Victorian Premier endorses NMW 2013

The state government of Victoria has welcomed the return of National Manufacturing Week (NMW) to Melbourne in 2013 as a reflection of its strategy for revitalising the state’s manufacturing sector.

NMW 2013 - co-located with Austech - takes place at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre from 7-10 May. This year’s event focuses on strategies for boosting performance and productivity - an acknowledged priority for Victoria’s state government.

Describing NMW as a “great event”, Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu said, “The focus of National Manufacturing Week is ‘doing more with less’. This complements the Victorian Coalition government’s commitment to increasing Victoria’s economic productivity and maintaining a strong manufacturing industry.

“The Victorian government understands the challenges facing the industry, including the impact of a high Australian dollar. We remain focused on boosting innovation, competitiveness, productivity and labour force participation.”

When last held in Melbourne in 2011, NMW attracted over 11,500 trade visitors, with nine out of 10 visitors saying they were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with the event. Paul Baker, Exhibition Director for NMW, said he expected this year’s event to be “equally successful”.

“The exhibition team is working hard to develop areas of particular interest to industry. For example, responding to industry feedback we have introduced two new Product Zones - Sustainable Manufacturing and Metals & Composites. This means that the show will be clearly segmented in 12 Product Zones to help buyers and sellers find each other easily.”

Details of NMW 2013 exhibitors, features and parallel events will be posted on www.nationalmanufacturingweek.com.au over the coming months. With almost 80% of available space already allocated for the event, Baker urges companies who are considering exhibiting to contact the NMW team to confirm their participation by visiting the website or emailing Guy Freebody at guy.freebody@reedexhibitions.com.au as soon as possible.