 38 sessions across two theatres, the learnShops will explore an array of practical topics such as John Roberts of Idhammer Systems assessing the link between Energy Reduction, OEE and ROI, through to Mike O'Brien, of Newson Gale De-mystifying the Hazards associated with Static Electricity.

There will also be the Dragons' Den inspired contest 'Lions' Lair' where new maintenance and engineering technologies, innovations and concepts are pitched to an expert panel in a bid to be voted best of show.

Institutions Show supporter, the Institution of Diagnostic Engineers (IDE) will host a spring conference during MAINTEC. This will also be attended by members of the Institution of Local Exhaust & Ventilation Engineers, another show supporter.

IDE chief executive, Bill Parker, says: "We' would urge all our members to put the dates in their diary. MAINTEC will be a good opportunity to discuss latest issues, meet all the suppliers they need, catch up with new technologies and refresh their knowledge." MAINTEC is free to attend and visitor registration is now open: www.easyfairs.com/ maintecuk.

A more in-depth preview of MAINTEC 2013 will appear in the Maintenance supplement that accompanies IP&E's January/February 2013 issue.