The Southern Manufacturing Show free seminar programme gives visitors and exhibitors alike the chance to take part in a wide-ranging programme of presentations, each delivered by experts in their respective fields.

This year's seminar programme combines practical advice and guidance on topics which affect business today, with an insight into the trends and ideas that will shape engineering business in the future. Wayne Davies of the Manufacturing Advisory Service-SE will present an innovative approach to adapting the ideas of Six Sigma to an SME environment. Wayne's colleague from the MAS-SE, Stewart Barrass, will present a similar insight into Lean Thinking for engineering SMEs.

Mike Foster of the CE Marking Association will present an update of the latest legislative requirements to affect business, together with practical steps businesses can take towards compliance. John Grieves of Continuous Improvement Services gives an appraisal of the benefits of sustainable improvement programmes to smaller organisations, and the skills necessary to implement them effectively, while Michael West from BeStrategic will examine some of the techniques which can help businesses succeed in new product development.

Graham Tromans of the Rapid Manufacturing Research Group at Loughborough University will look at the development of rapid prototyping and tooling technologies and the effect they may have on manufacturing in the future. Finally, an absorbing session hosted by the Components Bureau will take an objective and frank look behind the headlines to examine the quality assurance issues affecting sub-contracting in Asia. Illustrated by case studies, representatives from Chinese manufacturing industry and professional organisations will give advice on practical measures than can be taken to improve supply chain management.

Attendance at all the seminars is free and open to all visitors and exhibitors at Southern Manufacturing and Electronics. Places are limited and demand is expected to be exceptionally high so pre-booking is essential. Visitor pre-registration for the event and seminars, together with full event information, is available online at www.industry.co.uk/southern.

Farnborough International Venue and Events (FIVE), the new home of Southern Manufacturing and Electronics, offers superb facilities, plentiful free car parking, easy access by road, rail or air, and an excellent selection of local hotels and restaurants. Running alongside the Southern shows will be a new attraction, Auto Aero 2008, a show aimed at specialist aerospace and automotive engineering suppliers.