(Chris Philpott, business development manager for Boddingtons Plastics, is interviewed on camera at Med-Tech Innovation Expo 2019.)
The doors closed May 15 on the Med-Tech Innovation Expo 2019, which took place for the first time at its new home the NEC, Birmingham. This year’s expo contained some exciting new features, including a third conference stage signalling significant growth for this sector-leading event.
The Introducing stage was a new forum for exhibitors to meet with delegates and demonstrate their technologies first-hand. Also new to the show floor was the Acceleration Zone, a forum for taking new ideas and organizations to the next level. Other additions included two new conference sessions: a global perspectives session as well as a panel discussion on the role of women in engineering.
Med-Tech Innovation Expo is the UK’s only dedicated, standalone exhibition for medical device engineering and manufacturing. The event was complemented by the Med-Tech Innovation Conference organized in partnership with Medilink UK, as well as the Medilink UK Healthcare Business Awards.
This year saw an expansion of the show floor to accommodate a record number of exhibitors nearing 300 from 14 countries. Initial data shows that this dynamic event connected almost 3,000 attendees across the two days from 34 different countries, with an exciting and diverse range of businesses, on hand to help them solve their medical design and manufacturing challenges.
“Med-Tech gives us the opportunity to show and discuss the types of services that Boddingtons Plastics can offer to our customers,” says Chris Philpott, business development manager for Boddingtons Plastics. “We’ve seen really good footfall and had several new leads for new devices. The show has been a great success for us and in fact we’ve booked for next year already.”
The event is fast becoming Europe’s go-to show for product launches, with a raft of companies bringing new and futuristic engineering solutions for healthcare OEMs and med-tech start-ups to examine.
Lohmann Technologies demonstrated how they are moving with the times. The evolution of modern textiles has increased rapidly over the last 30 years and these fabrics have new applications in the medical world, with the group demonstrating how textile bonding has evolved in the sector.
Faulhaber raised the bar and showed their innovative winding technology and optimized design with the introduction of the Faulhaber BXT family of flat brushless DC motors presented at Med-Tech Innovation Expo for the very first time in the UK.
In all, more than 50 engaging and inspiring presentations took place across three stages, along with a wealth of exciting and educational show features. Visitors saw presentations from a wide range of major OEMs, government officials and industry experts. On the Conference Stage, attendees heard presentations from speakers including Mark McIntyre, Boston Scientific; Nicola Blackwood, Department of Health and Social Care; and Chris Hudson from Roche Diagnostics. On the HealthTech Stage speakers included, Oli Hudson from Wilmington Healthcare; Dr Lydia Yarlott from Forward; and Dr. Iain Hennessey, NHS England.
Meanwhile, event exhibitors shared technical know-how on the Introducing Stage: speakers included Dr. Grace Jennings from NICE Scientific Advice; Ewan Grist, Chris de Mauny and Toby Bond from Bird & Bird; and a global perspectives session moderated and sponsored by Marks & Clerk.
“We are delighted with another significant step forward for this event as we work to create a defining event experience for the UK med-tech sector,” says Duncan Wood, chief executive of Rapid News Group, owners of Med-Tech Innovation Expo. “The two days contained many highlights, new products, new companies, world-class presentations and stunning applications. Whilst as organizers we have had superb feedback, we recognize we can’t do it without industry support, so we thank all our exhibitors, speakers, sponsors and partners for their efforts; they make the show.”
Med-Tech Innovation Expo, the UK and Ireland’s leading showcase for medical design and manufacturing technology, is the only event that serves the whole of the £27bn UK and Irish medical technology sector. The entire spectrum of advanced manufacturing technology, materials, packaging, services, electronics, components, digital technology and early-stage innovations for medical device design and manufacturing will be arranged in easy to navigate zones. For more info, visit med-techexpo.com/event/en.
