Shane Infanti is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Manufacturing Technology Institute Limited (AMTIL), which owns and operates the Australian Manufacturing Week (AMW) exhibition, due to take place in Melbourne in March. Kim Banks is Head of Events at AMTIL and AMW Exhibition Manager. They spoke to William Poole.
AMT: Firstly, tell us about Australian Manufacturing Week (AMW) and why AMTIL decided to launch a new manufacturing industry exhibition.
Shane Infanti: AMW is Australia’s premier manufacturing solutions event. It’s an industry exhibition that will cover every aspect of manufacturing in Australia today. So it will feature a comprehensive line-up of the very latest, state-of-the-art manufacturing technology, across all equipment categories. Also exhibiting will be a wide variety of service providers who specialise in supporting the manufacturing sector. And last but not least, we’ll have our Australian Manufacturers’ Pavilion, a dedicated zone within the exhibition where we’ll be showcasing some Australia’s most innovative, exciting advanced manufacturing businesses. So really visitors will be able to take in the Australian manufacturing industry in its entirety, all under one roof.
We decided to launch AMW after Reed Exhibitions announced last year that it would stop running its exhibition, National Manufacturing Week. We had run our advanced manufacturing technology expo, Austech, alongside NMW for more than 20 years, so when Reed decided to discontinue NMW, we felt that there was a great opportunity for us to step into that void, and expand our show into a broader showcase of Australian manufacturing.
And that would potentially also include a range of other activities taking place around the exhibition itself – such as a speaker program, social and networking functions, and so on. Really we’d like it to become a week-long celebration of Australian manufacturing.
Kim Banks: Reed had done a great job in establishing NMW as a key event on the industry calendar, and our partnership with them over the years had been incredibly successful. But with AMW I think there is real potential for AMTIL to build on what Reed had done, and deliver an event that really puts Australian manufacturing in the spotlight. And we want to get the message across that AMW is the natural new home for NMW exhibitors.
Obviously AMTIL is a not-for-profit assocation that has always sought to develop close relationships with our members, and I think that means we can offer companies thinking of exhibiting with us something slightly different to what they’d get from commercial events organisations. That’s not in any way a criticism of Reed. It’s just that as an industry body we’ve perhaps got a bit more freedom to go further in the support we give exhibitors – as we have done with Austech over the years.
And we’re also working with several other industry organisations in various aspects of the show, such as in the exhibition’s dedicated product zones, or around our speaker program. So that also really builds on the idea that this event is really being driven by a community of groups whose primary aim is to support this industry.
SI: Yes, those partnerships with other associations are a very important aspect of what we’re trying to achieve with AMW. It’s an industry show run by industry for the industry.
AMT: AMTIL’s been running Austech for over 20 years. How will Austech integrate with AMW?
SI: That’s a good question, and the answer will probably have implications for how we market these shows in future years as well. We’ve consistently said that we want to market the show as ‘Australian Manufacturing Week incorporating Austech’. AMTIL’s primary focus is the promotion of advanced manufacturing technology, and Austech has always been a key pillar of that. Austech is not going anywhere, it’s still a big priority in our exhibition plans.
KB: And we are very focused on reassuring our longstanding Austech exhibitors that this will be the same show that they will be participating in. Austech will occupy a dedicated zone on the exhibition floor, and it’ll be just like the show they know and love.
There are still questions that we’re working through regarding how we communicate this to visitors attending the show. I think most of them are likely to be happy to just find out about AMW, but there will be times where we will need to make clear reference to Austech, to make sure people make that linkage and realise this is the show to attend if they want to see the latest machine tools, the latest advanced manufacturing technology.
SI: We don’t want to lose sight of Austech, but we do want to build AMW as the premier manufacturing solutions event in this country.
AMT: And you’re less than a year out –- how are preparations going so far?
SI: From a sales point of view, it’s just gone gangbusters. We’re already three-quarters full in terms of space sales. We’re very pleased with the way the bookings are going. And I guess that reflects the fact that the industry is alive and well, and companies are wanting to get back out and promote themselves in a physical sense. They want to get back to shows.
KB: We’re also seeing a very high retention rate in terms of exhibitors coming back who were at the last Austech. Once they’ve been at our show, exhibitors tend to love coming back. And we’re really excited to welcome new exhibitors into the fold as well. I think that’s really important, that we have historically always tried to develop really strong, personal relationships with our exhibitors.
So the preparations are going really well; we’re all set and ready to go, putting all of our plans in place. There’s a lot going on and there’s a lot of excited people in the industry, and that’s making it an enjoyable process and an enjoyable event to work towards. As Shane says, everyone is ready to get back out and exhibit.
AMT: So what would your advice be for businesses who might be thinking of exhibiting but haven’t quite decided yet?
KB: I would say: don’t leave it too long or you might be disappointed. Also, I think the earlier they book in, the more pre-show exposure they get from us. The earlier they book in, the more they can can kind of ride on the coat-tails of any marketing that we’re doing, to promote their presence at the event.
AMW is going to be an event that brings the whole industry together, so if you’re not there, it’s like that old saying: out of sight, out of mind. I think everyone’s enthusiastic, there’s a lot of confidence in our industry, and people that want a piece of the action need to be there, or they’re going to be left behind.
SI: Yeah, with what we’ve seen from the sales perspective and the excitement exhibitors have shown in booking in, if that translates to the visitor sentiment as well, I think we will have a bumper show. If there’s that same excitement, where people are saying “The shows are back, let’s go and visit”, I am confident we’ll meet our exhibitors’ expectations. So we’re excited about encouraging visitors and getting a good audience into the venue next March.
AMT: What about the challenges of running a COVID-safe event? How are you tackling that?
KB: I think everyone can rest assured that we are well and truly planning for a COVID-safe show. We’re working closely with the venue and contractors to deliver that, and we’ll be keeping all exhibitors and visitors informed of any guidelines or procedures that need to be followed to ensure we all have a safe and enjoyable event.
Obviously it’s a bit of a moving target: we don’t know what the situation will be with border restrictions next March, or with the vaccine rollout. But we are taking all of those variables in our stride. And look, there’s already plenty of protocols that other exhibitions and events are developing. We know we will need to be on top of all those things like social distancing, having sanitising stations around the show, directional stickers on the floors, encouraging people to do the old elbow bump and stuff like that.
And in the end, if you can shop in Myer, you can go to a trade show.
AMT: As preparations for AMW pick up speed, what do you think they’re revealing about the state of manufacturing in Australia at the moment?
SI: Well, I can tell you one thing from the discussions I’ve had, even in the last couple of days, talking to exhibitors and booking them in: every single one of them is talking about how busy it is, how the investment in technology has not dropped off. It’s staggering to me, just how we don’t seem to have missed a beat.
KB: If anything, I don’t think it’s even just a catching up on pent-up demand. It seems to be going even stronger than that.
SI: Yes, it’s very positive. And combine that with some of the changes to government procurement policies, and the words that are coming out of Canberra, around sovereign capability and so on. Manufacturing is being regarded in a stronger light than it has been for a long time.
AMT: Finally, when AMW opens its doors on 8 March, what do you hope visitors will take away from the show?
KB: New ideas, new processes, new opportunities to collaborate. And of course, thinking of our exhibitors, I’d say lots of ideas for investments that will help their businesses to grow.
SI: If there’s one thing that I want them to take away, it’s a worthwhile experience. They’ll learn, they’ll see new technology, there’ll be a lot of knowledge that they’ll gain. And they’ll meet a lot of people, which might lead to opportunities for them as well. AMTIL’s mantra is ‘Connect. Inform. Grow’, and hopefully visitors will have that experience when they come to AMW.
Australian Manufacturing Week 2022 will take place at Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC) from 8-11 March 2022. For any inquiries, please contact Anne Samuelsson, Head of Sales at AMTIL, on 0400 115 225 or asamuelsson@amtil.com.au.