A sincere thank you to everyone who visited MRT’s stand at Southern Manufacturing & Electronics 2026 at Farnborough International in February.

It was a pleasure to reconnect with many of our existing customers and to meet a wide range of prospective partners working on ambitious new products and projects. The conversations we had – whether focused on cost pressures, design refinement or future development – were exactly the kind of practical, solution-led discussions we value.

Having attended this event for more than 25 years, it has become more than just a date in the diary. For us, it serves as a useful barometer for the wider UK manufacturing landscape. This year, several themes emerged consistently: continued cost pressures, ongoing fragility within global supply chains, and (encouragingly) a strong pipeline of innovation from UK engineers and designers developing products at the forefront of new technology.

These drivers create both challenge and opportunity. They are also areas where MRT is particularly well placed to support.

We work in partnership with our customers to address exactly these kinds of pressures – whether that means reshoring an existing project to improve quality and service levels, advising on casting design to optimise a new component, or engineering more efficient manufacturing approaches to reduce overall product cost. Collaboration at the right stage of a project can make a significant difference.

The 2026 Southern Manufacturing & Electronics show was the largest to date, with at least 570 fellow exhibitors and more than 10,700 attendees across the three days. The scale of the event reflects the strength and depth of the manufacturing ecosystem in the South of the UK. It also provided a valuable opportunity to connect with many of our trusted local suppliers, technology partners and industry colleagues.

If you were unable to attend but would like to discuss an upcoming casting project, our team would be pleased to continue the conversation.

We look forward to returning next year. Please save the dates, 2-4 February 2027, for the next instalment of what has become the UK’s most comprehensive annual industrial exhibition.