ADM Toronto features a packed conference agenda and a strong lineup of expert speakers
November 1, 2021
By Manufacturing AUTOMATION
The Advanced Design & Manufacturing (ADM) Toronto show is set to take place from Nov. 9 to 11 at the Toronto Congress Centre. The event’s organizer, Informa Markets – Engineering, released the conference agenda and lineup of expert speakers recently.
The three-day event is featuring three keynote presentations. Keynote speakers include Dennis Darby, president and CEO at Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME); Jayson Myers, CEO of NGen Canada, Jim Downham, CEO at PAC Global; and George Roter, managing director at Canada Plastics Pact.
The presentations will address pressing topics in the advanced manufacturing sector, such as manufacturing in the post-pandemic era, among other things.
The conference schedule also includes 10 centre-stage sessions, technical workshops and hands-on learning opportunities. Some of the topics that will be covered are automation, smart manufacturing and processing. Industry experts from NGen, Raven.ai, Canvass and Inovex, among others, will present these sessions.
“Our team has worked diligently to provide attendees a premier lineup of content that will spark intrigue, conversation, and ultimately, new innovative technologies that advance this dynamic industry,” said Kayle Kvinge, event manager, ADM Toronto, Informa Markets. “Between the conference content available at Centre Stage and our stellar keynote lineup, we are proud to offer attendees unfettered access to in-depth education that addresses hot-button issues within the engineering and manufacturing sphere.”
Haltech, a Regional Innovation Centre that enables start-up and scale-up tech entrepreneurs to accelerate their growth, and a new exhibitor at ADM Toronto, will showcase a few of their successful companies by participating in a tech session highlighting the advancements of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the Canadian manufacturing sector.
Keynote details are as follows:
Fireside Chat – Challenges and solutions for plastic packaging
On Nov. 9, Jim Downham, CEO of PAC Global and George Rotor, managing director of Canada Plastics Pact will host a fireside chat on the challenges and solutions for plastic packaging.
Manufacturing can lead Canada’s economic recovery
On Nov. 10, Dennis Darby, president and CEO of CME will present the keynote.
The two percent challenge: The COVID-19 pandemic triggered the deepest economic recession in nearly a century. And while Canada’s manufacturing sector has recovered relatively more quickly than industries like hospitality and tourism, the manufacturing sector faces several challenges that threaten both its short and long-term outlook, including ongoing supply chain disruptions, labour and skills shortages, and a prolonged investment slump. Indeed, between 2015 and 2019, Canada accounted for just 1.2 percent of total manufacturing investment in OECD countries. By comparison, the US and Mexico’s shares were 28.1 percent and 12.3 percent, respectively. Over the next decade, Canada’s goal should be to attract at least 2 percent of annual OECD manufacturing investment, equal to about $43 billion per year. To meet the “two percent challenge,” the government needs to adopt a pro-jobs and pro-growth industrial strategy that makes Canada a leading destination for manufacturing investment again. CME’s president and CEO, Dennis Darby, will outline the four pillars of a comprehensive industrial strategy for Canada.
State of advanced manufacturing in Canada
Jayson Myers, CEO of NGen Canada will present the keynote on Nov. 11. In his presentation, Myers will share insights around the transformation that is underway in manufacturing across Canada, and around the world.
Specifically, Jayson will share insights on:
- How the business of manufacturing is changing.
- Examples of transformations that are impacting manufacturing across Canada.
- How advanced digital, production and materials technologies are impacting and enabling critical manufacturing issues.
- Strategic opportunities that exist for Canadian manufacturers.
Some Centre Stage sessions being featured at the event are:
Panel: Industry 5.0 – Creative people, collaborative robots and smart factories
Jason Bean, IIoT market specialist for North America, at Pepperl+Fuchs; Feisal Hurzook, chief technology officer at Archronix Corp; Adrian Mah, national lead for Industry 4.0 at PwC; and Gorve Rekhi, digital enterprise lead at Siemens Canada will participate in this panel moderated by Jim Beretta, president at Customer Attraction.
Industry 4.0 is still making its way onto factory floors, but some say Industry 5.0 is already here. While Industry 4.0 focuses on networking plants and equipment for greater process control, efficiency and profitability, Industry 5.0 places humans back into the equation to enhance the agility, sustainability, and resiliency of production systems. Industry 5.0 is just as much about people, jobs, and culture as it is plants and machines. The best Industry 5.0 implementations will strike a balance between human ingenuity, smart and sustainable plant and process design, and AI-powered solutions. This session will cover:
- The Industry 5.0 team – understanding new roles and cross -functional training
- How the human-machine interface is working to incorporate robots, sensors, cobots and AI
- Continuous plant behavioural monitoring challenges including safety and security
- Case examples across industry sectors
Digital factory
Presented by Phoenix Contact, this session will feature Tyler Burke, field applications specialist and Patrick Rowland, senior product manager in the company.
Manufacturers and suppliers of automation solutions are working together to create the world of digital factories for tomorrow’s needs, which allows for open architecture and a higher amount of flexibility in the automation world. This session will address problems like safety, security, interoperability of legacy components, skill shortages and more.
Panel: Strengthening Canada’s manufacturing sector: What’s next
Stewart Cramer, chief manufacturing officer at NGen; Bob Masterson, president and CEO at Chemistry Industry Association of Canada; and Jayson Myers, CEO at NGen will be part of this panel discussion.
Canada’s manufacturing sector is filled with highly skilled and high-tech workers, serving food, automotive, aerospace, transportation and chemical industries. The speakers will talk about the changing face of manufacturing, post-pandemic, the government’s role in supporting a competitive business environment with lower taxes and trade-friendly agreements and the role of leading companies in rejuvenating the industry as we move into 2022. Topics include:
- The government’s role in research and development funding
- New technologies driving innovation
- Labour challenges as a result of availability of workers, and the transition to advanced manufacturing processes
Innovation and collaboration in advanced manufacturing
This session will be presented by Stephanie Holko, director of project development at NGen.
Companies looking for new ways to approach innovation should consider collaboration a key pillar of their strategy. This session will cover:
- The importance of traditional manufacturing and advanced manufacturing
- How and why these approaches are complementary and how to approach collaboration
- How NGen can support Canadian companies looking to include collaboration in their technology strategy, including case studies
Panel: The impact of AI on Canadian manufacturing
Jansen Sullivan, data director at Inovex; Martin Cloake, CEO and co-founder at Raven.ai; Maryam Emami, founder at AI Materia; and Akshat Khanna, product manager at Canvass Analytics will participate in this panel discussion.
Ontario-based businesses, AI Materia, Raven.ai, and Canvass Analytics will discuss how AI has affected the results of their clients, followed by a panel discussion facilitated by Sullivan, on the impact of AI across the Canadian manufacturing industry. The panel deep dive into why generic AI Platforms will fail in industrial operations, and stories addressing the implementation of AI in the real world of manufacturing.
The ADM Toronto event this year is bringing back its five manufacturing events, Automation Technology Expo, Design & Manufacturing, PACKEX, PLAST-EX and Powder & Bulk Solids. The event will have both a trade show and three full days of education sessions.
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