Fifteen Manufacturing and Industrial journalists quiz experts on role of digitalisation in tackling energy crisis at unique editors’ briefing in Central London
Fifteen Manufacturing and Industrial journalists quiz experts on role of digitalisation in tackling energy crisis at unique editors’ briefing in Central London
16th March 2023 – First Friday Editors’ Briefings, the UK’s only regular press briefing for industrial and manufacturing journalists has once again pulled together industry leaders to take part in what is becoming annual event – a special panel discussion hosted at the AVEVA UOC (Unified Operations Centre) Customer Experience Centre in London. The facilitated panel briefing was chaired by Cadence Innovation Marketing MD and Industrial Lead, Tom Spencer. It centred around the scale of the energy crisis and how UK industry is positioned to solve it. The panel was made up of industry leaders from AVEVA, Schneider Electric, SolutionsPT, INDEFF and Stratus Technologies. It showcased their individual and combined strength in delivering successful digital transformation programmes.
Tom Spencer said: “The power-panel once again offered a range of digital transformation expertise and insight from world-class vendors, VARs, and Systems Integrators, all vital players in successful Digital Transformation adoption for any industrial enterprise. The discussion offered up a focussed take on the energy crisis and what businesses could do to reduce their power consumption and get ready for Net Zero”.
Recent reports from MAKE UK show that rising energy bills are threatening the business of 60% of manufacturers, up from 8% reported just four months earlier. 42% of manufacturers surveyed say their electricity bills have increase by 100% in the past 12 months with 52% stating they expect their electricity costs to further increase by another 100% in the next 12 months. “It’s clear this issue is impacting industrial enterprises here in the UK and we wanted to understand the role of digitalisation in mitigating the affect” added Spencer.
The facilitated panel discussion was punctuated by a live demonstration of AVEVA Unified Operations Control software and a case study illustrating how SolutionsPT, Stratus, Schneider Electric and AVEVA are working closely together to help reduce energy consumption on a major brewery project.
First Friday Club Editors’ Briefings strive to reach the heart of industrial issues while bringing together experts to speak directly to the industrial press. Summing up the session Spencer added: “One year on from a panel discussion on ‘developing an ecosystem of world-class vendors’ we were proud to give journalists the opportunity to hear from, and put questions directly to, a panel that represents so many of the different aspects of Digital Transformation’s role in operations during and post energy crisis”.
The next monthly First Friday Club briefing will be on March 24th in Central London with representatives from igus, The IET, Fractory and M&E Expo. Registration is open to technical journalists now via the usual channels. Companies keen to get in front of the industrial media should contact Neil Fullbrook – www.firstfridayeditors.org
