Making the case for robotics (machine builders and end users)

Your Expert Panel is Presented by:

• Matthew Aldridge, Managing Director, igus UK
• Ross Lacy, Sales Director, RARUK Automation
• Paul Rivers, Director, Guidance Automation

With the UK continuing to fall behind in the global productivity battle, combined with ongoing labour shortages plus rapidly increasing business costs, on paper there has never been a stronger reason to invest in robotics. And yet the UK remains well outside the top 20 in the international league for robot adoption. While there are acknowledged barriers to robot adoption, there are also answers to all of these challenges, which is what this panel session with address.

Machinery Regulation 2027: What Machine Builders Need to Do Now

Presented by Jamie Thomas, Machinery Safety Specialist, Pilz Automation Technology

The Machinery Regulation takes effect in January 2027, and UK machinery legislation is set to follow a similar direction. Find out what this means for your business and leave with a practical action plan.

The Best Axis starts with the right question

Presented by Bill Killick, Lenze Account Manager Distribution

Why leading machine builders are shifting their focus from component selection to business outcomes. Learn how the right questions help reduce energy consumption, increase machine flexibility, and accelerate performance, with Lenze turning motion & automation challenges into measurable customer value.

Implementing Machine-Centric Robotics

Presented by Richard Causley, Regional Sales Manager, B&R Industrial Automation

In the dynamic environment of machine design, one challenge remains of central importance: achieving optimum efficiency and quality. This is where the transformative power of robotics comes into play. Adding robots to machines is an effective way to significantly improve operational performance with increased productivity, flexibility and adaptability together with consistent high quality. Machine Centric Robotics offers a powerful new solution to integration by controlling robot mechanics direct from the automation platform, including Trak technology and machine vision solutions.

The Hidden Cost of Downtime: How Food-Safe Reliability Drives Production Performance

Presented by John Casey, Regional Sales Manager, SKF

Join the SKF presentation at Food Manufacturing Live and discover how leading food and beverage manufacturers are applying the Fighting Friction principle to improve reliability, increase uptime and reduce maintenance costs.

Our presentation will explore the complete bearing life cycle, from selection and installation to lubrication, condition monitoring and replacement. We will highlight the most common causes of premature bearing failure and demonstrate how the right maintenance practices, lubrication solutions and reliability tools can help prevent unplanned downtime, reduce contamination risks and extend asset life.
If you're under pressure to do more with less while maintaining the highest food safety and production standards, this session will provide practical insights you can apply immediately.
Stop fighting failures. Start fighting friction.

Alternative customer outcome metrics (machine builders and end users)

Your Expert Panel is Presented by:

• Leighton Chatfield, Digital Sales Consultant, SICK
  
• Grant Coffin, Solutions Architect, Rockwell Automation
• Barry Weller, Business Development Manager, Wittenstein

It is common for machines to be specified and built simply against metrics of production speed, but machine builders and end users alike can benefit from shifting thinking towards delivering specific operational outcomes. These might include meeting core customer outcome metrics such as downtime recovery and uptime, cost of goods sold, lead times and OEE, as well as people-centric measures such as workforce safety, operator satisfaction and onboarding speed. The success of any machine build can then be measured against quantified business benefits rather than just product delivery.

MX System - Delivering Cabinet-Free Automation in Practice

Presented by Neil March, MX Product Specialist, Beckhoff Automation

Discover how the MX System is simplifying machine automation through cabinet-free design. Learn how manufacturers are reducing installation time, increasing flexibility, and creating scalable, connected machines that improve productivity and support future manufacturing requirements.

Your CE Mark, Your Obligation: What the Cyber Resilience Act Means for Machine Builders.

Presented by Sam Maesschalck, Senior Network and Cyber Security Consultant, SolutionsPT

This workshop explains what the Cyber Resilience Act means for machine builders whose CE mark appears on finished products. It covers responsibility for connected components, supplier evidence, vulnerability reporting, IEC 62443, conformity routes and practical first steps, helping attendees identify gaps and prepare for CRA and Machinery Regulation deadlines.

Machine-as-a-service – developing new revenue streams

Your Expert Panel is Presented by:

• Tony Coghlan, Managing Director, Turck Banner
• Daniel Johnson, Managing Director, HEIDENHAIN GB
• Andy Parker-Bates, Sales Team Manager, Festo

With machine builders increasingly finding themselves constrained by costs in the build of the machine, what are the opportunities to develop additional revenue streams? Beyond the sale of the machine itself, technologies are available which enable machine builders to deliver a range of ongoing services, through being able to monitor machine functions remotely, from preventive maintenance through to faster downtime recovery. This has been talked about in theory as the ‘machine as a service’ model or as the ‘servitisation’ model, but in this panel session we'll look at what can actually be done in practice.

Hands-On Training: A practical introduction to IO-Link

Presented by Tim Beech CEng MIET, Managing Director, TGN, on behalf of PI UK

PI UK delivered two exclusive training sessions giving a practical introduction to IO-Link. These 2-hour hands-on sessions went beyond theory, giving delegates the chance to work directly with live IO-Link training rigs, laptops and real hardware.

Hands-On Training: A practical introduction to IO-Link

Presented by Tim Beech CEng MIET, Managing Director, TGN, on behalf of PI UK

PI UK delivered two exclusive training sessions giving a practical introduction to IO-Link. These 2-hour hands-on sessions went beyond theory, giving delegates the chance to work directly with live IO-Link training rigs, laptops and real hardware.