Subcon, the dedicated event for subcontract manufacturing returns to the NEC, Birmingham, next week and with the manufacturing sector on a high, it promises to be an ideal place to find new suppliers.
The latest research by Subcon shows that 23% of companies plan to appoint new subcontractors in the next 12 months and the event will provide visitors with the ideal opportunity to get face to face with potential suppliers.
Gordon Kirk, Subcon event director, said: “To succeed in volatile and keenly competitive markets, manufacturers are increasingly focusing on what they do best. This means working with subcontract manufacturing partners who are experts at what they do, have access to the latest technology and possess unique know-how.”
According to a Subcon survey, the key reasons for subcontracting manufacturing processes rather than carrying them out in-house were: Only wanting to focus on core competencies (47%), not having enough capacity in-house (45%) and gaining access to processes (41%) and expertise (38%) companies don’t have themselves.
It also reveals that 15% of manufacturers have increased the amount of work they place with subcontractors in the past 12 months and 20% expect to increase it further in the coming year.
This is good news for UK manufacturing as 10% of companies asked had re-shored work to the UK in the past 12 months and 27% expected the proportion of work placed with UK suppliers to increase in the next three years.
Subcon 2017 runs from 6 to 8 June alongside The Advanced Manufacturing Show and The Engineer Design & Innovation Show.
Complementing the shows, two free-to-attend conference streams will address key industry issues including additive manufacturing, Industry 4.0, the Apprenticeship Levy and lightweight components.