More than 35 leaders in research and innovation will come together at Australia’s largest manufacturing industry event, National Manufacturing Week 2014 (NMW) in Sydney from May 13-16, 2014 to share ideas for turning industry strengths into growth.
NSW Minister for Finance and Services Andrew Constance, Australia's Chief Scientist, Professor Ian Chubb, UNSW's Professor Veena Sahajwalla, practice leaders from Australian Industry Group and the CSIRO's Future Manufacturing Flagship will be among speakers in the free-to-attend Solutions Theatres program.
Several of the high-profile speakers - including the Minister and Professor Chubb - will be urging industry to embrace innovation.
"Just doing more of what we do now will not be the answer. As a country, we need innovation and ideas, and we need everyone to be thinking about how we can change," Chubb said.
The NMW Solutions Theatres will be housed on the exhibition floor - presenting a rare opportunity for visitors to engage face-to-face with speakers in four separate areas including a Workplace Safety and CleanTech Hub for companies looking to improve their operations and reduce their environmental footprint.
Among presentations in this area will be:
Sustainability: Materials Management and Recyclability - Professor Veena Sahajwalla, Director, Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology, UNSW
Bioplastics - what they are (and are not) and how they offer solutions for organic recycling - Warwick Hall, Vice President & Technical Committee, Australasian Bioplastics Association
Legal Session: The National & State Legal Frameworks for the Promotion of Renewable Energy in Manufacturing, Damin Murdock, Principal Lawyer, MurdockCheng Law Practice
Other Solutions Theatre speakers will drill down to specific operational improvements. For example, Colin Cockroft, Senior Engineer - Manager East Coast, EMC Energy Made Clean, will speak about efficiency gains of up to 20 per cent that can result from optimising systems according to a complex set of variables - including commercial variables such as commodity prices and demand.
Having the Solutions Theatre programs running alongside the regular trade exhibition - and freely available to all visitors - is designed to spark the deeper level of engagement that truly strengthens industry, according to NMW Exhibition Director, Anthony Reed.
"NMW is bringing visitors face-to-face with the some of the brightest and best in our industry," Reed said.
"We have put together a range of speakers, each with new ideas, new strategies and new ways of thinking that, we believe, will inspire you toward more innovation - or perhaps specific improvements - in your business.
"Best of all, the Solutions Theatre programs will run at no charge, right on the exhibition floor at NMW, giving you the opportunity to really engage with industry leaders - to hear their ideas, ask questions face-to-face and even continue the conversation following their presentations."
NMW 2014 is supported by Engineers Australia and NSW Trade & Investment, and will be held at Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park on May, 13 - 16.
Entry to both the exhibitions and the Solutions Theatre is free to trade visitors. For more information, visit nationalmanufacturingweek.com.au