Automation Fair 2011
Automotive Industry Forum
Wednesday, November 16 • 1:30PM to 3:30PM • Room W192AB
The landscape in the automotive industry is changing at an incredible pace. Rising fuel prices, a weak US dollar, rising demand in emerging markets, increasing regulatory compliance, global competition, consumer demand for new models with customized features, and pressure on short term financial performance are all key factors.
Automotive manufacturers and their tier suppliers are responding with innovative solutions to these industry drivers by adopting flexible manufacturing approaches capable of producing a greater mix of vehicles and options from their assets. New strategies incorporating functional safety, information systems, lean principles, and sustainability initiatives are being implemented to reduce manufacturing costs, improve time to market, and optimize plant asset performance.
You Will Learn
- Trends and issues of the global automotive industry
- New manufacturing strategies to drive productivity and meet today's challenges
Who Should Attend?
Manufacturer, machine builder, and equipment supplier engineering, sales, and operations management including:
- Plant managers
- Quality & safety managers
- IT managers
- Engineering, production, & operation managers
- Sales and marketing managers
- Executive leadership
Agenda
- Global Vehicle Market Update
Michael Robinet | Director, Global Vehicle Production Forecasts, IHS Automotive
Today's global vehicle market is impacted by a myriad of economic, demographic, regulatory, globalization and technological factors. With most of these factors occurring concurrently, market participants are finding that navigating our industry has become increasingly complex, laden with new risks in a faster-paced decision timeline.
Michael will outline the various factors and key issues industry participants must place front and center when investing time, capital, R & D and human resource into the ever-changing automotive industry. Sales, Production and structural factors will be investigated.
- Optimal Assembly System Strategies
Dan McKiernan | President, Elite Engineering
Driven by global competition, discrete manufacturers are rethinking their current production assembly methods and strategies. Changing customer requirements and shorter product life cycles are fueling the need for more agile and responsive assembly operations. With increased pressures to be more profitable, organizations are responding with leaner assembly systems and improved quality and asset performance.
The next generation assembly system must significantly improve efficiency and time to market of complex products for the global marketplace. Optimizing the balance of people and automation interacting effectively, efficiently, and safely is critical. Organizations with people who work on informed, empowered teams utilize the best assembly practices and technologies.
This presentation discusses the strategies and technologies that are enabling discrete manufacturers to adapt quickly and easily to market changes and unexpected events.
- Plant-Wide Optimization and Life Cycle Management
Frank Kulaszewicz | Senior Vice President Architecture & Software, Rockwell Automation
What is Plant-Wide Optimization and Life Cycle Management? And why is it relevant for automotive manufacturers and OEMs? In today's global marketplace, manufacturers realize that developing sustainable growth plans to drive increased productivity, efficiency, and profits is critical. Hear how Rockwell Automation is applying smart technologies and automation solutions to help companies address their manufacturing challenges today and into the future.