Expo event will deliver top-level information for executives

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Manufacturing News, Source : The Manufacturer US
Published : 04 Sep 2002 11:51

The Manufacturer 2002 Management Expo taking place in Telford, UK this month (September 25 and 26) will have approximately 3,000 attendees from around the world, including heads of site, production, finance, IT, HR, plant maintenance, and logistics.

The event, taking place at the newly refurbished International Center, will be unique in its focus on information for senior manufacturing executives.

Conquest Business Media’s president, Glen White, describes the event as one that people in senior decisionmaking capacities in the manufacturing sector will find irresistible. “It’s not about tools and tire-kickers, nor IT in isolation,” he said. White is encouraged by the number of attendees from the United States and looks forward to announcing the first US-based Manufacturer Expo, scheduled for 2003.

The list of attendees has been steadily growing, at a rate of more than 50 per day, and includes representatives from Caterpillar, HJ Heinz, Revlon, Rolls Royce, BAE, Bayer, Alcan, 3M, and Aston Martin. Session sponsors include SAP and McKinsey & Company’s Production System Design Centre.

The show will open with a breakfast debate moderated by John Humphrys, a well-known BBC radio personality, looking at what the government and manufacturers should be doing to improve British industry.

The opening keynote will be followed by two days of interaction at 60 exhibition booths, master classes on the hottest topics in manufacturing, and a thought-leadership program. Led by topindustrialists and academics, the master classes are limited to 40 attendees and will provide indepth coverage of lean manufacturing, supply chain management, IT applications, and business strategy.

Keynote speakers include Fortune magazine’s US manufacturing hero Anand Sharma; Professor Michael Sweeney from Cranfield University, which is also supporting the show’s manufacturing campus; Stewart Kelly, global supply chain director at chemical giant Flexsys; Frank Steer, director general of the Institute of Quality Assurance and incoming president of the European Organization for Quality; and Andy Sloan, managing director of Rockwell, who will also be bringing along a live manufacturing plant.

The expo will also include the launch of the Manufacturing Alliance, an invitation-only club made up of senior managers from the UK’s top 100 manufacturing businesses. The group will be instrumental in creating a structured debate on the issues that matter to manufacturing, using their cumulative power to elevate the status of manufacturing issues with both the public and the government.

A groundbreaking research-based industry white paper will be released at the show, reporting on attitudes of manufacturers on major issues such as Britain’s entry into the euro zone. The report also examines UK manufacturers’ views on government performance, overseas threats, IT issues that are high priorities, and what can be done to attract the brightest students and graduates to manufacturing. “The report uncovers the complex fiscal ramifications that lay beneath emotional superficiality and political expedience,” said Ken Hurst, Conquest’s editorial director.

Expo visitors will be able to benchmark their businesses against the findings of Conquest’s Annual Manufacturing Report, a research paper that provides a “health check” on the manufacturing industry. Attendees will also be able to sign up for a free half-hour consultation designed to help manufacturers improve their supply chain, make their factories more lean, and choose better IT solutions.

Before the show closes, there will be an announcement about a new manufacturing conference and awards program to take place in the spring of 2003. Visitors interested in entering the Manufacturer Awards 2003 will be able to obtain an executive entry pack and consult experts about how they might prepare their entry for one of the six awards to be presented at a gala dinner.

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