Discover Innovation Alley

A cutting-edge, disruptive technology event like no other

Located at the very heart of Smart Factory Expo, Made Smarter Innovation Alley is the UK's leading showcase of all the new and developing technologies that will change the landscape of manufacturing over the next 5-10 years.

2023 saw groundbreaking new solutions from the next wave of tech and consultancy businesses targeting the UK manufacturing sector.

Visitors were able to meet and engage with early-stage companies and their founders to uncover game-changing opportunities waiting for their business.

Why Exhibit at Made Smarter Innovation Alley?

Funded by Innovate UK and supported by Innovate UK KTN, the Alley is open to university spin-outs, start-ups and scale-ups who are less than 5 years old, employ less than 10 members of staff, have an innovative digital product or service targeting manufacturers.

Over 300 past exhibitors are now part of the Innovation Alley Alumni which provides access to a wealth of support, brand exposure, funding, and collaboration opportunities from across the innovation ecosystem, in the UK and internationally.

network

Network

With industry leaders from some of the most renowned companies within manufacturing

press

Press Opportunities

Leverage the extensive coverage of all Digital Manufacturing Week activity

central

Centrally Located

With Innovation Alley at the heart of Smart Factory Expo, be sure that you won't be missed off the visitor itinerary

Brand Awareness

Develop brand recognition and solidify your position within the manufacturing sector

grow

Grow

Capitalise on the opportunity to stand out amongst the larger exhibitors

customer

Customer Acquisition

Meet and engage with your ideal customers on a one-to-one basis

Hats Off to some very cool tech on Innovation Alley

iov42

The team at iov42 were invited to take part in the Alley through Innovate UK KTN. A young company at the start of their growth journey, iov42 were working with Tata Steel UK on a Digital Product Passport prototype and saw a massive opportunity to take this technology to the wider manufacturing industry. They wanted to engage with a wider network of manufacturing businesses to test their message and refine their product model. iov42 met with lots of different manufacturers on the Alley over the 2 days – everyone from Pharmaceutical manufacturers, to companies manufacturing Art........

FC Labs

With their hard hats and state-of-the-art technology, FC Labs stormed Made Smarter Innovation Alley at Smart Factory Expo in November 2022. Founder Mathew Norbury and Head of Engineering David Moore had conversations with over 100 people across the two days from the innovation lead at Unilever to engineers at Tata Steel and Portakabin.

We caught up with Mathew Norbury to ask him about his technology and what were his thoughts on being an Alley cat in 2022.

Innovate UK’s Innovation Village

Showcasing leading edge innovation in low-carbon advanced manufacturing, the Innovation Village and Innovation Stage will feature companies supported by Innovate UK, access to investment support, details of funding opportunities and a series of speakers who are leaders in their industry.

The Made Smarter Innovation (MSI) stand, located in the Innovation Village, will feature 3 of the MSI projects – the Digital Supply Chain Hub, the Smart Manufacturing Data Hub and InterAct.