Registrations opened today for Australia’s largest manufacturing showcase, National Manufacturing Week (NMW), which runs from 9-12 May at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The theme is ‘Delivering the Industry 4.0 Revolution’ and is free to attend. It will feature five critical areas facing the manufacturing sector: industry capability development, product and service innovation, technology innovation, process improvement and sustainable manufacturing.

CSIRO manufacturing director Dr Keith McLean, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre managing director Dr Jens Goennemann, Innovative Manufacturing CRC CEO David Chuter and the Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council chairman John Pollaers are all confirmed as speakers at the event.

Eleven specialist product zones – advanced materials, air technology, automation and robotics, digital manufacturing, electrical, engineering, process control and instrumentation, research and development, safety, supply chain logistics and welding technology – will apply these categories to specific subsections of the manufacturing industry.

Live demonstrations of the latest products and technologies will run each day on the exhibition floor. There will be more than 200 exhibiting companies from around the world, including Bosch Australia, BOC, Supagas, Central Innovation (Intercad), 3M, Lincoln Electric, ATOM, HIWIN, Impact Robotics, KOBOT, SIKA Australia, Universal Robots and WAGO.

Manufacturers will also be able to access the Business Advice Hub which will run one hour, drop-in style information sessions.

“National Manufacturing Week is Australia’s only fully integrated annual manufacturing exhibition, and provides an unrivalled opportunity for delegates to network, collaborate and learn from one another” said 2017 event director Robby Clark.

“The 2017 theme and subsequent programming offers attendees the latest expert opinions on the future of ways in which people will work, advances in new technologies and process improvements, as well as taking a deeper focus on global sustainability for the manufacturing industry.”

Major partners for the 2017 event include the Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council, the Welding Technology Institute of Australia and the Supply Chain and Logistics Association of Australia.

NMW will again be co-located with the Safety First Conference & Expo, Austech and the ISSA Cleaning & Hygiene Expo.

To register for NMW 2017, please visit www.nationalmanufacturingweek.com.au.