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May 02, 2019 | Categories: America Makes News
Blairsville, Pa. — May 2, 2019. The National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) proudly announces its annual SUMMIT event, to be held May 8 – 9, 2019, at the Chestnut Ridge Golf Resort and Conference Center in Blairsville, Pa. This year’s SUMMIT theme is “Preparing for the Next Manufacturing Revolution.”
“Whether your organization is a well-established large corporation, a startup, academic institution, or a government agency, SUMMIT offers something for everyone,” said newly appointed NCDMM President and Executive Director Dean L. Bartles, Ph.D. “Each year, SUMMIT brings together our industry with the goal of fostering an environment where information can be readily shared and networking can occur to spur new collaborations and partnerships that help to innovate and advance the manufacturing industry.”
“With today’s manufacturing breakthroughs and innovations evolving at a fairly rapid rate, we need to prepare for the next manufacturing revolution,” added Ralph Resnick, NCDMM Vice President of Strategy. “Each of our keynote speakers bring a unique perspective on this topic. We also need a skilled workforce to lead the way, which is why I’m particularly excited by the addition of the Young Professionals Panel to this year’s SUMMIT. I look forward to our panelists sharing their experiences and observations about the advanced manufacturing industry.”
SUMMIT is NCDMM’s premier annual event for encouraging collaboration among government, industry, and academia to advance manufacturing technologies in support of the warfighter. For SUMMIT 2019, NCDMM is pleased to announce GE Research and Tronix3D as its Diamond Sponsors.
On the value that an event like SUMMIT brings to the industry, particularly a large organization like GE Research, Prabhjot Singh, Additive Product Breakout Leader at GE Research, said, “GE Research is proud to be a major sponsor of NCDMM’s 2019 SUMMIT event, which is bringing together top thought leaders to discuss the future of manufacturing. Through our involvement in America Makes, we have greatly valued NCDMM’s stewardship in accelerating new technologies and building a strong ecosystem of partners to scale and grow the additive industry. SUMMIT will provide an ideal opportunity to bring key stakeholders together to see where manufacturing is today and where we can take it next.”
Buck Helfferich, President of Tronix3D, a newly founded company and greater Pittsburgh’s first high-volume 3D/additive contract manufacturer and innovation center, similarly describes the impact that the NCDMM has made on his organization. “Tronix3D is a startup company that aspires to be a reliable, trustworthy, highly advanced additive contract manufacturer for commercial and military markets,” said Mr. Helfferich. “Since Tronix3D opened its doors last year, the NCDMM has been an invaluable resource, offering guidance and providing best practices on how to organize our business systems and infrastructure to best serve U.S. defense manufacturers. We intend to document what we learn and share our experiences with NCDMM and America Makes members to support the next generation of additive manufacturers. It is our honor to be a Diamond Sponsor of this year’s NCDMM SUMMIT and support the organization’s vision of enhancing our nation’s workforce and economic competitiveness.”
SUMMIT 2019 will kick off on Wednesday, May 8th with opening remarks from Mr. Resnick. Presentations by these keynote speakers will immediately follow:
New this year to SUMMIT 2019 is the addition of a Young Professionals Panel to be moderated by Michael D. Packer, Director of Manufacturing for Advanced Production Programs at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works® and NCDMM Chairman of the Board. This year’s inaugural panel will include four young professionals who have recently started their careers in the manufacturing industry. Each panelists will introduce themselves and give a background on their chosen career path including experiences from schooling through securing a position. The Young Professionals Panel will include:
To create an engaging experience for SUMMIT attendees we will feature four project areas – or ‘pods.’ Each pod will focus on a specific project currently managed by NCDMM. Within the pods we will showcase our project partners, project artifacts, and video presentations featuring the challenges and objectives of each specific project along with NCDMM’s approach and achievements. NCDMM program managers and project partners will be on hand to engage with attendees. The four NCDMM project areas showcased at SUMMIT 2019 are:
The NCDMM also plans to present its highest honor, the Lawrence J. Rhoades Award, to this year’s recipient at SUMMIT. The Rhoades Award was established to honor the memory of Mr. Rhoades whose entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to the advancement of manufacturing processes was known industry-wide. Mr. Rhoades was one of the founding fathers of the NCDMM, and an inaugural member of the Board of Directors where he served until his untimely death in 2007.
Following the day’s presentations, there will be a reception for attendees to continue networking, gain an understanding of project pod displays, and build mutually beneficial partnerships.
To wrap up SUMMIT 2019, NCDMM will once again hold its annual SUMMIT Golf Outing, on Thurs., May 9th, for golfers to enjoy a fun-filled day of golf and a relaxed atmosphere for networking. Proceeds from the outing will benefit the Troops First Foundation, which provides meaningful assistance to the men and women of our military wounded while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The foundation spends time at hospitals visiting the wounded and their families, building relationships, and gaining trust to assist with their many stages of recovery.
Golfers will play the Tom’s Run Golf Course at Chestnut Ridge Golf Resort & Conference Center. Tom’s Run was named one of the Best Golf Courses in Pennsylvania by Golf Digest and has earned a four and a half star rating. With its multiple tees and bent grass greens and fairways, Tom’s Run offers a truly memorable experience for golfers of all skill levels.
The NCDMM gratefully acknowledges the support of the following SUMMIT 2019 sponsors:
Join NCDMM at SUMMIT 2019. There’s still time to register! Don’t delay. For more information about SUMMIT 2019, visit www.ncdmmsummit.org.
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About NCDMM
NCDMM delivers optimized manufacturing solutions that enhance the quality, affordability, maintainability, and rapid deployment of existing and yet-to-be developed defense systems. This is accomplished through collaboration with government, industry, and academic organizations to promote the implementation of best practices to key stakeholders through the development and delivery of disciplined training, advanced technologies, and methodologies. NCDMM also manages the national accelerator for additive manufacturing (AM) and 3DP printing (3DP), America Makes—the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute. For additional information, visit NCDMM at ncdmm.org.