PORTO, PORTUGAL – Critical Manufacturing, a global leader in next-level automation and manufacturing execution systems (MES), has announced a stellar slate of speakers and panelists for its upcoming MES & Industry 4.0 (MESI) International Summit. Portugal’s Secretary of State for Digitalization and Administrative Modernization Mário Campolargo will deliver the inaugural speech to the conference, Industry 4.0 strategy advisor Jeff Winter from Hitachi Solutions will deliver the opening keynote, and experts implementing digitalization projects will share their experience and insights in panels and presentations throughout the two-day event, taking place September 7-8, 2023.

“This is a very exciting time to be involved in manufacturing automation. Industry 4.0 is taking hold, and many companies are finding smarter ways to cut costs, streamline operations and improve quality. We created this summit as a platform for bringing those who have cross industry and cross company experience with smart manufacturing together with those applying it in their own companies,” said Francisco Almada Lobo, CEO at Critical Manufacturing.

MES & Industry 4.0 International Summit provides industry leaders, experts, and visionaries who are shaping the future of the manufacturing industry a platform to connect, collaborate, and explore the latest innovations, trends, and best practices in an environment conducive to learning and growth. It includes a panel discussion, hands-on round tables, captivating demonstrations, and thought- provoking case studies.

Jeff Winter, the keynote speaker, is an expert in helping manufacturers implement Industry 4.0 to improve their operations. The second day will feature a keynote presentation on “Supercharging Manufacturing Transformation: Delivering business value from shop floor to top floor” by Hari Sadarhalli and Shantanu Rai, corporate vice president and associate vice president respectively, at HCL Technologies Ltd. The event will further encompass roundtable discussions led by Critical Manufacturing MES users and other industry leaders, focusing on the following topics:

• Role of MES and IIoT in Building Resilient and Data-driven Enterprise. Thomas Beeg, Managing Director and CEO at Fabmatics USA will moderate the panel, which will include Frank Hochschultz from Fraunhofer, Thomas Amrein from Vishay, and Christian Schmidbauer from AMS Osram.
• Decoding IoT: Practical Guidance for Success in Modern Manufacturing, which will focus on the Internet of Things (IoT) in the context of modern manufacturing and shop-floor equipment integration. Panelists include John Vargo, Jeff Rericha and Yi Han Lee, all of Rovisys.
• Partnering for the Digital Plant of Future, which will examine the divide between the Industry 4.0 vision and the reality. Panelists include Cognizant IOT industrial operations specialists Amol Akre and NS Mahadevan.
• Docker Containers, the Future of Industry 4 Software Development. Panelists include Neil Cresswell and Tobia Mühlnikel, both of Portainer.io.

Complementing the keynotes and panels will be industry use case presentations from experts representing the following industries:

• Semiconductor production, including Didier Chavet, head of manufacturing IT operations, Micron Technology;  David Fried, corporate vice president, Lam Research; Priya Almelkar, VP IT manufacturing and product engineering, Wolfspeed, and Missy Stigall SVP, global fab Wolfspeed.
• Medical device manufacturing, including Michael Kaiser, global process coordinator, B.Braun and Tonniele Naeher, MES program manager, Integer.
• Industrial equipment manufacturing, including Tarun Chopra, head of manufacturing services for Danfoss Group IT.
• Electronics manufacturing, including Alexander Hagenfeldt, Senior Manager Service EMEA at ASMPT.

Expected attendees include CXOs, VPs, directors, and managers of manufacturing, production, IT, and operations, many of whom are managing digitalization, innovation initiatives. Space is limited and available on a first come, first service basis.

For more information about MESI 4.0 or to pre-register for the event, please visit https://mesi40- summit.com?utm_source=pressrelease&utm_medium=mw&utm_campaign=MESI40