The Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE) announced today that it will host a Smart Manufacturing Conference, 23 – 24 January 2006 at the Muscat Inter-Continental Hotel. According to Sultan Al Habsi, Executive President, PEIE: “To survive in today's marketplace, manufacturers must embrace new ideas and processes. Keeping that competitive edge requires constant growth and improvement. That's where PEIE’s Smart Manufacturing Conference comes in.” According to PEIE, the conference will look at seven themes: Design Driven Strategies: Increase Manufacturing Opportunities; The Lean Enterprise; Innovation and Manufacturing; Marketing for Manufacturers; China, the Gulf and the Realities of Global Competition; The Future of Manufacturing; and New and Emerging Technologies: Smart Machines.
Mohammed Al Ghassani, Executive Vice President, PEIE, said: “this is a great opportunity for those involved in the manufacturing sector, attendees will be able to network with those facing similar challenges, interact with industry professionals who can provide stories of success and failure, learn what options are available or will be available soon for their operations and take away knowledge they can use immediately to improve their process and product. This is without doubt an important event for the Gulf’s manufacturing sector.”
According to PEIE sources, the Conference has already attracted speakers from the Gulf, Europe and Asia. The conference keynote address will be delivered by Professor Mike Gregory, Head of the Manufacturing and Management Division of the Engineering Department and the Institute for Manufacturing, at Cambridge University. With more than 25 years experience with prominent international manufacturers, Professor Gregory will discuss the challenging trends in the world today that are having a dramatic impact on manufacturers and will propose ideas that can address these challenges.
Dr. Tim Minshall of the Institute of Manufacturing at Cambridge University will join Professor Gregory in a session on Innovation and Manufacturing. The Gregory – Minshall panel will consider the role and nature of innovation and its relevance to manufacturing, and how companies are being forced to focus on core competences and outsource other activities. “They’ll address how the distinction between manufacturing and services is breaking down and analyse innovative strategies that Gulf-based manufacturers should be following,” commented Al Ghassani. Moreover, the question of what’s involved in developing 'service enhanced high value-added manufacturing' effectively will also be tackled by the prominent Cambridge academics.
