2006 Lean Manufacturing Conference

Our program of international keynote speakers will both inform and inspire. Specifically selected for their demonstrated Leadership, following are people who have made a difference and are competing and winning in the global economy.

NEW - Click on the title links below to download keynote presentations from the conference.
(All are in PDF format. Don't have Adobe Reader? Click here to get the download.) *Presentations are provided by our Keynote Speakers and their respective organizations. The information contained in these presentations may not be modified in any way.

	OPENING KEYNOTE: TUESDAY JUNE 13, 2006 DAN JOSEPH, Managing Director, ESS China "China: Separating the Myth from the Reality" (click above link to download presentation) Dan Joseph is a managing director at ESS China, a firm that specializes in helping American companies adjust to the challenges and seize the opportunities presented by China. ESS’s activities include sourcing products in China for US companies, helping US companies establish a presence in China, and investing in business opportunities in China. Dan is also the author of “Wen and the Art of Doing Business in China”, a humorous and instructive book about his experience managing businesses in China.
	OPENING KEYNOTE: TUESDAY JUNE 13, 2006 DR. JAMES P. WOMACK, Founder and President, Lean Enterprise Institute "Preparing Your Home Base for Global Success" (click above link to download presentation) James P. Womack is the founder and President of the Lean Enterprise Institute, a non-profit educational and research organization chartered in 1997 to advance a set of ideas known as Lean production and Lean thinking. The intellectual basis for the institute is described in a series of volumes and articles co-authored by Dr. Womack over the past 20 years; including “The Machine that Changed the World”, and “Lean Thinking”. (click here to read Dr. Womack's recent article published in the Toronto Star, December 31, 2005)
	LUNCHEON KEYNOTE: TUESDAY JUNE 13, 2006 DR. JAYSON MYERS, Senior Vice President & Chief Economist, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters “The Realities for North American and Canadian Manufacturers - Understanding the Big Picture” (click above link to download presentation) As Senior Vice President & Chief Economist of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, Jayson Myers is an economist who makes practical common sense, taking the economic data of the day and putting it in an understandable perspective. Dr. Myers will help set the stage for conference attendees by identifying current status and key trends of the North American and Canadian economy, putting the present day in clear perspective and informing us of the realities we have to work with in order to compete and win in a global economy.
	AFTERNOON KEYNOTE: TUESDAY JUNE 13, 2006 ART CHURCH, President & CEO, Mancor Industries “Competitive Success: It Starts at the Top” (click above link to download presentation) Art Church has been President & CEO of Mancor Industries since 1997. Prior to joining Mancor as both partner and President, he was President & CEO of Champion Road Machinery Inc., now owned by Volvo, which designed and provided road building equipment to over 95 countries around the world. Prior to that, he held positions as VP Engineering, Materials Manager, and Manufacturing Engineering Manager at Timberjack Inc. Mr. Church is a graduate of the University of Waterloo where he earned his P.Eng; he obtained his MBA from McMaster University 1984. He is currently on the Board of Governors for the University of Waterloo.
	INTERNATIONAL KEYNOTE PANEL: TUESDAY JUNE 13, 2006 moderated by ANTHONY LARAIA, Plant Manager Wiremold Legrand and Chairman AME “Trends in Lean Deployment in Europe - Practical Competitive Insights from UK Practitioners” (presentation not available) A panel consisting of four visiting manufacturing practitioners from the United Kingdom: two are manufacturing executives who are participating in the world’s only Lean Masters program at the University of Cardiff in Wales. They will be joined by two UK corporate manufacturing representatives, all of whom are members of a 15-member exchange mission touring Canadian manufacturing facilities. The panel will take questions from the floor.
	LUNCHEON KEYNOTE: WEDNESDAY JUNE 14, 2006 TERRY EVANSHEN, Motivational Speaker & former Professional Football Player “Seize the Day” (presentation not available) In 1998 CFL Hall of Famer Terry Evanshen was returning from work, when his vehicle was struck by a van running a red light. He lay in the hospital, so near death that a priest administered last rights. When Terry finally awoke from his coma he didn’t know who he was, all 44 years of his famous life were completely gone from his memory. After being in a coma for almost a month, and six months of hospital rehabilitation, Terry began the long and painful road of rebuilding his shattered life. Terry will share with attendees his remarkable and inspirational story of perseverance, commitment and personal determination.
	AFTERNOON KEYNOTE: WEDNESDAY JUNE 14, 2006 CHRIS GRIFFITHS, President & CEO, Garrison Guitars “Leading with the Right Chord in 2006” (presentation not available) Chris Griffiths started his first guitar business in 1993…Griffiths Guitar Works. It specialized in custom building acoustic and electric guitars. Late one night in 1995, Chris was taking apart a vintage Gibson guitar when a new improvement idea for acoustic guitars struck him. The soon to be patented Griffiths Active Bracing System was born. 6 years of R & D later, Chris raised venture capital and started Garrison Guitars. Garrison now manufactures and sells its unique guitars through 450 music stores in North America and through distributors in 34 other countries. Today, Chris credits Lean for enabling him to achieve above average industry results, which resulted in winning the Canadian National Award for Process (Lean) Excellence.
	MORNING KEYNOTE: THURSDAY JUNE 15, 2006 NORMAN BODEK, President PCS Press, Shingo Prize Winner “Success in Manufacturing Begins with the Power Within You” (presentation not available) Norman Bodek is the president of PCS Inc., a publishing and consulting company in Vancouver, Washington. In 1979, he started Productivity Inc. Press and published hundreds of management books on productivity, quality, and Lean manufacturing. From his over 60 trips to Japan, he has met and published the works of the Taiichi Ohno and Dr. Shigeo Shingo, the co-creators of the Toyota Production System (Lean manufacturing); and many other masters in manufacturing improvement. He even reprinted and republished the 1926 book of Henry Ford “Today and Tomorrow”. He introduced to the West important Lean tools and techniques discovered in Japan: JIT, Jidoka, 5S, Value Stream Mapping, SMED, QFD, CEDAC, Hoshin Kanri, Andon, Kanban, and Poka-Yoke. He won the coveted Shingo Prize for “Kaikaku” which is a best-seller with his most recent book “All You Gotta Do is Ask”.
	CLOSING KEYNOTE: THURSDAY JUNE 15, 2006 DR. DAN L. SHUNK, Professor, Arizona State University and Advisor to Nations on Supply Chain Excellence “Getting Your Home Operations in Order - To Compete and Win in the Global Marketplace” (click above link to download presentation) Dr. Dan L. Shunk is the Avnet Professor of Supply Network Integration in Industrial Engineering at Arizona State University. He is currently pursuing research into global new product development, model-based enterprises and global supply network integration. His latest book is “Integrated Process Design and Development”, an Irwin publication. Dr. Shunk has been recognized in the semiconductor, electronics, aerospace and automotive communities for his innovative approaches to product development and productivity improvements. He is currently the U.S. delegate to the Intelligent Manufacturing Systems Organization and chairs their Strategic Planning Working Group. (Click here to read Dr. Shunk's latest article from the March Edition of Business Process Trends Magazine)