DFA Media sells shows but keeps the magazines
Published: 13 October, 2022
DFA Media Group has sold the Plant & Asset Management Exhibition, and its co-located events – Drives & Controls, Fluid Power & Systems, Airtech and Smart Industry Expo – to Nineteen Group, which organises the annual Manufacturing + Engineering Week (M+E Week) event at the Birmingham NEC. The terms of the transaction have not been revealed.
The deal does not affect the Plant & Works Engineering magazine and Web site, or its sister publications – including Drives & Controls, Hydraulics & Pneumatics and the online portal Smart Futures – which will continue to be published by DFA Manufacturing Media. The Talking Industry series of Webinars and podcasts will not be affected either, and all members of staff will be staying with DFA Manufacturing Media.
The five transferred events will join the M+E Week line-up – which already includes the Design Engineering Expo, the Engineering Expo, the Manufacturing Expo and Maintec – in 2024.
“Drives & Controls is another exciting addition to the Nineteen family and fits with our strategy to create the leading platform for manufacturing events in the UK,” says Nineteen Group CEO, Peter Jones. “The UK is the ninth-largest manufacturer in the world and is facing a period of unprecedented change which is always the major ingredient for trade show innovation. This event is completely synergistic with the rest of our rapidly growing manufacturing portfolio.”
The Drives & Controls Show has been the meeting point for the industry since it launched at the Motorcycle Museum in 1991. DFA Media Group CEO Ian Atkinson and MD Ryan Fuller acquired the event in 2004 and relocated the show to the NEC where it has become the leading event in a growing industry driven by the adoption of automation and Industry 4.0.
DFA Manufacturing Media will be the lead media partner for the event under its new ownership and will be responsible for producing the show catalogue and promoting the event. It will also have a significant presence at future M+E Week events and will support the events’ development with its media products.
Haf Cennydd has joined Nineteen Group as exhibition director and will lead the integration of the exhibitions.
“This is a fabulous opportunity for the Drives & Controls Show to continue on its growth path and expand as part of a wider group of world-class manufacturing events,” says DFA CEO, Ian Atkinson. “Peter Jones and his team have strong exhibition experience and will invest in the Drives & Controls Show. As lead media partner, we will work closely with Haf and the team at Nineteen to ensure the sector has lots of touch points throughout the year.”
DFA Manufacturing Media’s MD, Ryan Fuller commented: “This also allows DFA Manufacturing Media to focus more heavily on developing its content-related products and electronic/digital products closely aligned to the Drives & Controls media brand.”
https://www.linkedin.com/company/nineteen-events/
