Organisers highlight host of new features for IMHX

Visitors to IMHX 2013 will experience many added-value activities including an expanded conference programme and brand-new feature areas.

The IMHX 'Logistics Excellence' Conference will have two streams: a themed series of seminars at strategic level delivered by renowned industry experts - including Professor Alan Waller, visiting professor at Cranfield School of Management, and Professor Alan Braithwaite, visiting professor at Cranfield School of Business - plus an interesting choice of case study presentations at operational level to demonstrate examples of logistics best practice.

For the first time ever, IMHX will have a Skills & Apprenticeships Zone in a bid to bring together talented young people and companies needing new recruits. Situated in Hall 17, the Skills & Apprenticeships Zone will be spearheaded by the BITA Academy, a dedicated apprenticeship training facility operated in conjunction with City of Bristol College.

Established earlier this year to help find and train the next generation of materials handling engineers, the BITA Academy is supported by all the major manufacturers, suppliers and service firms. The Skills & Apprenticeships Zone will feature the winning vehicles from BITA's 'Enduro Challenge' engineering competition for secondary schools, some hands-on engineering activities and a consultation area for employers. The prizes for Endurance (furthest distance travelled), Design/Innovation and Entrepreneurship - £5000 plus an expenses-paid visit to a European forklift truck manufacturing plant, £3000 and £2000 respectively - will be presented to the winning schools on the first morning of IMHX.

Also brand-new at IMHX will be the UKWA 3PL Zone, hosted by the United Kingdom Warehousing Association, and the International Visitors' Lounge, where visitors from overseas can relax in comfort or hold meetings with clients or suppliers. In addition, with many exhibitors using IMHX as the launch pad for new products and services and over 40 first-time exhibitors already confirmed among the show's expected 400 stands, visitors are guaranteed to see a whole host of new technologies and innovative ideas for materials handling.

In addition, the heats of what promises to be another hotly contested RTITB Operator of the Year Competition will take place at IMHX 2013. Over the four days of the show, forklift operators from across the UK and Ireland will compete in a special arena designed to test their skills to the full, with the best then moving forward to the Grand Final - to be held at RTITB's headquarters in Telford, Shropshire, in September 2013 - where they will have the chance to win a brand-new car.

The show will once again feature the AMHSA Pavilion, hosted by the Automated Material Handling Systems Association. With a number of AMHSA member stands clustered around a hospitality and presentation area, the AMHSA Pavilion provides a focus for suppliers of automated handling systems. Members will be giving short 'Meet the expert' presentations in the pavilion to give visitors an overview of key automation topics such as AGVs and voice picking technology.

Also returning to show are the Design 4 Safety Awards, which recognise the importance of product design in improving safety throughout the materials handling industry. Entry is now open - via the IMHX website - to all exhibitors in seven award categories: industrial vehicles & ancillary products; automation; goods-in/goods-out; racking & storage; technology; safety practices; and apprentices (a special category in which industry apprentices can submit their ideas for how existing products and procedures could be improved). Three entries from each category will be shortlisted early in 2013, with the winners in each category celebrated in the Design 4 Safety zone at IMHX 2013 and in the show catalogue; visitors to IMHX will then be invited to vote for an overall 'People's Choice' award, to be announced at the exhibition.