The Center of Workforce Innovations, The Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation at Purdue Calumet (CIVS), NIPSCO, Urschel and The Northwest Indiana Forum will host a half-day summit – The 2015 Northwest Indiana Manufacturing Summit – focused on the manufacturing sector in our seven-county area. The summit will explore the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of our local manufacturing base and highlight the innovation taking place locally.
The summit will take place on Friday, Oct. 2, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Urschel Laboratories, 1200 Cutting Edge Drive, Chesterton (in Coffee Creek).
Monday, Sept. 28, kicks off the week-long agenda leading up to National Manufacturing Day on Oct. 2. Regional partners are coordinating various activities in collaboration with area employers and schools to highlight manufacturing throughout the week, which will culminate with The 2015 Northwest Indiana Manufacturing Summit. Manufacturing serves as a pillar of Northwest Indiana’s economy. The U.S. manufacturing sector is growing and driving innovation at home and across the globe. According to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, manufacturing in Indiana supports more than 519,000 jobs, and its wherewithal is pivotal to our local economy. The commitment to products “Made in America” also is an instrumental component in the longevity of well-paying jobs and the middle class, the backbone of the U.S. The 2015 Northwest Indiana Manufacturing Summit will explore the skill sets of our regional workforce, as well as local advanced manufacturing technologies. The goal of the summit also is to support area manufacturers as they explore new product development strategies.
Indiana Secretary of Commerce Victor Smith will be a keynote speaker. Bryan Van Deun, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Economic Espionage Unit, will speak about protecting intellectual property. Panel discussion moderators include: Steve Dwyer, President & CEO, Conexus Indiana and Dr. Mark Johnson, Director, U.S. Department of Labor- Advanced Manufacturing Office. Panelist participants include: Stewart McMillan, CEO, Task Force Tips; James Keilman, Urschel Laboratories and Dr. Chenn Zhou, CIVS director.
For more information and media credentials: please contact Raeann Trakas, Director of Marketing & Communications for the Northwest Indiana Forum, at rtrakas@nwiforum.org or 219-763-6303, ext. 181.
