This year’s version of the CHEMUK show is the largest ever but it also has an enhanced focus on the chemical laboratory, which has its dedicated zone and programme.
The CHEMUK 2024 EXPO will return on 15 and 16 May to its now traditional location at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. It’s the largest that the event has ever been but says Ian Stone, MD of Expo organiser UK Industry Events, that does not come at the expense of the many specialist areas of the chemicals industry, notably laboratory science.
A dedicated Chemical Laboratory Show Zone will showcase specialist laboratory chemicals and chemical equipment suppliers supporting R&D, analysis, process design and development, scale-up and quality testing within the chemical and chemical product industries.
Stone explains the decision to introduce the focused zone: “The industrial chemicals, polymers, pharma, industrial biotech and formulated product industries have highly complex and demanding research, development, scale-up and test and quality cycles, with ever more demanding requirements for pushing the boundaries of speed, quality, analytical data, accuracy and compliance.
“The Chemical Laboratory Show Zone provides an annual one-stop shop showcase of the very latest technologies, techniques, equipment, instrumentation and specialist partners supporting the demands of these very specific industry groups.”
Speaker programme
CHEMUK reach in the industry is borne out by its range of partners, which include several major trade bodies and industry associations supporting the laboratory sector – among them the Royal Society of Chemistry, Innovate UK/ KTN, ScotCHEM, IBioIC, Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), GAMBICA, and others.
Industry support also feeds a speaker programme that is an essential component of every CHEMUK show but also includes individual programmes aligned to the different show zones.
A dedicated Chemical Laboratory Show Zone will showcase specialist laboratory chemicals and chemical equipment suppliers supporting R&D, analysis, process design and development, scale-up and quality testing within the chemical and chemical product industries.
Ian Stone, MD, UK Industry Events
Among these, the Chemical Laboratory speaker programme is designed to offer breadth and depth with its diverse list of contributions.
Commenting on the 2024 line-up, Stone says: “Attendees from the sector-wide lab/R&D facilities can feast on a crammed two-day programme of intelligence, insight and discussion, addressing pivotal topics at the heart of chemicals, industrial biotech and product formulation research.”
Highlights from this year’s show will include a series of 90-minute Mini Conferences, including:
- How do we build a ‘positive’ science culture? – Royal Society of Chemistry Mini Conference
- ‘Scale-up’ challenges, towards sustainable production – IChemE Mini Conference • Bioprocess scale up: From bench top to commercialisation – IBioIC Mini Conference
- Sustainable chemicals of the future: How biotechnology can support the UK chemicals industry’s transition to net zero – IBioIC Mini Conference
- Evolution of the chemicals industry – Hosted by Innovate UK and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Mini Conference
- Technologies that will disrupt chemical manufacturing – Hosted by Innovate UK and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Mini Conference
In addition, the speaker programme will present expert presentations and keynotes, including:
- RSC Presidential Address
- PLFs revolution: Creating a new mission led research and innovation ecosystem for sustainable PLFs – Hosted by Centre for Process Innovation (CPI)
- Lab of Tomorrow – Laboratory News
- Supporting your journey to net zero – Innovate UK KTN on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero/DESNZ
- New technologies from the solvents industry on the road to net zero – Solvents Industry Association
- Smarter cleaning – Novel solutions for detergents – British Chemicals Association
- Sustainable Beauty: Circular by Design – Applying LCA to the beauty and personal care product industry – Cosmetics Cluster
- Connecting into the UK’s innovation support ecosystem – ScotCHEM Panel Session
- Continuous membrane-based separation to improve batch extraction productivity – Zaiput
- When Batch is Best – Hosted by bm4tech
- Formulating biology – New challenges for chemists – iFormulate
Equally important, the Expo includes a massive exhibition space housing in excess of 500 stands, representing various aspects of the industry in addition to the lab including process and plant engineering and safety, raw materials, logistics business services, regulatory and much more. Additionally, there are three other zones: chemicals supply and chemicals management, as well as process and chemical engineering. CHEMUK 2024 takes place on Wednesday 15 (9.30am to 5pm) and Thursday 16 May 2024 (9.30am to 4pm) at Hall 1, NEC (National Exhibition Centre), Birmingham B40 1NT.
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