AMTIL announces launch of Australian Manufacturing Week exhibition

The Australian Manufacturing Technology Institute Limited (AMTIL) has announced the launch of Australian Manufacturing Week, an industry
exhibition encompassing all aspects of manufacturing in Australia. Since 2000, AMTIL has operated Austech, Australia’s premier advanced manufacturing and machine tool exhibition. With more than 170 organisations exhibiting state-of-the-art manufacturing hardware, software and support services, Austech 2019 was attended by industry professionals from across Australia and around the world.

With Australian Manufacturing Week, AMTIL is widening the scope of its exhibitions portfolio with an event that will provide a more comprehensive showcase of manufacturing in Australia. The inaugural Australian Manufacturing Week will be held in Melbourne in March 2022.

“With so much depressing news out there lately, it’s really good to be able to announce something that we believe is a really positive development for our industry,” said Shane Infanti, Chief Executive Officer of AMTIL. “Our ambition for Australian Manufacturing Week is not only to create a fantastic platform for the industry, but for it to become a real celebration of manufacturing in this country.”

The launch of Australian Manufacturing Week follows the news that Reed Exhibitions has decided to cease the operation of its National Manufacturing Week (NMW) exhibition. NMW has been held annually since 1999, at venues alternating each year between Sydney and Melbourne. For the last 20 years, NMW was held in colocation with Austech. The discontinuation of NMW was seen as an opportunity for AMTIL to develop a more extensive event that demonstrates the full scope and diversity of the manufacturing industry in Australia today.

Australian Manufacturing Week will provide AMTIL with opportunities for future growth that will benefit all of our members, and will support us in our efforts to promote and advance the industry,” Infanti continued. “Austech has gained such a strong reputation over the years, while the AMTIL team boasts so much expertise in running shows of this kind and an in-depth understanding of the manufacturing sector. So we’re confident that Australian Manufacturing Week will be something anyone with a connection with this industry is going to be paying attention to.”

The Australian Manufacturing Week and Austech exhibitions will be held from 8-11 March 2022 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC). The 2022 event will run with the two exhibitions colocated side by side, with all exhibitors offered Austech’s existing pricing structure, including package options, AMTIL member discounts and other opportunities.

The twin exhibitions will also feature a number of specialised areas focusing on specific manufacturing technologies. As in previous years, Austech will feature Zones devoted to Additive Manufacturing, Digitalisation (Industry 4.0) and Air Technology. It will also include the Australian Manufacturers Pavilion, highlighting the capabilities of some of Australia’s most accomplished advanced manufacturing businesses.

Meanwhile Australian Manufacturing Week will house dedicated zones covering a range of specialist categories, such as robotics & automation, safety, and welding technology. AMTIL’s aim is for Australian Manufacturing Week to be more than just an exhibition. It will instead act as the centrepiece of a week-long celebration of manufacturing in Australia today. 

While Australian Manufacturing Week represents an exciting new episode for AMTIL, the cessation of NMW will mark the end of its highly successful collaboration with Reed Exhibitions, after two decades running co-located exhibitions. “Personally I’d like to thank Reed Exhibitions for what has been a wonderful working relationship running Austech and NMW side by side all these years,” said Kim Banks, Events Manager at AMTIL. “It’ll be strange next year at Austech not having them just ‘next door’ running NMW. But we’re looking forward to making
Australian Manufacturing Week and Austech a real celebration of manufacturing in this country.”

“AMTIL has valued its 20-year-long partnership with Reed,” Infanti added. “They did a terrific job running NMW over the last two decades, and our collaboration with them has been a key factor in making Austech the success it is today. We’re grateful to all of the team at Reed and we wish them all the best for the future.”