ORGANISERS of the recent PPMA Show have hailed the event a ‘triumph’ after thousands of visitors attended the three-day exhibition at the NEC Birmingham.
More than 300 exhibitors showcased the latest solutions and innovations in processing and packaging machinery, robotics and industrial vision systems.
Peter Williamson, PPMA CEO, said it was clear from the first day that visitors had a ‘solid purpose’ to make contact and purchase equipment.
He added, “The fact that several of our exhibitors were selling straight from the show floor demonstrates that. Of course, this is great news for our members and for us as an organisation. We can confidently say that PPMA Show 2023 was a massive success and has once again proven itself to be the premier process and packaging machinery event in the UK.”
Visitor registrations were described as exceeding those of the previous years, with PPMA chairman James Causebrook revealing it looks to have been a good show both in terms of footfall and quality of leads. “Well done to the PPMA staff and the exhibitors on yet again setting the benchmark on how to do an industrial exhibition,” he stated.
PPMA Show director Richard Little said he was delighted that the event was as good as it’s ever been, in fact since well before Covid. “Many visitors were new to the PPMA show and it’s excellent that they had heeded the call to take advantage of all the experience in the room to help solve problems and improve processes,” he explained. “The fact that so many visitors stayed on until later in the day illustrates how much there was there to see and talk about.”
Visitors had an opportunity to meet with leading companies such as Reiser, Ulma, Omori, Ishida, PFM, Somic, SMC, Beckhoff, Telemecanique, Westrock, S4 Engineering, Rotech, Scayl, Coveya, Sharp Systems, Gordian Strapping, and Autopack.
Miguel Mari Matute, development engineer at Rotech Machines, said, “It’s been great this year, really busy, and the quality of the leads were through the roof, one after another.”
Mike Weaver, engineering lead at Unilever, added, “I would definitely come again. We saw some suppliers that we don’t get to see face to face, so perfect. If you only talk to your suppliers by email, come here. See them face to face.”
Aaron Moore, asset maintenance manager at Nestle, commented, “Fantastic day here at the PPMA Show, lots of suppliers that we work with. Some really innovative solutions, and a lot of relatable things for us, so we are taking lots of lessons home.”
This year’s show featured a seminar programme with presentations delivered by over 25 industry experts. These speakers provided visitors with a chance to learn from their wealth of expertise and knowledge, and also discover current trends affecting their industry.
The speaker line-up included Cassandra Stavrou of PROPER Snacks, Chris Corkan from Make UK, Dimitrios Spiliopoulos from Amazon Web Services, and Ross Verrall of NVIDIA EMEA.
The PPMA Group industry awards were handed out at a ceremony on the evening following the first day of the exhibition. The winners were:
- Innovative Processing System: Cobalt Systems
- Innovative Packaging Machinery: Ishida Europe
- Innovative Robotics Solution: Epson (UK)
- Innovative Vision Solution: Scorpion Vision
- Outstanding Customer Service: I-Mark UK
- Apprentice of the Year: Olivia Harrison-Hine, Festo
Scott McKenna, interim chief operating officer and exhibitions and membership manager, said, “The PPMA Show has always been the only place in the UK to see technology from the full spectrum of the processing and packaging industry. The only challenge we face as show organisers is to ensure that the exhibition continues to progress, and remain relevant to the high quality visitors that we pride ourselves on attracting year-on-year.
“It’s safe to say that we surpassed ourselves again this year, with an exceptional turn-out of visitors, who had live projects and were ready to invest in the incredible array of innovative technologies that our exhibitors manufacture and supply. Congratulations to everyone involved in one of the best exhibitions this industry has hosted for a number of years.”
PPMA Show 2024 will take place from September 24-26 at the NEC Birmingham.
