Pathway to Manufacturing Prosperity Conference Offers Strategies for Post Recession Manufacturing

Leaders from NASA, the International Trade Administration, Avery Dennison, Davi U.S. will discuss the pressures, policies and priorities that face the manufacturing sector at the "Pathway to Manufacturing Prosperity Conference: Strategies for Post Recession Manufacturing."

The event will be held on May 20 in Chicago, and is sponsored by Penton Media's IndustryWeek and New Equipment Digest, in partnership with the Italian Trade Commission through its Machines Italia project and in collaboration with FEDERMACCHINE.

"I am a firm believer that the manufacturing base in the U.S. is still strong, and reports stating its death have been greatly exaggerated," shares Pasquale Bova, Trade Commissioner of the Italian Trade Commission's Chicago Office.

The select group of manufacturing leaders in attendance will discuss key trends in global manufacturing and share proven strategies to help their fellow North American manufacturers achieve global competitiveness.

"The manufacturing industry continues to be pressured on many fronts, and manufacturing executives grapple with an ever-expanding list of challenges for their organizations. At IndustryWeek and New Equipment Digest, our objective is to support industry leaders with the information resources they need to advance their organizations and the collective industry," said John DiPaola, vice president of the Penton Media Manufacturing & Supply Chain Group.

The conference will present several manufacturing experts including:

• Nicole Y. Lamb-Hale, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Manufacturing and Services, International Trade Administration
  Lamb-Hale will keynote the conference and will be discussing the state of American manufacturing, priorities, and policies going forward as well as how the National Export Initiative can help American manufacturing competitiveness.
• Dean A. Scarborough, Chairman, President, and CEO of Avery Dennison
  Scarborough will discuss how Avery Dennison navigated the recession and positioned itself for long-term, profitable growth by focusing on operating excellence, protecting its investments in the future, and redefining its relationships with customers and markets.
• Alberto Maria Sacchi, President, Federmacchine
  Sacchi will examine labor costs, infrastructure, intellectual property, and other factors that will impact manufacturers no matter where they are located.
• Mario Calvo-Platero, U.S. Editor, Il Sole 24 Ore
  Calvo-Platero will address the factors that will help determine the success or failure of manufacturers around the world and offer a potential outlook / forecast for the next few years.
• Casey Blaze, Manufacturing Liaison for the Manufacturing Division of the NASA Glenn Research Center, and Alessandro Zannini, President of Davi U.S.
  Blaze and Zannini will present a case study outlining the successful partnership between NASA and Davi in ensuring the right manufacturing equipment was used to build the advanced space vehicle, ARES I, that together with the new ORION crew vehicle will replace the Space Shuttle in NASA space exploration for the next two decades.

For more information on the conference visit www.industryweek.com/itc