University of Canterbury students attending past SouthMach show.
SouthMach 2025 is what show organiser XPO Exhibitions says is the must-attend event for professionals in manufacturing, engineering, and technology. Packed with exhibitors, cutting-edge innovations and insightful discussions, the event offers a unique platform to explore the future of the industry.
“It only happens once every two years and is the South Island’s leading industry trade event, spotlighting the latest developments in manufacturing, engineering and technology. Entry is free for trade professionals,” says Jack Heslin, exhibition sales and event manager. “You don’t want to miss it.”
Industry professionals can register to attend at http://www.southmach.co.nz.
A highlight this year is the Make NZ Industry Conference, designed to tackle one of the sector’s biggest challenges – improving productivity in an increasingly competitive global market. NZ Engineering News caught up with Dieter Adam of Make NZ to discuss the key issues facing manufacturers today and what attendees can expect from this exclusive event.
Q: What are the most significant challenges facing the manufacturing industry today?
Most of the expected attendees will be working for companies that export most of what they make, or companies supplying the latter. So, the main challenge is to remain internationally competitive and profitable at the same time when input costs are still rising, including for services like transport and electricity.
Q: How do you anticipate they will impact the sector moving forward?
One of the most visible impacts will be a concentration in industry ownership through business sales / take-overs, driven by ‘Darwinian selection’ and the fact that – in line with general demographic trends – more manufacturing business owners will leave the sector than new owners entering.
Q: Could you share more details about the Make NZ Industry Conference you will be hosting at SouthMach and what attendees can expect?
The conference will be a full day event, themed on ‘Tuning your production engine’, focusing in on increasing productivity by driving up employee engagement in your manufacturing business. The content will be primarily aimed at production and operations managers. We’ll be offering presentations, panel discussions, and plenty of opportunity for those in attendance to share their own thoughts and ideas.
Q: What are some of the key topics that will be discussed?
We’ll be exploring how to increase productivity by driving up employee engagement, getting your team not only on board with change but driving aspects of change themselves. To do this we’ll be focusing on three key points- people, processes, and systems.
Sponsored content: For more information email Jack Heslin at jack@xpo.co.nz.