EMCON, the region’s biggest engineering and manufacturing expo, will return in 2019 on a new date.

Historically the networking exhibition has been held on the third Thursday in October, however in response to exhibitor and delegate feedback the event will be now held on Thursday, October 10.

Organisers of the event are hoping the move will help attract even more national interest, as the popularity of EMCON continues to grow each year.

David Land is Chairman of the Engineering and Manufacturing Network (EMN) which organises the event.

He said: “Each year we speak to our exhibitors, attendees and sponsors to find out their thoughts about EMCON, and if there are things we can change to make it an even better showcase for companies within the engineering and manufacturing sectors.

“Feedback last year suggested moving the date forward a week to avoid clashing with a national event would enable even more companies to get involved and, given each year we’re attracting more and more companies from outside of the North East, it’s a move that makes sense.

“So, we’re now looking ahead to our 2019 event and the planning team is already working on the itinerary for the day to ensure this year’s EMCON is our most successful yet.”

The announcement of the change in date comes as last year’s delivery partner, Jackson Hogg Recruitment, confirms it will be returning this year.

Managing Director Richard Hogg said: “We were delighted to be asked to support last year’s event as delivery partner and host the industry experts’ panel event.

“From our perspective, the event is a real highlight in the business events’ calendar, bringing together some of our biggest companies and attracting exhibitors from across the country, so we had no hesitation in returning this year.”

Hundreds of people attended last year’s event, with over 100 companies exhibiting and several themed sessions held throughout the day. Stadler Rail UK was the event’s inaugural headline sponsor with Business Durham and RM Manufacturing the gold sponsors.

For more information on the 2019 event visit emcon.show.