HMA chairman and Advitech Group managing director Steven Smith said the non-member base organisation's board has a new strategic direction.

"HMA has for many years focused on the presentation of an event, and through our interaction with stakeholders in our awards process we have recognised there's an opportunity to provide greater value to them beyond just the awards," he said.

The HMA board hopes to use the awards platform to encourage participants "into more advanced manufacturing", particularly in global supply chains. It is looking at resources in Newcastle - including the University and TAFE - to add value to manufacturers.

"People often don't know often how to gain access to them, so we could be a facilitator," Mr Smith said. "There's also potential for programs run at a state and federal level that manufacturers may not be aware of."

A new initiative is Insights, an occasional series in which speakers will brief stakeholders on a certain topic.

Mr Smith said the 2012 mining downturn had led to a push from manufacturers to expand their client base and product range.

"We've seen a lot more collaboration between manufacturers with complementary skills and collaboration between large organisations requiring speciality products and working with others to develop those," he said.

"People have commented how busy they are and the opportunities that are emerging for them ... and they recognised that they can't necessarily compete on price but they can compete on the quality on what they are offering, the agility in their manufacturing processes and schedules so they can meet the client requirements more readily than an overseas supplier might."

He sees key opportunities for Hunter manufacturers lie in the $200 billion defence spend on current projects.

HMA registrations can be made via hma.org.au. Registrations close July 19. Applications close August 31.