Smart Manufacturing Week is the UK’s largest festival of advanced manufacturing and engineering, held every June at the NEC Birmingham. It brings together five shows in one hall, covering Smart Factory Expo, Maintec, Design + Engineering Expo, Drives + Controls, and the Manufacturing Digitalisation Summit. The 2026 edition drew 13,405 visitors and 437 exhibitors, with a record 871 meetings booked through the event app.
Entry is free, and the audience is manufacturers, including operations and plant directors, engineers, maintenance leads and the people driving digital transformation. 81% of visitors hold purchasing power. New for 2027 is a Factory of the Future, a live, modular production environment showing automation, AI and cyber security working together.
Your stand has to prove your technology works on a real production line, not just in a presentation. Both shell scheme and space only plots are available, from small presences to large feature builds. Planning a space only stand? Working with exhibition stand contractors who know the NEC stops being optional.
The visitors at Smart Manufacturing Week run factories. They’ve heard every promise about Industry 4.0, and they judge technology on one thing. Will it work on their line, with their people, and pay for itself? Downtime, integration and return on investment matter more than the latest buzzword.
Machines, robots and software running live, with real data on the screen. A clear story about payback, whether that’s hours saved, downtime cut or costs reduced. An engineer on the stand who can talk about integration, not just a salesperson with a brochure.
We design and build exhibition stands for Smart Manufacturing Week, from bespoke stand design to shell scheme and space only packages. We’ve built at Smart Manufacturing Week before, and we know what this floor needs. Two days, 430+ exhibitors across five shows, and visitors who expect to see technology running, from robots and drives to live production software. With 81% holding purchasing power, the conversations on your stand can turn into real projects.
So we build around the demo. Stands are designed to carry heavy machinery and robotics, with the structure, power, connectivity and guarding space they need, and demo areas are laid out to be safe and clearly visible from the aisle. Screens show live data and ROI stories alongside the kit, and meeting space is ready for the conversations booked through the event app. Finishes are clean and industrial, to suit an engineering audience. And because the NEC has no on-site storage, we can build lockable storage for spares, literature and kit into the stand. Then we review what worked, so next June’s stand does even better.
We don’t build stands. We build the story your brand tells on the show floor. Every material, layout and lighting choice serves the narrative.
Heat mapping and visitor tracking available on request, plus a post-show review on every project. We prove what worked, not just what looked good.
LITE, READY and CUSTOM. Three clear ways to exhibit, three clear price points. You always know exactly what you’re getting, before you commit.
Your win is our win. We review the results together, and we’re genuinely invested in your next show being even better than the last.
Designed, made and installed by one in-house team in Lincolnshire. You’ll see 3D visuals before anything is built, and one project manager runs your stand from brief to debrief.
Everything you need to look the part, sorted.
Branded, professional, and ready to go.
The smart entry point.
from
£2,995
The clever way to exhibit.
A reusable backbone with Rocket-X craft on top, and it gets cheaper every show.
from
£8,995
Your story, built from scratch by the people who tell it best.
No limits, no compromises.
The full Rocket-X.
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The NEC is the UK’s busiest exhibition venue, and a few of its rules change how your stand should be designed. There’s no storage on site, power and internet are ordered in advance, and anything overhead goes through the venue. We handle the logistics. Here’s what’s worth knowing for your stand and your team.
Robots and machines are heavy, and they need weights, dimensions, power and safety zones agreed early. We can design the platforms, power and guarding space around your kit, so it can be positioned easily.
There’s nowhere at the NEC to keep stock, literature or your team’s bags. We can build lockable storage into the stand itself, behind a wall or under the counter, so everything stays secure overnight.
It’s fine for email, not for anything your stand depends on. We spec and order a dedicated connection for screens, demos, lead capture and card payments.
Power, internet, water and furniture are ordered through the venue and its contractors, and late orders usually cost more. We spec everything with your stand and order it well before the deadlines.
A sign above your stand is the easiest way to be spotted across a busy hall. It’s rigged by the venue and needs ordering early, so we can design it in from the start.
Exhibitors can get into the halls before the doors open, so that’s the time to restock and brief the team. Birmingham International station is next to the NEC and on-site parking is charged, so plan your team’s travel in advance.
Two days, five shows and 13,000+ manufacturers who’ve seen a lot of automation. Here’s how to make the most of it, from first plan to next year’s booking.
Live machines, working robots and software with real data. Manufacturers trust what they can watch working far more than a render on a screen.
Payback periods, downtime saved and output gained. Put the numbers next to the kit and back them up with a customer case study.
871 meetings were booked through the event app in 2026. Fill your diary before the doors open and give those meetings a proper space.
Guarding, clear sightlines and a timetable. A demo people can see safely from the aisle draws a crowd without blocking your stand.
Smart Factory, Maintec, Design + Engineering, and Drives + Controls each draw a different visitor. Tailor your message to the show your plot sits in.
Many shows sell next year’s space before this one ends. Rebook, tell us your plot, and we can start on next year’s stand straight away. When we debrief the show, we’ll know what worked this time, so we can make your next stand work harder and give you better return on investment.
We build exhibitions to work harder over time. By reusing and refining crafted elements across multiple shows, we reduce waste, retain what works, and make every next build more efficient than the last. Show one makes an impact. Show two builds on it. That’s how exhibiting should work.
We build with reuse in mind from the start. That means fewer one-use builds, less waste, and exhibition stands designed to work harder over time. We use FSC- and PEFC-certified timber wherever possible and make smarter material choices at every stage. Because sustainability should be built in, not added on.
Got more questions? Check out our FAQs page or just get in touch. We’re always ready to help.
Tell us about your plot. We’ll show you what being noticed looks like.
This one's for you.
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