Taking place at Birmingham’s NEC on 14 – 16 September 2021, Subcon is the UK's premier subcontract manufacturing supply chain event, and provides manufacturing professionals from all industry sectors with the opportunity to meet and source new suppliers and solutions.
The event - which will be the NEC's first major UK engineering exhibition in eighteen months - comes at a pivotal time as businesses of all sizes recover from the impact of COVID-19 and adjust to the post-Brexit business landscape.
We are delighted to provide a long overdue opportunity for UK manufacturing to meet face to face once again
Gordon Kirk - Subcon Director
Subcon will be co-located with The Engineer Expo and also - for the first time - the highly popular Manufacturing Management Show.
A three day conference program, curated by The Engineer and Manufacturing Management magazines, will run alongside the exhibitions. The full lineup of speakers will be announced shortly.
Gordon Kirk, Subcon event director, said: “We are delighted to be bringing Subcon back this September and provide a long overdue opportunity for UK manufacturing to meet face to face once again.
“The past 18-months has been unprecedented and Subcon will shine a light on the untold challenges and opportunities this industry is facing, including the supply chain disruption caused by the pandemic and how that has served to highlight the true value of a reliable, local supply chain offering short lead time and better quality.
This year's event will also see a return of the popular The Launchpad and Launchpad Awards , a special feature of the event dedicated to providing start-ups and entrepreneurs throughout the sector with a valuable platform for sharing innovation and earning much-needed recognition and brand awareness among thousands of engineering and manufacturing professionals.
To qualify, businesses must be under three years old with a product or service that relates to engineering and/or manufacturing. Up to eight businesses will be given a free stand in the Launchpad area at the show, offered expert advice and marketing support and automatically entered into the 2021 Launchpad Awards. Applications are open now at www.subconshow.co.uk/launchpad and close on 1st August 2021.
Launchpad Award participants will be allocated a five-minute slot to present their innovation to a panel of expert judges including Subcon event director Gordon Kirk and editor of The Engineer Jon Excell. The winner will be announced at the show and receive a free stand on the main show floor at Subcon 2022 worth £10,000, plus ongoing PR and marketing support to help increase brand awareness.
“We’re very excited about the return of the Launchpad competition," said Jon Excell. "Its debut in 2019 uncovered some truly inspirational and potentially game-changing UK engineering innovators and disruptors spanning a range of sectors, so we’re really looking forward to welcoming it back and seeing this year’s crop of entries.”
The headline sponsors for Subcon 2021 are IAMP and SCS Concept Group and 80 per cent of stand space has been sold, with the likes of Hoffman Group UK, Wilson Process Systems, Oldham Engineering confirmed to exhibit.
The event will be run in accordance with Government guidance on COVID-19, ensuring a safe and comfortable environment.
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