MANUFACTURING CONFERENCE OPENS TODAY

The International Conference on Agile Manufacturing (ICAM) formally opens in Norfolk Wednesday morning, July 19, with Virginia Secretary of Technology Aneesh P. Chopra joining with sponsors from Old Dominion University to welcome about 200 participants from around the world.

A keynote speech was to be delivered Wednesday morning by Kenny Preiss, the Sir Leon Bagrit Chair at Ben Gurion University, Israel. Rear Adm. Michael D. Hardee, NAVAIR's Commander of Aviation Depots, was scheduled to deliver another keynote at the conference banquet beginning at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

All conference sessions and events are at the Norfolk Marriott Waterside Hotel.

The conference is being hosted by the Lean Institute at ODU's Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology. Alok K. Verma, the Ray Ferrari Professor of Engineering Technology at ODU, is the general chair of the conference, which will continue through Friday, July 21.

Agile manufacturing, which involves modern methods for quick response to market opportunities, is a term coined by efficiency experts who believe traditional mass production cannot satisfy customer demands in the 21st century. The agile process promotes short development and production lead times, and seeks to accommodate customers who want customized and designed-to-order products.