2009 Manufacturing Summit: New strategies, solutions to meet challenges

With manufacturing struggling in 2009, new ideas and new strategies are needed to help manufacturing leaders do their jobs better, faster, safer and more productively. To help lead this effort, Plant Engineering magazine brings the 2009 Manufacturing Summit to Charleston, SC on March 29-31 at the Charleston Place Hotel.

By Plant Engineering Staff March 1, 2009

With manufacturing struggling in 2009, new ideas and new strategies are needed to help manufacturing leaders do their jobs better, faster, safer and more productively.

To help lead this effort, Plant Engineering magazine brings the 2009 Manufacturing Summit to Charleston, SC on March 29-31 at the Charleston Place Hotel. The event will feature two days of seminars from industry leaders on critical manufacturing topics.

Also at the Manufacturing Summit will be the presentation of the 21st annual Product of the Year awards at a gala dinner Monday, March 30. Bobby Harrell, speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives, will deliver the keynote speech.

On Tuesday, March 31, presentation of the 2009 Top Plant awards will be made. The 2009 winners are Square D Corporation, Columbia, MO, and Quality Float Works, Schaumburg, IL.

Sponsors of the 2009 Manufacturing Summit include Platinum Sponsor IBM, Gold sponsors Life Cycle Engineering and Schneider Electric, Silver sponsor Infor, and the University of Tennessee.

“One of the considerations in choosing Charleston for this year’s Summit was a state-wide commitment to manufacturing excellence,” said Plant Engineering editor Bob Vavra. “Three of our previous Top Plant winners — BMW, Spirax Sarco and SEW Eurodrive — are based in South Carolina. The state also has an admirable record in attracting and retaining manufacturing to the state.

“We know these are challenging economic times, especially for manufacturers,” said Vavra. “We have priced the Summit so that plant managers and their staffs can attend the two days, gather tremendous insight into major issues facing manufacturing, see 50 of the best new products in manufacturing, hear from some of the top manufacturers around the country and return to work with actionable strategies to help their operation immediately.

The event begins March 29 with a golf outing and, for the non-golfers, a tour of historic Charleston, followed by an evening cocktail reception.

On Monday, March 30, the seminars begin with a morning session on plant-to-enterprise connectivity. That will be followed by a session on energy and sustainability, featuring speakers from Infor, IBM and Life Cycle Engineering.

After lunch, there will be a session on workforce development, featuring speakers from IBM, Life Cycle Engineering and the University of Tennessee. The Product of the Year awards dinner will follow.

On Tuesday, March 31, a breakfast meeting will feature presentation of the Top Plant Awards and a speech from Jamie McDonald of Schneider electric, a past Top Plant award recipient. The final session of the Summit will feature a look at enterprise asset management, presented by IBM and Life Cycle Engineering.

The final Manufacturing Summit event will be a plant tour of Alcoa’s Mt. Holly, SC facility that will include a box lunch.

Registration for the Manufacturing Summit is $195 per person, which includes all seminars, meals and events excluding the Sunday golf and city tour events. To register, contact Susan Beck at (630) 288-8494, or sbeck@reedbusiness.com .

Plant Engineering 09 Manufacturing Summit

Sunday, March 29

Noon

Golf outing or historic walking tour of Charleston

6 p.m.

Cocktail welcome reception

Monday, March 30

7:30 a.m.

Registration

8:45 a.m.

Welcome and opening of 2009 Manufacturing Summit

9 a.m.

Session: Plant-to-Enterprise Connectivity

11 a.m.

Session: Workforce Development

1:30 p.m.

Session: Energy & Sustainability

6 p.m.

Cocktail reception

6:45 p.m.

2008 Product of the Year dinner

Keynote : Bobby Harrell, speaker of South Carolina House of Representatives

Tuesday, March 31

8 a.m.

Breakfast and Presentation of the 2008 Top Plant awards

Keynote : Jamie McDonald, Schneider Electric

10 a.m.

Session: Enterprise Asset Management

11:30 a.m.

Box lunch and tour of Alcoa Plant, Mt. Holly, SC