#EMEX2024 - Unlocking Your Potential - Manufacturing, Engineering, Technology, and Robotics

Did you go to EMEX exhibition 2024? Three days of manufacturing, engineering and technology inspiration and innovation, learning and networking, with over 210 exhibitors. You can’t keep a good manufacturer down! Expos languished during the covid years, but EMEX is back and it’s better than ever!

From the EMEX website -

EMEX is New Zealand's leading industry trade event, spotlighting the latest developments in manufacturing, engineering, machinery, robotics, and technology.

This expo kept our Magnify Consulting team busy for the latter part of last week, as we talked and shared with folk in the manufacturing and engineering sector.

We’ve tried to share as much as we can. However, this post does not do justice to the depth and the breadth of the experience that was EMEX. All notes are transcribed to the best of our ability – apologies in advance for any changes that you need to let us know about!

Here are some key points that resonated with us from EMEX 2024:

THE PEOPLE THAT POWER THE NATION Yes, it’s true. The people that power the nation, all together in one venue for three days to showcase manufacturing and engineering excellence. Like the stereotypical Southern Man, EMEX exhibitors are notoriously humble. Many of the greatest minds in NZ (and Australia) came to EMEX 2024. Everyone had something incredibly special to share. Yet all were focused on learning and developing their craft and their networks. This deep focus on learning means NZ’s manufacturing and engineering sector is set up for success now and in the future.

THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION This was the theme from three days of talks by experts. We’re in a place where much of the easy stuff has been done. It’s now about enhancing and improving across multiple areas, often one miniscule step at a time. This will lead to a seismic shift in our advancement. And what better to power this shift than a deeper understanding of manufacturing data combined with AI.

KEEPING FIT AND HEALTHY AT EMEX If you visited every stand, you almost deserve an Olympic medal! It took around 15 minutes to walk from one end of the venue to the other.

Or another calculation –

·????? If you spent 20 minutes talking to each exhibitor about their area of expertise, with more than 210 exhibitors you’d need 4,200 minutes – or 70 hours!

·????? Cut that back to just 5 minutes with every exhibitor – you’re still looking at 1,050 minutes, or 17.5 hours!

So, it was almost impossible to have an in-depth conversation with everyone during the three precious days of EMEX 2024. These conversations will continue well after EMEX.

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF EMEX If you thought EMEX 2024 was just going to be a few days of fun and networking – you would be right! You would also be wrong – EMEX 2024 was a celebration of more than 40 years of EMEX, marking the most extensive event to date.

EMEX has displayed it all, illustrating the remarkable advancements in technology and expertise within New Zealand's manufacturing and engineering fields. This significant EMEX milestone underscores the incredible achievements of our exhibitors, both past and future.

No event can survive for more than 40 years without solid work or without innovative thinking to reach new heights. Go EMEX!!

NEW ZEALAND’S MANUFACTURING SECTOR: A CALL TO ACTION Brett O'Riley – APEC Business Advisory Council Chair, EMA – kicked off the talks with his presentation on 'New Zealand's Manufacturing Sector: A Call to Action.' When 60% of NZ's exports come out of manufacturing, it's time for more emphasis in the news and in funding for the manufacturing sector. It's always good to hear from folks who've been around the block. Brett shared that this is the worst recession NZ has faced since the 1990s, which had a similar set of political decisions that preceded it.

·????? NZ also has a productivity problem, and we are reluctant adopters of new technology.

·????? NZ is the second most difficult country in the OECD in which to make foreign direct investment.?

So, what to do to take action? The speakers over the three days of EMEX each outlined specific areas where manufacturing and engineering businesses can find competitive advantages.

ARE WE IN RECESSION, OR IS IT AN OPPORTUNITY? Yes, there is a recession going on. But inside the four walls of EMEX 2024, it felt more like a massive opportunity. There was a fantastic buzz at EMEX 2024. With the people that power NZ all there in one room together, celebrating ingenuity and innovation, getting inspired, connecting.

There might be a recession raging outside, but from inside EMEX 2024, we hope everyone has gone back to their business inspired to make No. 8 Wire changes that deliver.

TAKE A BORING PDF – MAKING CAD DATA MANAGEMENT SEXY That’s exactly what James Tennent and the team at Tentech have done to deliver incredible cost-savings for the manufacturing and engineering sectors. James presented on how Tentech is ‘Making CAD Data Management Sexy.’

Part of James’ presentation focused on the amount of time that Tentech’s technology helps to save when you automate production of just one pdf. Of course, when you’re producing multiple pdfs every month or every year, those savings multiply into six-figures of unexpected bonus!

How does Tentech deliver value? By talking to users, discovering where the pain is.

‘Talk to your users. What are they doing repetitively? What’s taking all their time?’

PRODUCTIVITY IS KEY Productivity is key to a future where manufacturing and engineering realises the full potential in New Zealand.

Samantha McNaughton – Deputy Chief Executive at Hanga-Ara-Rau Workforce Development Council – led a panel discussion on ‘Manufacturing Productivity Advisory Group.’

Of course, even when we get productivity right, we’ve still got to get the right people into the sector to drive the productivity.

Sarah Ramsay – United Machinists – shared about the challenges of finding young people with the right skills that are ready to work in the sector.

YOUR FUTURE WORKFORCE IS HERE Yes, your future workforce is here and visiting EMEX 2024. Great to see so many enthusiastic young people, still studying, who want to be part of the manufacturing and engineering sector.

Building on what Sarah Ramsay shared about the challenges of recruiting work-ready people, it was good to see the focus on learning and development at EMEX 2024. The more that industry and learning institutions keep talking, the more work-ready our young grads from Polytechs and Universities will be.

DATA IS THE NEW GOLD – AI IS THE NEW GOLDRUSH Data and AI were big topics for the speakers at EMEX 2024.

All the easy stuff has now been invented. In-depth knowledge of our data is a massive lever for businesses to pull. Understanding AI, how to apply AI and how to get the most from AI are huge opportunities in manufacturing.

As more manufacturers and engineers harness the data we’ve already got in our businesses, and apply AI – who knows what we’ll see in the next couple of years. Both areas are huge drivers of productivity. We’re at the beginning of a wave. Let’s not leave anyone behind.

NETWORKING Making new friends, collaborating, communicating. So many great conversations with such a wide range of manufacturing, engineering, and technology people, all attending EMEX 2024. We met people from across New Zealand and Australia.

The set up at Auckland Showgrounds was excellent, with some good food available when you needed to buy lunch or a coffee. And a good selection of pies!

Unfortunately, EMEX 2024 had a quiet middle day on the Wednesday. It was raining hard. One exhibitor said they’d heard a rain warning to Aucklanders to stay home if possible. The rain was biblical in its force, so fair enough that people stayed home. Thankfully, the sun shone again on EMEX for the final day on Thursday.

ORGANISERS There must be hours and hours of work to get #EMEX2024 up and running – thanks to the team at XPO Exhibitions for an excellent job!

WHAT’S NEXT? Manufacturing, engineering, technology, and robotics are a core part of the future for New Zealand.

·????? Data has made it possible to look even more deeply at productivity and to spot opportunities.

·????? A recessionary environment combined with several years where manufacturing seemed to be forgotten – means that New Zealand manufacturers have even more of a personal stake in attracting and retaining the right staff.

·????? The rising conversations around data, as well as the burgeoning awareness around AI, all mean that our best days are yet to come.

Change is afoot in the sector, but the professionals we met during #EMEX2024 are well-equipped to be that change.

Personally, we’re looking forward to the next EMEX Expo in 2026. And catching up with everyone in the meantime!

#EMEX #EMEX2024 #manufacturing #technology #robotics #engineering #innovation #tradeshows