Visit us at Scotland’s leading manufacturing and supply chain event
The Scotland manufacturing & supply chain conference & exhibition is Scotland's top event for manufacturing and engineering where attendees can explore new technologies, hear from leading experts, and network with industry leaders from sectors including aerospace, energy, and renewables. Key topics include Industry 4.0, sustainability, and digital manufacturing.
The National Manufacturing Institute Scotland is exhibiting for the third year in a row and will showcase groundbreaking innovations that are reshaping manufacturing. Discover how we're helping industry drive value retention through a circular economy and exploring smart recycling, paving the way for a more sustainable and efficient future.
You can also learn more about our work across cutting-edge lightweight composite structures and advancements in metals, from high-performance alloys to 3D-printed metallics, delivering stronger, lighter, and more sustainable solutions that are transforming industries.
Take advantage of the chance to hear from our experts as they discuss key topics such as Scotland's advanced manufacturing growth, fostering innovation through inclusion, addressing the manufacturing skills gap, and developing sustainable, waste-free supply chains, among others.
Our friendly team will be there and ready to talk to you about the work that we do and how we can support you in your innovation journey to help you grow and become more productive.
Speaking sessions
Wed 23 Oct (10.20-10.40)
Addressing skills challenges for manufacturing supply chains
- Speaker: Jennifer Griffith
- Stage: Lean, productivity & continuous improvement
The importance of skills is becoming increasingly prevalent across today’s industries and skills shortages are routinely cited as one of the largest challenges organisations in the current labour market. Here we provide a unique insight into the relevance and impact of skills in manufacturing and supply chains from a research perspective.
Wed 23 Oct (10.20-10.40)
The development of the circular economy supply chain for the wind industry - barriers and opportunities, how big is the prize?
- Speaker: Evgenia Yakushina
- Stage: Supply chain & logistics
The wind industry is poised for a circular economy (CE) transformation, but faces hurdles like regulatory challenges, technological limitations, and high initial costs. Join this talk to explore how overcoming these barriers can unlock tremendous value for the industry.
Wed 23 Oct (14.20-14.40)
Integrating the supply chain in capital projects
- Speaker: Dr Aleksandar Nikilov
- Stage: Supply chain & logistics
We'll dive into supply chains of project-based organisations (PBOs) and introduce supply chain integration (SCI) within project portfolios. By moving from siloed, project-based supply chains into SCI, we can improve productivity and maximise value in project portfolio delivery. The talk focuses on offshore wind as an industry of interest, provide an overview of current challenges, some key project insights and what this means for SCI.
Thur 24 Oct (10.00-10.20)
SOS! Skills challenges, opportunities, and solutions
- Speaker: Stewart McKinlay
- Stage: Aerospace, security & maritime
Many engineering and manufacturing employers are listing skills as all of their top three challenges. What are the skills challenges for manufacturing and the supply chain, how big are the opportunities if we get it right, and what are some of the practical solutions.
Thur 24 Oct (10.20-10.40)
Wear-resistant coatings for a sustainable future: alternative to electroplated hard chrome
- Speaker: Calum Hicks
- Stage: 3D printing, high-tech manufacturing & advanced engineering
Corrosion and wear damage costs the global economy an estimated 3.1% of GDP. Traditionally, electrolytic hard chrome (EHC) plating has provided effective wear and corrosion resistance, but manufacturing process is facing increased regulatory scrutiny due to toxic and carcinogenic concerns. Learn more about the collaboration with NMIS, Howden – a Chart Industries Company, and the Advanced Materials Research Laboratory, exploring alternative coatings for compressor rotor journals.
Thur 24 Oct (11.00-11.40)
Building a diverse and inclusive manufacturing workforce
- Panel: Stewart McKinlay (NMIS) & Jill MacBryde (University of Strathclyde)
- Stage: Main Stage
Thur 24 Oct (12.30-12.50)
Scotland - A high tech manufacturing hub
- Speaker: Elangovan Parameswaran
- Stage: 3D printing, high-tech manufacturing & advanced engineering
Scotland aims to flourish in the high-tech manufacturing supply chain. This discussion will address the significant gaps in advanced manufacturing processes and offer insights on bringing the manufacturing supply chain to Scotland. It will feature industrial case studies on high-tech manufacturing and precision engineering, with a focus on sustainable goals.
Thur 24 Oct (12.30-12.50)
The digital journey - sensors to ChatGPT
- Speaker: Alastair Williams
- Stage: Food & beverage manufacturing
Explore how the food and drink industry is transforming with IoT sensors and natural language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. This talk highlights how sensors collect critical data—such as temperature and supply chain flow—across production, processing, and distribution, and how LLMs turn this data into actionable insights. Despite challenges like sensor accuracy and data management, combining these technologies enables smarter decision-making, from inventory optimization to trend prediction.
Thur 24 Oct (12.50-13.10)
Investigating circular economy of PET in food packaging
- Speaker: Dr. Mohammad Reza Allazadeh
- Stage: Food & beverage manufacturing
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a powerhouse in beverage packaging, primarily as single-use plastic water bottles. While it's recyclable and ranks as the third most used plastic in food packaging, challenges remain in the market for recycled PET (rPET) due to its higher costs compared to virgin PET. This talk delves into the efficiency of PET in reducing carbon footprints.
Thur 24 Oct (13.10-13.30)
Green manufacturing: hybrid superplastic forming of titanium components
- Speaker: Dr. Jun Liu
- Stage: 3D printing, high-tech manufacturing & advanced engineering
Join us for a discussion on Superplastic Forming (SPF), a groundbreaking aerospace technique for producing high-precision, complex components. Despite its advantages, traditional SPF faces challenges with slow forming rates and high energy costs. We will present a new hybrid method that combines hot drawing and gas blowing in one operation, significantly increasing speed and energy efficiency. This approach lowers temperatures, reduces production times, and minimizes alpha case formation, leading to more sustainable, cost-effective manufacturing with less reliance on hazardous chemicals.
Thur 24 Oct (13.30-13.50)
Exploring MBD: discover the future beyond 2D drawings
- Speaker: Lewes Glen
- Stage: 3D printing, high-tech manufacturing & advanced engineering
Join us for an insightful presentation on Model-Based Definition (MBD), where we’ll explore the shift from traditional 2D drawings to this innovative approach that is gaining traction across industries. Discover the key standards and file formats that facilitate MBD, and learn how the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) is at the forefront of embracing this transformative technology.
Meet our experts
Alastair Williams
Food & drink theme lead
Alistair leverages his extensive manufacturing background as an engineer, executive, and consultant to support Scotland’s food and drink industry. He helps manufacturers access technology, talent, and funding to drive R&D project that help improve production, embrace digital innovation, and boost sustainability.
Dr Evgenia Yakushina
Principal knowledge-exchange fellow
Evgenia has has spent more than 10 years in leadership roles, including Senior Manufacturing Engineer and Forming Team Leader, where she developed expertise in strategic business development and project management, delivering over 100 national and international projects. Dr. Yakushina currently serves as the Strategic Programme Manager for NMIS’s major initiative, the Coalition for Wind Industry Circularity (CWIC).
Lewes Glen
CAD designer
Lewes Glen MEng has worked at NMIS for 2 years. He is a CAD Designer who works in the CAD & Tooling Theme which is part of the NMIS Design Team. During his time at NMIS, Lewes has worked in projects involving Oil & Gas, Aerospace, Medical, Defence & Power Plant sectors.
Elangovan Parameswaran
Hot forming theme lead
Elangovan is a Mechanical engineer holding an M.S. degree in Manufacturing Management from Birla Institute of Technology and Science. He also possesses a technical PG Diploma in tool design. Elangovan is a member of the International Deep Draw Research Group (IDDRG) and the Sheet Metal Forming Research Association (SMFRA).
Jennifer Griffith
Skills project lead
Jennifer Griffith is the Net Zero Skills Project Lead at the National Manufacturing Institute of Scotland's Manufacturing Skills Academy. She graduated with a First-Class Honours BSc in Product Design and Innovation from the University of Strathclyde. With over five years of experience in the industrial LED lighting sector, Jennifer is experienced in the management of national electrical installation projects, product marketing, and sustainability communication. Her work has had a strong focus on remanufacturing and the circular economy, and she contributed to the BSI 8887 committee for the remanufacture of luminaires. In her current role, Jennifer leads on projects that help manufacturing companies overcome skills challenges related to achieving the UK's Net Zero goals.
Dr Jun Liu
Senior manufacturing engineer
Dr. Jun Liu specialises in metallic materials and manufacturing engineering, focusing on sheet metal forming technologies. He earned his PhD in 2013, developing a novel superplastic forming process using aluminium and titanium alloys under lower temperatures and faster forming conditions. Dr. Liu leads research projects at the AFRC aimed at developing lightweight manufacturing technologies for automotive and aerospace applications.
Stewart McKinlay
Skills director
Stewart brings deep expertise in education and skills development. As NMIS MSA Skills Director, he previously served as Associate Director at the University of Strathclyde’s Engineering Academy, where he helped launch the Engineering Graduate Apprenticeship program. Stewart has also worked with the Engineering Sector Skills Council and currently sits on the Making Scotland’s Future program board and chairs the Equate Scotland Steering Board.
Dr Aleksandar Nikolov
Senior analyst
Dr. Aleksandar Nikolov is a Senior Supply Chain Analyst at NMIS. He holds a PhD from the University of Warwick, where he focused on supply chain integration in capital projects. Prior to his PhD, Aleksandar accumulated 10 years of experience in both education and industry. After earning an MSc in Supply Chain Management from Cranfield University, he worked as a consultant and project manager, contributing to projects across the oil and gas, infrastructure, and public service sectors, both in the UK and internationally.
Calum Hicks
Research & development engineer
Dr Mohammad Reza Allazadeh
Manufacturing engineer
Dr. Allazadeh holds degrees in manufacturing technology from the University of Miskolc, an MSc in mechanical engineering from Brown University, and a PhD in mechanical engineering and materials science from the University of Pittsburgh. His academic career includes roles as a teaching assistant, postdoctoral researcher, assistant professor, research fellow, and associate professor. Since 2015, he has been a key manufacturing engineer in the Forming team at NMIS-AFRC, contributing to innovation in the field.