Get your tickets today for Made in the Midlands. More than 70 exhibitors and hundreds of manufacturing businesses will be attending a unique celebration of what Midlands industry has to offer. You can register tickets by visiting www.madeinthemidlands.com/events or clicking the events tab from the home page.
Last year, 500 Midlands manufacturing companies attended to do more business with one another, including some of the biggest firms in the region and the event received extensive coverage from the BBC - which can be seen here
Made in the Midlands currently represents 250 leading SME manufacturers and engineers in the region, each firm represented at boardroom level. This accounts for £1.76bn of regional turnover and many firms within the collective in 2011 have had the best year in their trading histories.
Here is some of the exhibitor feedback live from the 2011 event:
Chris Cocksedge, Purchasing Director, Makita
"We've come to localise components, to install local companies from Made in the Midlands to make our products."
Jason Aldridge, MD, Arrowsmith Engineering
"Made in the Midlands has grown over the last couple of years into a big community brining manufacturing firms together – an opportunity for us all to get together and work together. Their events are excellent regional events."
Stuart MacLaughlin, MD, Moog
"2011 was our first year with Made in the Midlands and we're pleased to be representing the aerospace industry – whilst we operate on a global scale, this is an opportunity to learn about other businesses to show them what we do. We bring along our supply chain team to identify opportunities for new suppliers – we're pleased to be part of it to communicate our changing requirements."
Bill Henderson, SMT Developments – MAN Group
"Made in the Midlands is showing that we have a real manufacturing base here in the region, and in the UK. What is helping is by meeting other companies, we can work together, improve our presence and we're pleased to share in the optimism in Made in the Midlands. Firms haven't got time for all of the other shows, so anything that makes it easier to share and for sensible money, without overstretching budgets to work together makes a lot of sense."
Keith Chadwick – Radshape
"Our business has been around for 40 odd years and through Made in the Midlands we have show everyone what we do and see how we can collaborate. I'm involved with this to spread the word of Radshape – whilst we have many capabilities, we can't do everything and we need a close network of firms that we can pass things to, we need to work together to enhance the region and help each other out."
Andy Essom – HT Brigham
"Manufacturing is going through a renaissance and we are part of Made in the Midlands for the common purpose of raising our profile and working together, we're all working to bring manufacturing back to the UK."
Mike Dimmack – Zero Cases
"We're part of Made in the Midlands to develop our supply chain - we send many of our products overseas and need good regional suppliers, but this also opens the door to potential customers and we've met both through Made in the Midlands."
Richard Perry, Threeway Pressings
"Our business comes through referrals so we're part of Made in the Midlands to network and make new opportunities for ourselves. This is important as it easy to be insular and keep in our familiar circles – so this is helping manufacturers to keep business here in the region. Businesses that don't work together stagnate so Made in the Midlands helps us look forward."
Matt Giles, TBF International
"We were approached by several companies we work with that recommended Made in the Midlands and we've finally found an organisation that brings us all together as a hub. Through Made in the Midlands we've been able to show our capabilities and share in the positivity Made in the Midlands encourages."
Gerry Dunne, Westley Engineering
"Made in the Midlands has helped to push Midlands manufacturing to the forefront of minds of many people in the UK. Both Westley Engineering and the Midlands Assembly Network ("MAN") are especially impressed with the media coverage generated to promote our organisation at the recent Made in the Midlands event."
David Lindsey, Laser Process
"Made in the Midlands is doing a wonderful job of promoting manufacturing and the initiative is really growing momentum now."