Organised by the GTMA and TUS the annual event has encouraged businesses from Ireland and the UK to share ideas, build strong working relationships, and do business since its inception in 2016.
Pictured at TUS, Manufacturing Solutions Hexagon stand was Minister of State Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science with responsibility for Skills and Further Education, Niall Collins, TD. Picture: Alan Place
The largest Irish-UK collaborative manufacturing event – Manufacturing Solutions Ireland 2023 – returned to the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) this Wednesday and Thursday (June 14 and June 15), with more than 1,600 exhibitors, delegates, manufacturers and visitors from across Ireland, the UK and Europe attending at the TUS Moylish Campus in Limerick.
Organised jointly by the UK manufacturing supply chain trade association the GTMA* and TUS**, the event showcased more than 120 Engineering and Technology Exhibition and Trade Stands and over €5 million worth of equipment and CNC machines in the Technology Pavilion.
At the Meet the Manufacturer element of the event delegates interacted with companies such as Rolls Royce, Stryker Orthopaedics Limerick, J&J Vistakon, T&T Precision, and Takumi, with the IDEAM conference attracting expert speakers in the area of Manufacturing Digitisation for SMEs and the Decarbonisation of Manufacturing Conference engaging expert speakers from both industry and government agencies.
Manufacturing Solutions 2023 was officially opened by Minister of State at the Department on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Niall Collins TD who visited the first day of the event to see first-hand the latest developments in precision tools and technology.
Pictured at TUS, Manufacturing Solutions were, Ciaran O’Loughlin, Mechanical & Automobile Engineering TUS with Minister of State Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science with responsibility for Skills and Further Education, Niall Collins, TD. Picture: Alan Place
Minister Collins said, “This annual event has encouraged businesses from both sides of the Irish Sea to share ideas about new technologies and precision tools, build strong working relationships, learn about developments in manufacturing, and do business since its inception in 2016. This event also continues to bring more the 1,500 visitors to Limerick every year while continuing to highlight nationally and internationally, Limerick and the Mid West region’s reputation as a place that welcomes and supports industry. Among the most prominent supports for industry in this region are our higher education institutions such as TUS, who continue to work in partnership with industry providing research and development support as well as highly skilled graduates.”
Speaking about the success of the annual event GTMA Chief Executive Officer, Dr Alan Arthur said, “Manufacturing Solutions Ireland was established as a conduit for opening up new possibilities within the supply chain to customers and suppliers from both Ireland and the UK. The event has since expanded beyond its one-day incarnation as a successful manufacturing supply trade exhibition, into a two-day event that also offers a multi-million-euro Manufacturing Technology Zone, the IDEAM Digitalisation of Manufacturing Conference, Meet the Manufacturer and the successful manufacturing supply trade exhibition. The growth and success of the event is a testimony to the ongoing, strong working relationship between GTMA and TUS. We look forward to continuing this relationship for years to come.”
President of TUS Professor Vincent Cunnane explained that collaboration remains one of TUS’s core values and large collaborative events like Manufacturing Solutions Ireland reflect TUS’s ethos of working with industry locally, nationally and internationally to research and develop new technologies, share new ideas and educate highly skilled work ready graduates.
“The partnership between TUS and the GTMA supported by the PTMA, is also reflective of the Irish and UK manufacturing industry’s determination to work together, share ideas, and trade. It is encouraging to see the return of SME business clusters such as Manufacturing Northern Ireland to the event to take part in joint workshops and work collaboratively with the TUS based IDEAM national industry cluster. The addition of the Decarbonisation of Manufacturing Conference this year also reflects the determination of Manufacturing Solutions Ireland to continue to adapt year on year to meet the changing needs of industry, and support our clear sustainability values and goals.”
Pictured at TUS, Manufacturing Solutions were, Michael OÕNeill, OÕNeill Industrial and Liam Brown Vice-President for Research, Development & Innovation, TUS with Minister of State Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science with responsibility for Skills and Further Education, Niall Collins, TD. Picture: Alan Place
Central to the Manufacturing Solutions partnership are the event co-ordinators TUS Precision Engineering Lecturer Ciaran O’Loughlin and GTMA Manager David Beattie.
Mr O’Loughlin said this event, while primarily aimed at industry, is also hugely beneficial to TUS engineering students who see first-hand state of the art CNC machines, some of which arrived in Ireland for the very first time specifically for the event.
“We currently have over a thousand undergraduates in our engineering programmes – people who will be graduating from TUS with the know-how to thrive in a new and evolving manufacturing environment. Exposure to new technologies like those on display at Manufacturing Solutions is extremely valuable to these students.”
Further information on Manufacturing Solutions Ireland can be found on manufacturingsolutions.ie.