Group launching virtual exhibition

The Made in Group, which includes Made in the Midlands and Made in Yorkshire, has invested more than £150,000 in developing Backing Britain Live 2020.

The hope is to attract 5,000 virtual attendees and it is already being supported by 200 exhibitors.

Since lockdown in March the Birmingham-based group has been working to ensure the exhibition keeps as many aspects of a real exhibition as possible. To date they have written 100,000 lines of code to create the exhibition hall and accompanying features, spent 175 hours on art work and a total of 15 weeks in the making.

BBLive2020 will take place at www.backingbritain.com to showcase manufacturers and other businesses.

The innovative virtual exhibition came about in response to the pandemic after the company’s regional exhibitions were cancelled.

Jason Pitt, chief executive of the Made in Group, said: “Made in exhibitions are significant events that many members and visitors look forward to, but like many aspects of our way of life, we have had to make considerable adjustments. However I am pleased to say that we have found an alternative way of delivering our expos safely and innovatively.

"We are an innovative organisation when it comes to technology. As a business, we have developed a digital platform that allows members to create their own social media microsite, upload news and attend virtual webinars. The Made in Group has always had a strong technology focus."

Delegates and exhibitors will have the chance to attend more than 25 seminar events including virtual round tables on topics such as smart factories, green manufacturing and supply chain localisation.

There will be keynote speeches from industry leaders such as Dr Andy Palmer, former CEO of Aston Martin and Andrew Boothroyd, Head of Logistics at Mclaren F1.

Exhibiting manufacturers include the likes of Atlas Copco, Liberty House and ADI Group.