ABB Automation & Power World
ABB (US) sent an interesting message to past attendees (I received it through my personal account, not through my media account) regarding its Automation & Power World user conference. The message puts an interesting spin on the change in format to an every-other-year event.
“In a nutshell, Automation & Power World is expanding. We are moving to an every-other-year format that will allow us to make it even bigger and more engaging for attendees. The next Automation & Power World will be held in 2015.”
They say they’ll use the years between main events to extend into new territory via webinars and online activities, as well as localized ABB events and a larger ABB presence at certain key industry tradeshows.
Apriso Customer Event
Thankful for small blessings, Apriso notified the media about its upcoming customer event, but they also told me that its customer events were not media opportunities. So I won’t be traveling to Cleveland or Germany for this one.
It will host its sixth annual Apriso Community Summit, themed Innovation Exchange 2013, in Cleveland, Ohio on June 5-6 and in Marktoberdorf, Germany on June 19-20.
The event in Cleveland will be hosted by Lincoln Electric, a global manufacturer of welding, cutting and joining products. Attendees will see firsthand how this manufacturer is using Apriso’s solutions during a tour of its nearby facility. Those attending the Marktoberdorf, Germany event will have a chance to visit AGCO’s Fendt facility. As the world’s largest manufacturer of tractors and the third largest supplier of agricultural machinery, this manufacturer has come to depend upon Apriso’s solution to maintain their product innovation leadership while supporting their recently expanded production capacity.
Plex, Insequence collaborate
Plex Systems has announced its collaboration with Insequence Corp., provider of manufacturing and sequencing technology, to improve the process of delivering components to the manufacturing supply chain.
Managing the complexity of inventory needed for complex assembly operations is a complicated, critical function. With many products requiring more than a hundred individual components, appropriate sequential delivery of parts enables manufacturers to keep inventory to a minimum while ensuring production is uninterrupted.
Support for diversity
We all should know by now that a diverse workforce is an asset in this competitive environment. Many support diversity in superficial ways. Here’s a different story.
In a survey conducted by U.S. Black Engineer & Information Technology (USBE&IT) magazine, Siemens PLM has been named a “Top Supporter” of Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) for the 11th straight year. Siemens provides in-kind grants of software to HBCU Engineering schools through its Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Software business unit and is the only supplier of PLM software among this year’s list of distinguished companies.
Siemens’ support is part of the company’s focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education and diversity initiatives that help drive its manufacturing revitalization efforts throughout the U.S.
“Many companies encourage careers in STEM,” said Tyrone Taborn, editor in chief of USBE&IT magazine and chairman and CEO of Career Communications Group. “This survey’s results highlight for our readers those companies – like Siemens PLM Software – that go the extra mile for HBCU schools. Professionals want to know which organizations are committed to their community. Those are the companies they want to work for or with in the future.”
Each year, USBE&IT magazine conducts an independent survey in which HBCU Engineering School deans and members of the corporate-academic alliance AMIE (Advancing Minorities’ Interest in Engineering) board are asked to provide input about companies that provide the most support to HBCU engineering schools. Participants are asked to list the corporate, government and non-profit organizations that contribute most to their schools’ missions. Contributions in infrastructure, research, advisory council participation, faculty development opportunities, scholarships, student projects and career opportunities are considered.
“We’re committed to leading the industry in diversity initiatives and STEM education support to revitalize manufacturing,” said Chuck Grindstaff, president and CEO, Siemens PLM Software. “Siemens strives to nurture strong industry and academic partnerships not only in the U.S., but around the world. We will continue to work closely with the HBCU academic community to develop highly qualified and highly recruited engineers and technologists.”
