IM Engineering East, the east coast's most extensive design and smart manufacturing event curated by Informa Markets – Engineering, today announced a slate of new speakers confirmed to take the stage and impart technical and forward-looking insights at Design & Manufacturing (D&M) East and Automation Technology Expo (ATX) East. The two renowned event brands are strategically co-located with MD&M East, EastPack, Plastec East, and Quality Expo, collectively forming the east coast's most sought-after six-in-one design and manufacturing expo that spans complementary applications: medtech, packaging, automation, plastics, design, and quality.
The premier event, taking place from December 7 through 9 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City, is thoughtfully designed to connect advanced manufacturing experts, technology providers, and thought leaders as manufacturing evolves in the face of global supply chain crises and a pinched workforce.
"There is a great need and a desire in the advanced manufacturing community to connect in-person,” said Steve Everly, Group Event Director, IM Engineering East. “The challenges of the past two years highlight the need for the community to get together and discuss the monumental challenges that have emerged from labor shortages to supply chain disruptions, to retooling entire factories in a pivot to provide essential supplies during the pandemic. We follow the New York State Manufacturing Extension Partnership's (NY MEP) ongoing efforts in assisting the growth of small and mid-sized manufacturers – progress that we are proud to support by advancing the modernization of this dynamic industry via a world-class event."
New D&M and ATX East speakers confirmed for the 2021 edition hail from Balluff Worldwide, Johnson & Johnson, The Society of Plastics Engineers, Vecna Robotics, WiBotic Inc., Wyatt Consulting, among others. Topics of discussion range from robotic interoperability to co-bots, and industry-specific challenges concerning workforce development and Industry 5.0 to sustainable packaging initiatives – all sessions are expertly designed to advance the nearly $215 billion design and smart manufacturing sector.
Everly continued: "Robotics, and the application of advanced analytics and machine learning to product design and additive manufacturing, all represent real solutions to the challenges of the pandemic and its continued impact to the manufacturing sector. We are tremendously proud to announce this year's stellar exhibitor lineup and heavy-hitting speakers addressing important topics impacting our community and play a role in the renaissance of manufacturing in North America. We look forward to reconnecting in person this December and paving the way for discovery."
A selection of newly confirmed sessions include:
Panel: Challenges & Innovations in Robotic Interoperability
Moderated by Tom Ryden, Executive Director at Mass Robotics.
Panelists include Patty Katsaros, Director of Market Development at Locus Robotics; Matt Carlson, VP of Business Development at WiBotic Inc.; and Daniel Theobald, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Vecna Robotics, Inc.
The adoption of robots continues to accelerate as manufacturers struggle to meet growing demand and a shrinking supply of workers. However, a challenge looms – interoperability. A given facility may be home to multiple robotic solutions, each with their approaches to sharing, but without the ability to talk to one another. Without this ability to easily share information between individual robots designed for different uses and designed by different vendors, implementing true robotic systems remains an elusive goal.
Keynote: How to Be Comfortable with Ambiguity: Plastics in a Circular Economy
Presented by Conor Carlin, Vice President of Sustainability at Society of Plastic Engineers (SPE)
Join SPE's Conor Carlin in his keynote address as he shares insights and asks tough questions so that we can better address the real challenges around plastics and sustainability. You'll walk away with a new way to think about plastics, the environmental impacts of our choices, our ability to recycle, and new opportunities for the industry.
Panel: Creative People, Collaborative Robots & Smart Factories (beyond Industry 4.0?)
Moderated by Will Healy III, Marketing Manager Americas at Balluff Worldwide
Panelists include Chris Kuntz, Vice President of Marketing at Augmentir; and Ann Wyatt, President at Ann K. Wyatt Consulting
Industry 4.0 is still making its way onto factory floors, but some say Industry 5.0 is already here. While Industry 4.0 focuses on networking plants and equipment for greater process control, efficiency, and profitability, Industry 5.0 places humans back into the equation to enhance production systems' agility, sustainability, and resiliency. Industry 5.0 is just as much about people, jobs, and culture as it is plants and machines. Your best Industry 5.0 implementations will strike a balance between human ingenuity, smart & sustainable plant and process design, and AI-powered solutions.
Panel: Digital Transformation of Healthcare Industry: Are we Prepared?
Speakers include Dr. Payman Afshari, Sr. Principal Engineer Research & Technology Depuy Synthes Spine, Johnson & Johnson; Alie Jahangir, Senior Principal Engineer, Quality Engineering (QE) Combination Products, Product Quality Management (PQM) Jansen, Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson; and Aram Montazami, Vice President R&D & Cofounder Novatek International
The emergence of digital technologies in various industries have been occurring at an astounding pace over the past decade. Healthcare is one of the key industries that can significantly benefit from this technological revolution. Application tools such as computational modeling and simulation (CM&S) as well as data analytics could optimize drug and medical device development and regulatory research, with the capability to accelerate access to safe and effective products.
Furthermore, manufacturing technologies continue to evolve as the internet of things, artificial intelligence, robotics, and advanced computing challenge traditional approaches, practices, and business models to manufacture pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Applying these technologies can dramatically increase the agility, efficiency, flexibility, and quality of the industrial production of both medicines and medical devices. How these technologies are deployed from data collection to the hallmark digital maturity of Industry 4.0 will define the next generation of pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing. Achieving the benefits of this future requires a vision for it and an understanding of the extant regulatory, technical, and logistical barriers to realizing it.
To view all educational sessions available at D&M and ATX East and for more information on the upcoming event, visit www.AdvancedManufacturingEast.com.
Press interested in attending the event in person are encouraged to register for press credentials here.
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