Page 5 - Spring Summer 2026

Industry News

• Maintenance • Controls, Drives and Automation, May 2026, p.2-14
• Connected Production • Plant and Works Engineering, Issue 492, April/May
2026, p.12-13
• AI and Industrial Data
• Hydraulics and Pneumatics, April/May 2026, p.42-
• Design and Product Innovation
43
• Manufacturers and Engineers of the Future
• Drives and Controls, May 2026, p.42-43
The event was augmented with eight Visitor Trails
• MEPCA Magazine, May 2026, p.14-15
dedicated to:
• Food and Drink Processing and Packaging, Issue
• Workforce Development and Upskilling
64, 2026, p.46
SMART • SMEs • Industrial Plant and Equipment, March/April 2026,
• Industrial Components and Maintenance p.3-17
MANUFACTURING WEEK • Design and Engineering The latter publication includes notably a feature

specifically dedicated to Maintec, and in particular its
• Sustainability and Circular Economy
official show partner Reliabilityweb, which has recently
• Supply Chain Resilience been acquired by Nineteen Group, the organiser of
Smart Manufacturing Week. Reliabilityweb delivered
• Digital Transformation
its Certified Reliability Leader course in partnership
• Innovation and Smart Technologies with the Association of Asset Management. This had
as its aim assisting organisations to shift away from
On each Trail various presentations were highlighted
reactive maintenance toward a proactive culture of
for visitors. Examples included:
Smart Manufacturing Week, researched and • Disruption events (machine failure and supply reliability. The course leads to a Certified Reliability Leader
produced by The Manufacturer magazine, returned chain issues) • ‘Making Manufacturers Superhuman - AI as a examination administered by the Association of Asset
to The National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, on Teammate, not a Tool’ Management Professionals, and over 4,000 professionals
• Cyber attack scenario (breach detection,
3rd. and 4th of June. • ‘Connected Worker - Why it matters and how it’s worldwide have so far completed it, the related Certified
response and recovery)
transforming Manufacturing’ Maintenance Manager and similar programmes.
It was a four-in-one event consisting of four
• Sustainability (energy, waste and carbon visibility)
interconnected sub-exhibitions, namely Smart • ‘Making Connectivity deliver real Operational Terrence O’Hanlon, Founder of Reliabilityweb,
Manufacturing Expo (the largest with around Innovation Alley returned showcasing fourteen promising Value’ comments:
250 exhibitors and the UK’s leading showcase for start-ups and small businesses that fell into the
• ‘New Generation of Ultrasound: AI-assisted “ The Certified Reliability Leader programme is
digital manufacturing and automation); Drives categories of ‘people’ (highlighting advances in workforce
Analysis’ about equipping professionals to lead change,
and Controls (with 31 exhibitors covering critical management and training), ‘product’ (focusing on not just manage equipment. It provides a
areas such as energy efficiency, machine safety, innovation in design and R and D), ‘process’ (productivity, • ‘Asset Tracking in Manufacturing with Airbus’
practical, cross-functional framework that
motion control and robotics); Design Engineering resilience, AI and supply chain optimisation), and ‘planet’ • ‘From Concept to Creation : Accelerating Product
(17 exhibitors covering areas created for designers (with an emphasis on sustainable manufacturing, energy Innovation and Development with Agentic AI connects maintenance, operations, engineering
and leadership. When reliability becomes a
and engineering professionals to gain insights from management and net zero strategies). Platform Accio Work by Alibaba.com’
pioneers pushing the boundaries of engineering); and shared responsibility across the organisation,
On the AccuBots stand in the Drives and Controls sub- • ‘Future-ready Quality : Balancing Quality with performance follows.”
Maintec (the longest-standing exhibition for predictive
exhibition, FightFest involved robot battles that engaged Speed in the AI Age’
maintenance, reliability and asset management with Engineering Maintenance Solutions, Issue 130, April/
students in competition with custom-made robots
62 exhibitors). • ‘Turning Data into Decarbonisation : The Digital May 2026, p.25-30, also includes a feature dedicated
working with professional teams.
Factory Story’ specifically to Maintec. This notably highlights three
In The Manufacturer, Vol.29 Issue 2, Q2 2026, Grace
The Digitalisation Summit united senior digitalisation of the Maintec presentations, namely:
Gilling, Event Director said: • ‘From Data to Decisions : Agentic AI in
and technology leaders to overcome major industry
Manufacturing and Energy’ • ’ Service Geeni - How to protect your Warehouse
“ All four of our co-located shows provide challenges and unlock the potential of digital
• ‘Same Outcome different Causes : Impacts of Automation Investment’, highlighting
a complete 360 degree view of modern technologies. maintenance blind spots that gradually erode
Business Interruption Risk from Cyber Attacks and
manufacturing. We’re bringing The Manufacturer
Smart Manufacturing Week was structured around Extreme Weather in Manufacturing Supply Chains’ reliability.
MX Awards reigning champions onto the keynote
five ‘pillars’, namely:
stage to share what’s genuinely working inside • ‘Architecting for Uncertainty : Building Digital • ‘Kluber Lubrication GB - The Future of Lubrication
their factories - so the ideas are grounded in real • Innovation and smart manufacturing Foundations that survive Volatility’ Condition Based and Automated’, examining
practice, not theory. We’ve also launched a brand how advancements in sensor technology and
• Digitalisation • ‘Building a Connected Factory: Lessons from Fine
new Meet the Buyer/Meet the Supplier programme automated lubrication systems enable real-time
Lady Bakeries’
designed to help visitors and exhibitors.” • Sustainability condition-based lubrication.(iii) ‘Touchstone -
• ‘Beyond the Dashboard : Why your Manufacturing Bringing disconnected Asset Data into a modern
Another new feature for 2026 is The Factory of the • People and skills Data isn’t working as hard as you are’ ready-to-use Platform’, demonstrating proven
Future, which consisted of an immersive virtual twin strategies for migrating to a unified platform with
• Supply chain resilience • ‘Brains and Brawn : Why Physical AI needs Private
experience serving as a high-impact, digitally-led minimal operational disruption.
5G to succeed in the Factory’
showcase illustrating how robotics, AI, digital twins and These were reflected in the seven Solutions theatres
cyber security interact in a connected system. The that took place at various locations at the event: In addition to The Manufacturer, the following journals There are also contributions from Maintec exhibitor
Ultimo, which explains some of the latest AI
Factory of the Future offered a guided journey through: have also included special features covering Smart
• Leadership and Strategy announcement, and ShireSystem, who demonstrated
Manufacturing Week:
• Optimised production (connected efficient factory) how modern asset management systems support
• Digital Transformation
day-to-day operations.
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