SME investment supports Canadian manufacturing

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ (SME) recent purchase of seven Reed Exhibition Canada (RX Canada) trade shows is part of a major investment to support Canadian manufacturing companies and their employees. The shows that were purchased include Plant Maintenance & Design Engineering, Western Manufacturing Technology Show, Canadian Manufacturing Technology Show, Advanced Manufacturing Expo, Montreal Manufacturing Technology, Southwest Ontario Industrial and Canadian Manufacturing Week.

“This investment not only represents a significant commitment to Canadian manufacturing, but it positions SME as an important partner to these manufacturers for years to come,” said Brian Holmes SME president-elect and a Canadian native.

SME executive director and general manager Mark Tomlinson added, “SME is excited and ready to take on a more active and supportive role within the Canadian manufacturing community. As part of this investment, SME will assume control of Reed’s Canadian office in Toronto. In addition to having show sales and management expertise, the Canadian staff is bi-lingual and thoroughly understands the market. When you look at our successful U.S. events and membership services we believe there is a unique synergy between the two organizations.”

The Canadian investment is the latest addition to an impressive portfolio for SME. For more than 10 years, SME has been the only not-for-profit show management organization with three or more tradeshows ranked in the top 200 as listed by Tradeshow Week. SME’s ranked events include the FABTECH International & AWS Welding Show, WESTEC and EASTEC. Combined, the three shows equal more than 771,000 square feet with almost 2,000 exhibiting companies. The three events attract nearly 59,000 visitors annually. SME also has significant initiatives in aerospace and defense and lean certification that could provide additional opportunities for member engagement and industry development in North America.

The Canadian market has approximately 54,000 manufacturing establishments employing nearly 2.2 million people. In fact, Ontario is now the leading producer of light vehicles in North America and is home to more than 400 auto parts manufacturers that employ nearly 90,000 people. Quebec is a major Aerospace manufacturing center, while Alberta’s oil-and-gas investments have increased demand several-fold for manufacturing goods and related services.

As part of this initiative, SME plans to work closely with the Association for Manufacturing Excellence-Canada (AME-Canada) and the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) to coordinate the organizations respective workforce development, education and training efforts.

Some of SME’s current initiatives include:

• WESTEC
  North America’s largest annual manufacturing and metalworking event, WESTEC features the latest manufacturing equipment reflecting emerging technologies. Exhibitors include leading equipment and tooling manufacturers, regional distributors, technology products and supplier services from 150 categories representing 2,500 international product lines.

• EASTEC
  For more than a quarter century, EASTEC has connected buyers in the East Coast's diverse marketplace with sellers of advanced manufacturing equipment and services. Since the first EASTEC, more than 400,000 manufacturing professionals from the aerospace, defense, automotive, computer, medical, consumer products, and other industries have attended, ready to purchase the latest technologies and services.

• FABTECH International & AWS Welding Show
  This show represents the largest showcase of metal forming, fabricating, tube & pipe, and welding equipment and technology in North America this year. More than 21,000 attendees from around the world visited the show to evaluate, purchase and explore innovative technologies. A total number of 873 companies exhibited at the 2006 event, taking over 300,000 net square feet of exhibit space.

• Collaborate
  This event is designed to foster formal collaboration between automotive, aerospace and defense manufacturing communities. The event brings together industry leaders and innovators to share best practices and work together on new technology applications and processes. Companies such as Ford, Toyota, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and United Airlines are participants.

• SOUTH-TEC featuring SME Motorsports
  The Southeast’s leading metalworking and manufacturing show features exhibits and a conference for the booming motorsports industry. Important industry trends and new manufacturing opportunities are covered in areas such as machine tools, rapid prototyping, ethanol production, carbon composites manufacturing, and safety innovations.

• Lean Certification
  Lean Certification sets an international standard for aligning lean practices by offering the only professional lean certification on the market that is based on a public body of knowledge and not tied to any one training program, but instead transferable. It has been developed by lean practitioners across industries that have chosen a lean career path.

About SME
The Society of Manufacturing Engineers is the world’s leading professional society supporting manufacturing education. Through its member programs, publications, expositions and professional development resources, SME promotes an increased awareness of manufacturing engineering and helps keep manufacturing professionals up to date on leading trends and technologies. Headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, SME influences more than half a million manufacturing practitioners and executives annually. The Society, which celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2007, has members in more than 70 countries and is supported by a network of hundreds of technical communities and chapters worldwide, including nine chapters in Canada.