The NEC Birmingham will once again play host to Smart Manufacturing Week (SMW), the
UK’s largest festival of advanced manufacturing and engineering on 4-5 June 2025. SMW
(www.smartmanufacturingweek.com) brings together a strong line up of events, including
Smart Factory Expo, Maintec, Drives & Controls, Design + Engineering Expo and the Air-Tech
and Fluid Power and Systems zones.
Building on the success of the 2024 event, which attracted 13,500 visitors, more than 450
exhibitors and 200 speakers, SMW 2025 is poised to deliver an even larger, more ambitious,
and more transformative event, with more international manufacturers and engineers
expected to visit. Free visitor registration is now open and a limited number of Premium
Plus Visitor passes are available for purchase.
Reflecting on the 2024 event, which was named Best Tradeshow at the Conference & Events
Awards 2024, Malcolm Greenhill of Charter Controls, says: “This is the best exhibition we’ve
ever done, and I’ve been participating in exhibitions at the NEC since 1983.”
Charter Controls returns to SMW in 2025 as a Platinum Partner, underscoring its trust in the
event.
Emphasising the ‘must see’ nature of the event is the presence of prominent exhibitors
including Schneider Electric, FANUK UK, 3M, Epicor, Binder UK, Cembre, Ericsson, Hoffmann
Group and ifm Electronic. Alongside other big names, the exhibition floor will showcase the
most influential players in industry.
Amongst these giant technology players are cutting-edge start-ups and innovative small
businesses set to revolutionise the sector. At the heart of Smart Factory Expo, ‘Innovation
Alley’ will feature emerging manufacturing technologies with exhibitors across four key
categories: ‘people’ focusing on wellbeing, workforce management, recruitment, training
and skills; ‘product’ centring on design, R&D and materials; ‘process’ concentrating on
productivity, resilience, supply chain and AI; and ‘planet’ encompassing net zero,
sustainability and energy management.
Following the success of 2024, where attendees engaged with the latest solutions from the
next wave of technology and consultancy businesses, the 2025 event will provide
opportunities to meet start-ups and early-stage companies and their founders, uncovering
transformative technologies that promise to shape manufacturing over the next decade.

Visitor trails offer an exciting way to explore the vast show floor, guiding attendees to the
most relevant exhibitors and must-see presentations. From automation and robotics to
sustainability, industrial data and AI, and product innovation and design, these thoughtfully
curated pathways make it easy to navigate the show and ensure visitors will not miss out on
the show’s highlights.
The free educational programme is comprehensive, with seven solutions theatres dedicated
to addressing a wide array of topics including: digital transformation, industrial data and AI,
the IIoT and connectivity, design and innovation, automation and robotics, leadership and
strategy, and maintenance. New this year is the ‘Technology Showcase Theatre’, where
visitors can see and get their hands on an array of cutting-edge innovations. Offering a rare
glimpse into future developments and prototypes, the theatre will feature everything from
advanced robotics to wearable technologies, bringing the next generation of breakthroughs
to life.
In addition, SMW 2025 will continue its commitment to inspiring future engineers and
manufacturers through its dedicated STEM programme, sponsored by returning Platinum
Partner FANUC. Now extended to focus on school-year students, as well as those in further
education, hundreds of pupils and apprentices will have the chance to interact directly with
industry experts, offering a hands-on introduction to the exciting world of advanced
manufacturing and engineering.
As in previous years, 2025 will also play host to several satellite events, such as The
Manufacturer Top 100 Awards and the Manufacturing Digitalisation Summit. This two-day
conference for senior leaders, which attracts many of the top 250 manufacturers from
across the UK, is focussed on the application of digital technologies to enhance the
processes, efficiencies and outcomes of the manufacturing industry.
On the fun side, the much-loved Guitar Legends competition will make a return, with a 3D-
printed guitar awarded to the winner. Adding to the festival atmosphere, The Shadow
Monkeys will return with their signature high-energy, crowd-pleasing hits to close out the
first evening’s visitor party.
For those with entrepreneurial ambitions, this year’s event introduces a new feature: ‘Smart
Tank’. Designed to inspire and empower budding innovators, this platform invites
entrepreneurs to pitch their business ideas and product concepts to a panel of industry
experts. Additionally, event attendees can explore the dedicated technology demonstration
area, where new solutions will be showcased, offering a detailed look into some of
industry’s most exciting developments.
Smart Manufacturing Week continues to prioritise sustainability, returning as a carbon-
neutral event in 2025. In collaboration with Forest Nation, the organisers have pledged to
plant one tree for every attendee, a practice introduced in 2023 that has helped reduce the
event’s environmental impact while supporting global reforestation efforts.
“Smart Manufacturing Week 2025 is laser focused on the visitor experience while ensuring
exhibitors have the best opportunity to connect with their target customer base,” says

managing director Grace Gilling. “We create a festival-type atmosphere that’s entertaining
as well as a fantastic opportunity to connect businesses, encourage innovation and create a
platform for industry-shaping conversations.”
Smart Manufacturing Week will take place at Birmingham’s NEC on 4-5 June 2025. Other
exhibitions are also taking place at the NEC at the same time, and these include:
Automechanika run by Messe Frankfurt; Med-Tech Innovation Expo and TCT 3Sixty from
Rapid News Group; and Subcon from the Mark Allen Group. One visitor badge provides
access to all events.
Register for free at https://bit.ly/4iy8LxT

APF Services, a small but progressive two-man business specialising in hydraulic repair work,
has invested in its first CNC machine, a Proturn RLX 425 CNC lathe with ProtoTRAK control
from XYZ Machine Tools. Despite concerns about the cost and learning curve involved in
transitioning to CNC, the portfolio of cost-effective, easy-to-use machines available from
XYZ completely allays such apprehensions for small manufacturing businesses. APF Services
is a case in point, where the arrival of the new XYZ CNC lathe is driving cycle time reductions
of up to 90% on certain jobs.
Located near Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, APF Services was founded in 2012 by Chris Dawson
to provide hydraulic repairs for a host of local industries, including agriculture, forestry,
fishing, oil & gas, and waste/landfill.
“We have a good regional niche in these sectors,” he says. “However, we were managing
our workload using two manual lathes and a manual mill, which started to prompt concerns
about getting left behind. Turnaround time is paramount for our customers, with requests
for next-day delivery commonplace. However, I’d never dreamed of going into CNC as I
didn’t know the first thing about it.”
By chance, Dawson noticed that a nearby customer in the forestry industry was benefiting
from a range of CNC machines with ProtoTRAK controls from XYZ.
“I subsequently went to see a demonstration of a Proturn RLX 425 CNC lathe at XYZ’s
Scotland facility in Livingston,” he says. “As my first-ever experience of a CNC machine, I
wanted to be 100% sure I could get to grips with the programming, but I needn’t have
worried. For first-time CNC machinists like me, the ProtoTRAK control is absolutely
excellent. The 15.6-inch touchscreen makes the control simple and intuitive, while the
TRAKing feature allows us to wind the handwheel through the program with complete
control, providing peace of mind as we cut our first chips on a new part.”
XYZ’s Proturn RLX 425 CNC lathe with ProtoTRAK control, which is now fully operational at
APF Services, offers a 7.5 kW spindle and delivers power through a three-speed headstock
running up to 2500 rpm. The machine features an 80 mm spindle bore, provides 700 mm
swing in the gap and 480 mm swing-over-bed, and is available with a distance between
centres of either 1.25 or 2 m.
“We had our training at XYZ’s Livingston facility and could ask as many questions as we
wanted. Nothing was too much trouble.”

APF Services uses its RLX 425 to produce a host of hydraulic cylinder rods, pins and bushes,
typically as one-off jobs but occasionally in small batches. Features include threads,
shoulders, chamfers, O-ring grooves and circlip grooves.
“With so many different hydraulic cylinder designs, we can find ourselves machining almost
anything,” says Dawson. “Materials extend from EN8 and EN24T steels, through to chrome-
plated steel, stainless steel, and cast steel. Having a machine that’s versatile and quick to
program is a real blessing.”
Cycle times are dramatically shorter, as revealed by a recent in-house time study involving a
machining operation on a batch of hydraulic cylinder components.
“It took just 4 minutes 30 seconds on our new RLX 425 and we weren’t even pushing it
hard,” says Dawson. “The same job took 45 minutes on one of our manual lathes. That’s a
90% reduction in machining time.”
The company also reduced the cycle time for hexagon end caps – machined from 9-inch
diameter stainless steel bar – from 12 hours to just 2 hours. He also recalls saving a
staggering five days of machining time on a batch of cylinder parts.
“We completed them in five days, instead of the 10 days it would have taken us to do them
manually. And that’s when we were still learning about the RLX 425.”
According to Dawson, customers return because he understands the demands of their
industry, particularly the agriculture and oil & gas sectors, as he comes from a farming
background. Furthermore, there is little anyone can teach Chris about customer support,
having worked in the North Sea drilling and subsea construction industry for many years –
and subsequently as a hydraulic mechanic for a major subsea engineering company. With
this experience, he knows what is expected of third-party companies and the demands put
upon them.
“If one of my agriculture customers damages or even destroys a hydraulic cylinder in the
middle of harvest, for example, time is literally money,” he explains. “We can be looking at
several days for the delivery of a replacement component in our part of the world, which is
disastrous for harvesting. We can measure the broken part [or make it from the carboard
cut out that is sometimes supplied], repair it or reverse engineer a replacement in ultra-
quick time. Sometimes there are no drawings or CAD models, so it relies on our engineering
background/expertise to get these customers going again.”
Fortunately, the arrival of the Proturn RLX 4525 is making the process easier than ever
before.
“The speed of the machine and quality of finished parts is top notch. The business was
already growing, but the RLX 425 has taken us to a whole new level.”
Such has been the positive experience that APF Services has just ordered another XYZ
machine, an RMX 3500 CNC bed mill, again with ProtoTRAK control.

“Once I’m happy with a supplier they’ll continue to get my business,” concludes Dawson. “I
like the way I can pick up the phone and get advice from someone in the UK. It feels like
we’ve got proper support with XYZ. This level of customer service is priceless for a small
company like ours, which is new to CNC machining and has customer jobs that often cannot
wait.”
More information www.xyzmachinetools.com

There is much anticipation in the manufacturing community in advance of the imminent
Southern Manufacturing & Electronics 2025 trade fair, which will open its doors on 4-6
February 2025 at the Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre. Cutting-
edge technology from across the mechanical engineering and electrical/electronic spectrum
in approximately equal measure awaits visitors from the UK, Ireland, mainland Europe and
further afield. If previous years are anything to go, footfall will be well in excess of 9000.
With more than 500 stands booked for the first time, the show is a sell-out again. The new
event owner, Easyfairs, is keen to point out that the larger number of exhibitors will create
an even more dynamic and informative environment for visitors, allowing them to explore a
greater variety of products, services and technologies relevant to their industry, and to
compare additional options in search of the best solutions. Extra participants also means
more potential connections with industry professionals and suppliers, maybe sparking new,
creative ideas and leading to valuable business partnerships and networking opportunities.
Generally considered to be the largest and most comprehensive annual industrial exposition
in the UK, Southern Manufacturing moved to its present location in 2008 and was the first
to be held in the new, world-class Farnborough centre when it was built a decade later.
Since its inauguration in 1997, the event has grown from a small gathering of engineering
firms in the south of England into one of international significance.
Today, the show is important enough to attract big-name manufacturers, but is also freely
accessible to SMEs and smaller vendors due to the organiser’s open access policy that
discourages larger firms from dominating the space. Testament to its effectiveness as a
place to do business, or simply to research what is currently available, is the high rate of
repeat bookings. Many participants are regular returnees and some have been with the
show since it started.
A truly international cross section of machine tool companies will be there to vaunt their
latest production platforms and software. Ajax Machine Tools, for instance, will offer
everything from manual mills and lathes to high-speed machining centres and multi-axis,
twin-spindle, driven-tool lathes, as well as surface, cylindrical and bench grinding machines
plus bench, pillar and radial drills.
Colchester Machine Tool Solutions is set to demonstrate the compact Storm VL-550 vertical
machining centre (VMC) with linear guideways and the Tornado SL25 MSY CNC lathe with
sub-spindle and Y-axis turret movement, as well as the Lightning Class 1 permanent laser
marker and Pratt Burnerd manual and power chucks.

Haas Automation will shine its spotlight a UMC-500 five-axis VMC equipped with a robotic
pallet loader for high-mix, low-volume production, and another 40-taper machine, the Super
Mini Mill. The Super Mini Mill is suitable for schools and start-ups as a first step into CNC
machining, or for shops needing a second-op machine or an additional spindle where space
is limited.
Hurco will use the event to stress the ability of its machines to produce one-offs and small
batches efficiently and precisely, thanks in part to its proprietary Max 5 control. Solid Model
Import is a recent innovation that allows conversational programs to be created directly
from an STP file.
On the Matsuura stand will be the new MX-520 PC4, a five-axis VMC with integrated four-
pallet changer for unattended running. Mills CNC, which sells DN Solutions and Zayer
machine tools, will have a multi-tasking, large-bore, mill-turn machine from the former
principal on display. Ward CNC, which represents Hyundai-Wia, Hartford, Soraluce,
Takisawa, Hankook and Gurutzpe, will stress the vast range and affordability of its offerings.
Unison will promote its recently-introduced dual-stack, hybrid tube benders, which combine
robustness, precise all-electric control and hydraulic operation. The firm also offers Nukon
fibre laser cutting machines.
XYZ is set to emphasise the importance of robust machine build, thermal stability and
machining capability. In XYZ machine, these attributes combine with highly capable control
systems, namely ProtoTRAK and Siemens, making the machines ideal for prototype and low-
volume production.
Yamazaki Mazak will be cutting components on its new HQR-200/3 NEO turning centre, a
twin-spindle, three-turret model optimised for efficient turning, milling and drilling in a
single set up. It is the latest Mazak machine to be engineered in alignment with the
manufacturer’s Go Green strategy for reduced environmental impact. The new Mazatrol
SmoothG3 CNC featuring three channels intuitively helps operators optimise tool paths,
reduce unnecessary tool changes, balance machining time on each turret and prevent
collisions.
There will also be automation, work holding and tooling specialists at the show, as well as a
wealth of additive manufacturing machine platforms, consumables and bureau services,
plus conventional machining and sheet metalworking subcontractors.
On the electronics side, IC and PCB design and production will feature alongside box-build
services, through to full contract electronics manufacture, cables, connectors, mechatronics
assembly, and electro-mechanical components and systems. Test, inspection and
measurement serving all industry sectors will be in evidence, as will production planning
systems, engineering and business software, and other more general products and services
essential for the smooth running of factories.
Alongside the exhibition, over the three days visitors will be able to take advantage of an
extensive programme of free technical seminars covering a wide range of topics to give

visitors valuable learning opportunities, with a particular focus on the technical, managerial
and environmental issues facing manufacturers today.
The Institute for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits (IPC) hand soldering
competition returns in 2025, as does AutoAero, a specialist thread that runs through the
main programme concentrating on matters important to automotive and aerospace
engineering. Both sectors contribute billions of pounds to the UK economy and support
numerous industries and businesses in their supply chains.
There is free car parking at the Farnborough site, which is well served by road and public
transport links. A regular, complimentary bus service runs between the two local railway
stations and the showground. Admission to the exhibition is also free.
Register at www.bit.ly/40C3Dlk