2013 IndustryWeek Best Plants Conference Features Continuous Improvement Strategies

With the early-bird date fast approaching, registrations are pointing to record attendance for the IndustryWeek Best Plants Conference, to be held in Greenville, S.C., April 22 to 24, according to event directors. Conference attendees who register by Tuesday, February 19, can save $150 off their registration and secure their preferred plant tour--some of which are already sold out.

The popular conference, IW's annual salute to outstanding North American manufacturing facilities, provides continuous improvement practitioners the opportunity to learn from the best of the best, the winners of the IW Best Plants Award program and other manufacturing industry thought leaders. It also features the IW Best Plant Winners Award Ceremony, where IW’s continuous improvement community recognizes and honors the winning teams.

The event features 14 behind-the-scenes plant tours, 36 presentations featuring over 50 manufacturing leaders—including past and present IW Best Plant Award winners--and four keynotes delivered by leading manufacturing executives. Several networking opportunities, including an opening cocktail reception sponsored by Rockwell Automation, and the BMW Driving Experience sponsored by Kronos and Cushman, enable attendees to get to know each other, share challenges and exchange ideas.

In addition, the IW Best Plants Conference includes the Solutions Hall and a new “unconference.” The Solutions Hall provides attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors opportunities to meet and discuss ways to improve manufacturing operations. It features 30 vendors who “get” the lean and continuous-improvement.

The unconference, “2013 North American Conference: MESA unConference: Open Forum on Making Your Plants Operate Best,” provides additional rich, interactive sessions in which you, the conference attendees, set the agenda. It is hosted by the IW Best Plants Conference title sponsor MESA International.

For an additional fee, attendees can sign up for workshops, which deliver deep-dives into critical best practices and strategies. The South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership hosts three: Cellular-Flow, Training Within Industry, and Lean Product Development. Milliken Performance Solutions, Milliken & Co., hosts one: Building a Sustainable Safety System.

“Through plant tours, high-profile keynotes, numerous presentations and networking opportunities, conference attendees will learn how to operate more competitively and increase profitably,” said Patricia Panchak, IndustryWeek Editor-in-Chief. “We’re expecting over 600 manufacturing business leaders from across a full spectrum of industries.”