Draft agenda - subject to change
DAY ONE - Tuesday, 28th October 2026
08:00 - 08:50
REGISTRATION, REFRESHMENTS AND NETWORKING
09:00 - 09:10
Chair’s Welcome and Opening Remarks
THINK TANK CHALLENGES
The summit opens with our Think Tank Challenges. Delivered over three separate 25-minute sessions. The sessions consist of 10 tables of 8-10 attendees, including sponsors and industry leaders.
The tables will be labelled with a specific industry challenge. Pre-event, all guests will choose 3 challenges that are most interesting and relevant to them. During each session, the group of like-minded attendees will work together to find a solution and potential business impact.
09:15 - 09:40
Think Tank Challenge 1
Working Think Tank Challange topics:
- From Pilot to Plant: Scaling Digital Initiatives Successfully
Explore strategies to transition from pilot projects to full-scale digital implementations.
- Building Resilient Operations in a Disruptive Landscape
Learn how to enhance operational agility amidst rapid industry changes.
- Enhancing Supply Chain Integration and Security
Discover methods to create connected and secure supply chains.
- Industrial AI: Transforming Manufacturing Processes
Understand the practical applications of AI in manufacturing.
- Digital Twins: Bridging Physical and Digital Worlds
Explore the use of digital twins to optimise manufacturing operations.
- Cybersecurity in Smart Manufacturing
Address the growing cybersecurity challenges in digital manufacturing.
- Data-Driven Decision Making in Manufacturing
Leverage data analytics to inform strategic decisions.
- Sustainable Manufacturing: Achieving Green Goals
Incorporate sustainability into manufacturing processes.
- Workforce Transformation in the Digital Age
Prepare your workforce for the demands of modern manufacturing.
- Leveraging IoT for Operational Excellence
Utilise IoT technologies to enhance manufacturing efficiency.
- Predictive Maintenance: Minimising Downtime
Implement predictive maintenance strategies to improve reliability.
- Advanced Robotics and Automation
Explore the integration of robotics into manufacturing workflows.
- Cloud Computing in Manufacturing
Understand the role of cloud technologies in modern manufacturing.
09:45 - 10:10
Think Tank Challenge 2
Think Tanks Challange topics repeated as above
10:15 - 10:40
Think Tank Challenge 3
Think Tanks Challange topics repeated as above
10:40 - 11:00
COFFEE AND NETWORKING
11:00 - 11:25
OPENING KEYNOTE
Is agentic AI the future of smart manufacturing? Uncovering latest technology and assessing risks/benefits for your plant
Key Takeaways:
How to bridge the skills gap for digital-ready workforce through practical training examples?
Real-world strategies for overcoming employee resistance and managing change during digital transformation initiatives.
How to use human-AI collaboration to enhance decision-making and empower human operators on the shop floor?
How can AI-powered platforms be leveraged to deliver measurable ROI for a future-ready workforce through continuous learning?
Meeting session 1
11:30 - 12:05
INNOVATOR PANEL DISCUSSION
Decoupling software from hardware: Building flexible and scalable platform-based control systems for manufacturing through software-defined automation (SDA)
Key Takeaways:
- Increasing flexibility, reducing costs, and supporting modern workforce engagement through low-code/no-code environments and digital twin capabilities
- Using SDA to deploy virtualised, adaptable, and interoperable automation systems on versatile computing platforms such as industrial PCs, edge servers, or cloud environments
- Uncovering rapid deployment and reconfiguration of virtual controllers across various hardware, supporting modular system design and reducing downtime
Meeting session 2
12:10 – 12:35
TECHNOLOGY KEYNOTE
Unifying IT/OT systems with seamless edge data integration for an interoperable IIoT infrastructure
Key takeaways:
- Best practices for modernising outdated OT to enable secure and resilient IT/OT convergence.
- How to ensure the integrity and reliability of data streams from integrated legacy and OT systems for accurate insights and automation?
- What proven cybersecurity protocols mitigate escalating risks in interconnected IT/OT environments, considering evolving regulations?
- What network segmentation architectures are critical for a disruption-ready factory, safeguarding converged IT/OT systems?
Shashank Sharma, Senior Product Marketing Manager, HiveMQ
Meeting session 3
12:40 - 13:05
SUSTAINABILITY SESSION
How digitalisation can drive sustainable manufacturing practices
Regulatory initiatives like the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act are pushing companies to align with low-carbon goals. Technologies such as green hydrogen, closed-loop recycling, and energy-efficient production systems are being deployed at scale. So how can digital transformation drive sustainable, profitable manufacturing?
- Utilising IoT technology, advanced energy management systems, and predictive analytics to drastically cut energy usage and emissions.
- Understanding the role of data optimisation in demand planning and sustainable manufacturing supply chains to create cost efficiencies
Meeting session 4
13:05 - 14:00
NETWORKING LUNCH
14:00 - 14:25
CASE STUDY
Manage both plant operations and energy efficiency through one connected platform
Key takeaways:
- Build margin improvement and operational visibility with key metrics such as machine runtime and production
- Increase operational sustainability and reduce energy costs with real-time visibility into energy efficiency
- Drive continuous improvement, informed by accurate data across the entire plant operation, towards more data driven, sustainable operations.
Lauren Dunford, CEO & Co-Founder, Guidewheel
Meeting session 5
14:30 - 14:55
DATA PANEL
Progress and missteps of the data optimisation + visualisation journey in smart manufacturing
Key takeaways:
- How is real-time data visualisation improving demand planning and margins in manufacturing operations?
- What are the most effective strategies in applying data analytics to provide accurate visibility with manufacturing data visualisation?
- What are the risks to data pooling, cloud solutions and remote management / connectivity posed by vulnerabilities in IoT / cybersecurity?
Meeting session 6
15:00 - 15:25
CASE STUDY
Generate value and create optimized visualizations to build a secure and robust ecosystem for your organization’s data
Key takeaways:
- Reduce production costs by quickly and accurately identifying production bottlenecks.
- Increase production quality by exploring key indicators on the factory floor.
- Ensure environmentally impactful planning by guaranteeing compliance with protocols.
- Enhance the productive capacity of the factory floor by discovering process opportunities through data.
Presented by:
Meeting session 7
15:25 - 15:55
COFFEE AND NETWORKING
15:55 - 16:20
PRESENTATION
Connectivity is Critical: Building Real-Time Data Collection, Automation and Scalable Network Expansion
- Evolution of 5G private networks: defending against data loss, protecting data storage and enhancing transmission capabilities
- Network connectivity and real-time equipment monitoring: Network APIs, Intelligent Overlays and Hyperconnectivity
- Real-time data transmission to multiple field operators: facilitating collaboration across operating regions, optimising IoT deployment and enhancing plant safety
Mike Weller, Director of Global Solutions – Manufacturing, Verizon
Meeting session 8
16:25 - 16:50
WORKSHOP
Faster Time-To-Market manufacturing mitigating costly slowdowns, rework, and compliance risk.
- Integrate supply chain into the product lifecycle for improved time-to-market
- Monitor conformance, traceability, and model fidelity across your ecosystem.
- Feed analytics and AI engines with structured, reliable supplier data.
Presented by:
Meeting session 9
16:55 – 17:20
MANUFACTURING WORKFORCE SESSION
Building an adaptive workforce planning framework to address manufacturing volatility and increase skill requirements
- The competition for skilled workforces is increasing, especially as manufacturers invest in advanced digital tools and smart manufacturing facilities.
- The primary concern for more than a third of 600 manufacturing executives in a 2025 Deloitte survey was “equipping workers with the skills and knowledge they need to maximize the potential of smart manufacturing and operations”
- Learn how following a “build, buy, or borrow” framework for workforce planning could help manufacturers remain agile while continuing to build and strengthen their workforce for the future
Meeting session 10
17:25 - 17:50
INDUSTRY COLLABORATION KEYNOTE
From factory floor to cloud: Enabling scalable interoperability through OPC UA
- Discover how OPC UA enables seamless IT/OT integration and supports scalable digital manufacturing architectures.
- Learn how the new OPC UA Cloud Initiative connects factory floor data with major cloud platforms and analytics tools.
- Explore real-world use cases showing OPC UA in action for digital twins, predictive maintenance, and edge-to-cloud deployments.
- Understand the role of open standards in modernizing legacy systems and unlocking long-term interoperability.
Presented by:
Stefan Hoppe, President, OPC Foundation
17:55 - 18:00
Chair's Closing Remarks
18:00 - 19:00
DRINKS RECEPTION
DAY TWO – Wedesday, 29th October 2026
08:00 - 08:55
REFRESHMENTS AND NETWORKING
09:00 - 09:10
Chair's opening remarks
09:15 - 10:00
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS
Small group discussions tackling your most critical challenges
Working Roundtable topics:
- Integrating AI into Legacy Systems
- Strategies for Effective Change Management
- Enhancing Supplier Collaboration through Technology
- Implementing Digital Twins for Quality Control
- Cybersecurity Best Practices for Manufacturing
- Optimising Supply Chain Visibility
- Leveraging Data Analytics for Forecasting
- Developing a Roadmap for Digital Transformation
- Sustainable Practices in Manufacturing Operations
- Training, Retaining & Upskilling a Digitally Skilled Workforce
10:05 - 10:30
DIGITAL WORKFLOW WORKFORCE
Monitoring performance, predicting failures and improving workflow
- Optimising manufacturing processes to mitigate equipment failures and reduce downtime
- Leverage real-time insights to anticipate demand, streamline logistics and improve supplier collaboration across the value chain
- Keep sales, engineering, and production connected in a single system
Presented by:
Meeting session 11
10:35 - 10:50
COFFEE AND NETWORKING
10:55 - 11:20
CASE STUDY
Applying Agentic AI for Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO) in Smart Manufacturing
- Applying effective MRO lifecycle data in optimising hardware and technology performance across the manufacturing sector.
- How are data quality issues undermining real-time asset management and maintenance workflows in manufacturing operations.
- Uncovering agentic AI-driven tools which resolve reliability data gaps and improve margin gains
Presented by:
Meeting session 12
11:25 - 11:45
WORKSHOP
The 3 Digital Transformation Mistakes You Can’t Afford – And the Playbook to Avoid Them
Key Takeaways:
- People: The heart of transformation is trust. Without it, your entire initiative is in danger. Shared goals, clear KPIs and management buy-in turn it into a foundation that scales ROI across sites.
- Processes: Point-to-point connections are a liability, they tend to break under pressure. Decoupling OT and IT keeps operations resilient – and makes ROI measurable beyond a single plant.
- Technology: PoCs are everywhere, but without a unified foundation they stay pilots. With a central data layer and UNS, organizations advance to Agentic AI in live production– the leap from proof to practice.
Presented by:
Peter Sorowka, CEO, Cybus GmbH
Meeting session 13
11:50 - 12:15
CYBER SECURITY SESSION
Manufacturing in the Crosshairs: Lessons from Cyberattacks on the World’s most Targeted Industry Sector
The panel will be discussing:
- Mitigating the risks of inconsistent data, incompatible systems, and manual processes that derail transformation.
- The importance of data management in improving data integrity and compliance, and how it can streamline operations
- Avoiding journey stumbles caused by data fragmentation, preventable operational delays and plant shutdowns
- Using digital transformation to create agility across your operating architecture, incorporating a unified data hub and cloud operating model.
- Unlocking value from data management to increase improvements in predictive maintenance of your operating assets.
Meeting session 14
12:20 - 12:50
VALUE CHAIN PANEL DISCUSSION
Where We Are On The Transformation Journey: Data Management, Optimised Analytics and Digital Transformation in Manufacturing
The panel will be discussing:
- Mitigating the risks of inconsistent data, incompatible systems, and manual processes that derail transformation.
- The importance of data management in improving data integrity and compliance, and how it can streamline operations
- Avoiding journey stumbles caused by data fragmentation, preventable operational delays and plant shutdowns
- Using digital transformation to create agility across your operating architecture, incorporating a unified data hub and cloud operating model.
- Unlocking value from data management to increase improvements in predictive maintenance of your operating assets.
12:50 - 12:55
Chair's Closing Remarks
13:00 - 14:00
FAREWELL LUNCH
Manufacturers only permitted to attend as delegates.
Interested in Sponsoring? Call +44 (0) 20 3004 8930 or learn more here.
Interested in Sponsoring? Call +44 (0) 20 3004 8930 or learn more here.