PlantWorx 2027: same live DNA, bigger stage
PlantWorx 2027 is taking shape, with new live demonstration features, three dedicated indoor theatres, growing industry association involvement and a programme of new partnerships being developed ahead of the event’s NEC Birmingham debut.
Taking place 22–24 June 2027, the next PlantWorx will combine indoor exhibition space with extensive outdoor exhibition and demonstration areas, including dedicated digging capability for heavy construction machinery.
The move marks an important evolution for PlantWorx: retaining the live, working construction equipment DNA that has always defined the event, while creating a bigger platform for exhibitors, visitors and the wider industry. And in 2027, PlantWorx will be part of an even bigger industry gathering, taking place alongside InstallerSHOW, Professional Woodworking Expo and the Painting & Decorating Show at the NEC across the same three days.
More live action at PlantWorx
The ability to see machinery working has always been fundamental to PlantWorx, and that remains firmly at the centre of plans for 2027. Exhibitors will showcase working machinery and run demonstrations from their own stands throughout the three-day event, with dedicated outdoor exhibition areas providing the space for equipment to be put through its paces.
New for 2027 will be the PlantWorx Live Showcase – a dedicated outdoor theatre-style demonstration area giving exhibitors an additional platform to demonstrate machinery, attachments, equipment and technology in front of a live audience.
Rather than replacing demonstrations on individual stands, the Live Showcase will complement them with a more structured programme of activity. It will create a focal point where visitors can gather for scheduled demonstrations, see products working and hear directly from the manufacturers and suppliers behind them. It means visitors will continue to experience the traditional PlantWorx environment of machinery working across the outdoor show while also having a dedicated destination for programmed live demonstrations.
Further details on the PlantWorx Live Showcase, including how exhibitors can participate, will be announced in the coming weeks.
Three theatres shaped with the industry
The development continues inside the NEC, where PlantWorx 2027 will feature three dedicated content theatres: the PlantWorx Main Stage, Technical Theatre and Future of Plant Theatre. The PlantWorx Main Stage will provide a platform for the major conversations affecting construction equipment owners, operators, contractors and the wider industry. The Technical Theatre will get closer to the practical, operational and technical challenges facing businesses, providing a space for specialist knowledge and real-world insight.
Meanwhile, the Future of Plant Theatre will look ahead at the technologies, skills and developments changing how construction machinery is designed, powered, operated and managed. Crucially, the programme is not being developed by PlantWorx in isolation.
The team is working with industry associations to help shape the content and delivery of the theatres, ensuring the programme reflects the challenges, opportunities and developments that matter to the people working across construction and plant. Further details of participating organisations, speakers and sessions will be announced as the programme develops.
From breaking ground to finishing the job
One of the biggest changes for 2027 will be the wider industry environment surrounding PlantWorx at its new NEC home. For the first time, PlantWorx will take place at the same time as three other Nineteen Group events – installerSHOW, Professional Woodworking Expo and the Painting & Decorating Show – all running from 22–24 June 2027 at the NEC. Together, the four specialist events will bring complementary sections of construction and the built environment together at one venue.
PlantWorx will represent the machinery, equipment and technology that gets construction moving. InstallerSHOW serves professionals across installation and the wider built environment, Professional Woodworking Expo brings together the woodworking and joinery sectors, while the Painting & Decorating Show represents the specialist finishing trades.
For visitors, that creates the opportunity to discover products, technologies and expertise outside their immediate specialism and see how innovation is developing across connected parts of the industry.
For PlantWorx exhibitors, it provides the opportunity to meet their established construction equipment audience while gaining exposure to professionals attending complementary events elsewhere within the NEC.
Importantly, PlantWorx’s core focus does not change.
The show remains centred on the people who buy, specify, hire, own and operate construction equipment – from contractors, plant hire businesses and owner-operators to fleet managers, engineers, procurement professionals and business owners. This contractor-first audience remains at the heart of the PlantWorx proposition.
The four-show format is about adding to that opportunity rather than diluting it: bringing the PlantWorx community into a much broader construction and built environment environment while maintaining the show’s specialist identity.
Building PlantWorx with the industry
Behind the scenes, further developments are also taking shape. The PlantWorx team is working with a growing number of industry associations (including CEA, CPA, and HAE), organisations and partners to develop additional features and initiatives for 2027. While these partnerships cannot yet be revealed, announcements are planned over the coming weeks and months as the event continues to develop.
The aim is to ensure PlantWorx is shaped with the industry, creating a platform where manufacturers, contractors, operators, associations and partners can come together to address the challenges facing construction today while showcasing where the sector is heading next. That includes a continued commitment to skills development and inspiring the next generation of owners, operators and engineers, alongside emerging machinery, technologies and new ways of working.
Major manufacturers commit to 2027
The industry’s response to the developing 2027 proposition is already being reflected in exhibitor take-up, with a growing number of major construction equipment manufacturers committing to the event.
Manufacturers already signed up include HYUNDAI, Wacker Neuson, Dieci, Develon, Zoomlion, SANY, Sunward, Manitou, Magni Telehandlers, Hydrema, Hidromek and AUSA. They will be joined by a growing range of equipment, attachment, technology and service providers, while further major OEMs have already reserved space ahead of additional exhibitor announcements. The early commitment adds further momentum as PlantWorx prepares for its first edition at the NEC and reflects the appetite for an event where manufacturers can put equipment in front of the people who buy, hire, specify and operate it.
Same live DNA. Bigger stage.
For all the development taking place around PlantWorx 2027, one principle remains unchanged:
Machines need to work.
Live machinery, digging, demonstrations, contractors and operators will remain at the heart of the event.
The move to the NEC is about giving that experience a bigger platform, improved facilities, stronger transport links and easier national access, while opening up new opportunities through three complementary industry events taking place alongside PlantWorx. At the same time, new theatres, live features and industry partnerships will provide a platform to explore the technologies, skills and thinking shaping what comes next.
PlantWorx is evolving, but it isn’t leaving its roots behind. The ambition for 2027 is to build on them, creating the live construction equipment and digging event the industry needs today while showcasing the machinery, technology and people that will shape its future.
PlantWorx 2027 takes place at the NEC Birmingham from 22–24 June 2027.
Further exhibitor, feature, theatre and industry partnership announcements will follow in the coming weeks.
