The home of the UK’s lab industry expands floor plan to accommodate increased interest in this year’s show

The UK’s largest annual trade show for the lab industry, Lab Innovations will return to the NEC, Birmingham, on November 1 and 2, 2023, to champion sustainability and innovation in the lab industry. This year’s exhibition is already shaping up to be a must-attend event, with over 84 per cent of the exhibition space already sold, despite increasing the floorplan at this year’s show to accommodate more exhibitors than ever.

Last year, 192 exhibitors and 4,213 visitors attended Lab Innovations as the show celebrated its tenth anniversary in style. The numbers are set to grow again this year, leading to the show increasing the floorplan for this year. There are already many exciting exhibitors confirmed for Lab Innovations 2023, such as SLS, IKA, Shimadzu, Analytix, Getinge, PerkinElmer, Antylia Scientific (formerly Cole-Parmer) and Veolia Water Technologies to name a few.

During last year’s show, Simon Osborne, President at Analytix, commented, “The volume of people we’ve seen has been unbelievable and even bigger than we imagined. We’ve met lots of people that we haven’t met before and we have been able to establish personal connections. We’ve already booked for next year.”

Sustainability was a key part of the agenda at last year’s show as it hosted The Sustainable Laboratory, ran by Andy Evans, director of Green Light Laboratories, and the sustainability trail, which was new to the show last year and highlighted the exhibitors, such as Haier Biomedical Grenova and Labcon, leading the way on lab sustainability. Furthermore, My Green Labs, along with Laboratory News, helped to organise the sustainability themed programme at the show’s Insights & Innovation theatre. Both The Sustainable Laboratory and the sustainability trail will be back this year as the show continues to champion the equipment and processes that are helping the entire laboratory injury become more sustainable.

Lab Innovations is home to four free-to-attend theatre programmes – the Royal Society of Chemistry Theatre, the Insights & Innovation Theatre, the Cleanroom Hub and Live Lab. After a really successful show in 2022, the Live Lab Theatre, which is the home of live technical demonstrations during the show, has doubled in size for 2023’s event. This means there are more opportunities than ever for exhibitors to showcase their technologies.

This year’s show will also host a larger-than-ever Lab Awards, which will take the form of a gala dinner on the evening of November 1. The Lab Awards is brought to you in partnership with Laboratory News and will celebrate the key achievements of the laboratory industry, with awards covering Innovation, Sustainability, Collaboration and Inclusion. With the leading people and brands in the industry set to attend, Lab Awards is an event not to be missed.

One of last year’s winners, Andrew James, managing director at Ellutia Ltd, commented during the event, “We picked up the Lab Automation award at this year’s Lab Awards event at Lab Innovations. We are really proud to have earned the recognition of the Lab Awards with this prize. It will help us raise awareness about our innovative new system throughout the lab industry and also gives us a chance to celebrate with the industry’s leading figures.”

Once again, Lab Innovations will be co-located with Advanced Engineering, which is supported by key industry bodies such as the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), Composites UK, Make UK, UKRI, UK Space Agency, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, GAMBICA, BARA and the Department for International Trade. This facilitates cross-industry collaboration and increased networking opportunities for both exhibitors and visitors.

As the largest Lab Innovations exhibition yet, 2023’s show is set to be a must-attend event for the whole lab industry.

About Lab Innovations

Lab Innovations has fast become the UK’s must-attend event for the entire laboratory industry. Supported by some of the UK’s top science institutions, it is a key event for powering the business of science.

The show floor is bursting with innovations from more than 160 leading scientific suppliers and manufacturers showcasing the latest laboratory developments and equipment. Exhibitors present the most cutting-edge technology applicable to a plethora of industries including life sciences, pharmaceuticals, academia, healthcare, chemical, food & drink, cleanroom and more.