Smartforce Rally Fighter sports cars, IMTS hot air balloon, sun, and The MFG Meeting

The MFG Meeting is a joint event for members of AMT-The Association For Manufacturing Technology, the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA), and the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA).

Held at the Arizona Biltmore Resort, Phoenix, Arizona, The MFG Meeting brought together hundred more than 700 manufacturing leaders from March 5-8, 2014, in Phoenix, Ariz.

The theme for this year’s event was “Opportunity has no limits…leap for it.” This joint association event represents members that make up more than 4,000 small-and medium-sized manufacturers and distributors from all 50 states – members that provide products and services for medical, aerospace, defense, automotive, construction, energy, and much more.

The event included:

• A keynote on competitive advantage, organizational change and transformational leadership by Jack Uldrich, a renowned global futurist, independent scholar, and best-selling author;
  
• John Walker, chairman, Oxford Economics, and Alan Beaulieu, president, ITR Economics – known as the “dueling economists” – discussed the state of the economy and the industry;
  
• Markos I. Tambakeras, chairman of Xylem Inc., talked about water and the future of American manufacturing;
  
• Closing the skills gap was a topic of discussion by Dr. David DeLong, president of David DeLong & Associates;
  
• A presentation on knowing about “A, B & C players” – covered by Dr. Brad Smart, president of Topgrading Inc. – looked at role these players have in determining strategic competitiveness
  
• Closing out the event was Luke Williams, professor of innovation at NYU Stern School of Business, and executive director, Berkley Entrepreneurship Center at NYU, who covered driving innovation by intentional strategic intervention
  
• The overall event was one not to miss, so make plans to attend next year’s The MFG Meeting, scheduled for March 4-7, 2015, in Orlando, Fla.