It’s been a busy fall, chock-full of industry events, new partnerships, product launches, changes, challenges and opportunities.
The event side of our business featured trade shows across North America, starting in September with FABTECH (Chicago) and CMTS (Toronto). These were followed in October and November by the final two installments of SME’s Manufacturing Technology Series, SOUTHTEC (Greenville, S.C.) and WESTEC/AeroDef (Long Beach, Calif.).
The Canadian Manufacturing Technology Show, or CMTS for short, was highlighted by Project Arrow—a zero-emission concept car that was designed and built entirely by Canadian suppliers. The show’s growing importance was reflected by the attendance of several local and national leaders, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the level of participation—273 exhibitors and more than 9,000 attendees—as well as the high-quality presentations, panels and technical sessions, including fascinating discussions about artificial intelligence’s role in the future of manufacturing.
In addition to covering these shows and conferences, Manufacturing Engineering staffers trekked to a host of open houses—including visits to DMG Mori, Marposs, Mazak, Methods Machine Tools, Hitachi and Zoller—with AutoDesk University in Las Vegas yet to come. Needless to say, we met amazing people, witnessed innovative technologies and learned even more about the latest industry trends from a diverse group of manufacturers.
At SOUTHTEC, CESMII – The Smart Manufacturing Institute took center stage with the announcement of two major initiatives. The first, in partnership with the United States Council for Automotive Research, is the launch of the first-ever “Roadmap for Automotive Smart Manufacturing,” which aims to foster a more productive, competitive and sustainable manufacturing environment in the U.S.
CESMII also announced a global agreement with its counterparts in nine countries. Dubbed International Management-X Council, the initiative promises to implement a federated, decentralized and collaborative data ecosystem for smart manufacturing, with a goal of enabling “open, global and cross-industry operation of cost-effective data networks.”
At SME Media, meanwhile, we’re launching our new Manufacturing Spotlight platform, which shares the insights and visions of industry leaders and companies. The series kicks off this month with a focus on innovation at MSC Industrial Supply Co.
In fact, innovation is a key theme throughout Manufacturing Engineering, starting with features on aerospace machining, next-generation cutting fluids, mobile metrology and automated guided vehicles. Other highlights include a pair of Shop Solutions success stories and a new workforce development program in New York to help bring more women into manufacturing. We hope you enjoy the issue!
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