SME To Present Conference Titled “The New Industrial Revolution – Reshoring And Advanced Manufacturing”

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Silicon Valley Chapter will present a one-day conference titled, “The New Industrial Revolution – Reshoring and Advanced Manufacturing,” on Thursday, May 23, 2013 at the Santa Clara Convention Center

Prospect, CT (I-Newswire) March 20, 2013 - While the “Made in America” mantra has always been popular, the “reshoring” of manufacturing is gaining momentum. This conference will explore a number of compelling reasons why manufacturers are deciding to bring production back to North America. “The New Industrial Revolution – Reshoring and Advanced Manufacturing,” will take place on Thursday, May 23, 2013 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Silicon Valley Chapter will present this one-day conference for product development, design, quality, supply chain, purchasing, and manufacturing engineers/managers, as well as support personnel. SME is joined by ASME - SVCS, IEEE - CPMT, ASQ Biomedical Division Northern CA, and SJSU BMES, and the event will be held in conjunction with the Northern California Design-2-Part Show being held on May 22-23.

Participants will learn about success stories of using advanced technologies to design and produce highly regulated, complex products such as robotic medical devices.

With high-level speakers from industry and workforce development programs, the conference is designed to maximize interaction and learning and will include a hands-on 3D printing demonstration. Attendees will also have time to tour the Design-2-Part trade show to meet with local and regional suppliers for materials, processes, prototyping, and manufacturing.

Program Highlights

Panel Discussions

Product Development and Global Supply Chain Dynamics
Deciding where to produce products should be part of the product development cycle. The concept and use of the global supply chain is critical in successfully competing in today's world. Learn how the supply chain decision can make or break your new product.
• Michael Keer – Founder & CEO, Product Realization Group, Panel Leader
• Sandeep Duggal – CEO, Extron
• Leland Witherspoon – COO/SVP, Faxitron X-Ray Corporation
• Rob McCarthy – Director of Operations, Conceptus, Inc.
• Wayne Firsty – VP Engineering & Product Realization, Creation Technologies

Reshoring/Onshoring Reality
For the past several decades, U.S. companies have been moving manufacturing operations "offshore" to save labor costs. However, with transportation costs, rising Chinese labor costs, quality issues, and simply the issue of keeping jobs in the U.S., there are companies trying to reshore part, or all, of their manufacturing in the U.S. You will be learning about the challenges, reality, and success stories of reshoring.
• Michele Nash-Hoff – President & Founder, ElectroFab Sales, Panel Leader
• Gus Castello – Sr. VP, Product Operations, Intuitive Surgical
• Brian Holmes – VP & General Manager, Columbia Plastics
• Stan Sutton – President & CEO, Inland Metal Technologies

Advanced Manufacturing Technologies - including hands-on 3D printer demo Manufacturing shows increased use of additive and digital manufacturing techniques, prototyping, robotics, lasers, and more. Computer and software technology is radically changing how we manufacture. U.S. made goods have advantages for small volume, highly regulated, complex products such as medical devices. Learn from companies about the latest trends in advanced manufacturing methods.
• Mark Brinkerhoff – President, Fusion Design, Panel Leader
• Mike Prindiville – Sr. Director, Manufacturing Engineering, Intuitive Surgical
• Simon L. Engel – President, HDE Technologies, Inc. (Lasers)
• Chuck Alexander – Product Manager Additive Manufacturing, Solid Concepts Inc.
• Kevin Andersen – President, Owner, NPI Solutions Inc.
• Nathaniel Arnaldo – Business Development Manager, Arrk Product Development Group

Workforce Development to Meet Today's Job Requirements
To meet manufacturing challenges in advanced technologies, a trained local workforce is a top priority. In the Bay Area, we have several educational programs geared for retooling and retraining our work force. These programs teach new skills and provide a platform for new job growth – which goes hand-in-hand with a skilled work force.
• Mark Martin – Director, Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Development, Laney College, Panel Leader
• Naimi Azgui – Professor, Advanced Medical Manufacturing Technologies, Laney College
• Birch Early – Business Services Representative, Alameda County Workforce Investment Boar
• Seth Bates – Professor, Chair, Department Aviation & Aviation Technology San Jose State University
• Mike Appio – Department Head, Manufacturing & CNC Technology Program, DeAnza College
• Guna Selvaduray – Professor, Materials Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Coordinator, San Jose State University

Featured Presentations

Ramping Up Cross-Disciplinary Technologies: Lessons Learned
• Brian Sager – Founder, NanoSolar, Keynote Speaker

Manufacturing Trends in Northern California
• Bill Browne – Director, Client Services, MANEX Consulting

The New Industrial Revolution
• JoAnne Moody – President, Zeta Scientific LLC, SME Conference Chair

The New Industrial Revolution and China’s Dilemma
• Joe Katzman – Product Manager & Editor, Defense Daily

Hands-on 3D Printing Demonstration
• Preeya Singh – Account Manager, Studio Fathom

The conference is open to SME members and non-members. For more information, or to register to attend, please visit http://i.sme.org/SMESiliconValley/Conference.

In addition to the conference, attendees will be able to visit the co-located Northern California Design-2-Part Show, the largest show in the region to focus exclusively on contract manufacturing services. The 2013 show will feature nearly 225 of the finest American contract manufacturing companies exhibiting their design-through-manufacturing services covering more than 300 product categories.

For more information about the Northern California Design-2-Part Show, or to register for free show admission, visit http://www.D2P.com.

About SME
The Society of Manufacturing Engineers http://www.sme.org is the world’s leading non-profit technical
and professional society supporting manufacturing education. Through member programs, publications, expositions, and professional development, SME promotes increased awareness of manufacturing and keeps manufacturing professionals up-to-date on leading trends and technologies. This event is sponsored by Silicon Valley Chapter #098 http://i.sme.org/smesiliconvalley/Home/ and proceeds from this conference will go toward other educational activities which the Chapter hosts locally throughout the year.
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