WBF European Conference announces keynote speakers.
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Press Release Summary:
Scheduled for Nov 10-12 in Barcelona, European Conference is built around theme of "Bridging the Divide between IT and Manufacturing." Conference will address how to incorporate these two business functions into cohesive units without losing production time, money, and labor. Kurt Werckx, Manager of the Business Export Group at Janssen Pharmaceutica in Belgium and Arne Svendsen, Head of Manufacturing Services and Automation at Arla Foods Global IT will deliver keynotes.
Original Press Release:
2008 WBF European Conference Announces Keynote Speakers
Research Triangle Park, NC (September 8, 2008) -Two renowned European business professionals will deliver keynotes at this year's European Conference hosted by WBF, The Forum for Automation and Manufacturing Professionals, in Barcelona, November 10-12, 2008.
The opening keynote address on Tuesday, November 10, will be delivered by Kurt Werckx, Manager of the Business Export Group at Janssen Pharmaceutica in Belgium. In his keynote address, "Approach to a single MES strategy within a global environment," Werckx will discuss the major steps and deliverables for a single MES strategy within a global environment. He will also address how to use ISA95 as a guide, who to involve in the process, and how to integrate engineering and IT business units within a global company.
In his current position, Werckx oversees a group of subject matter experts for several projects, including the MES rollout for the Janssen Pharmaceutica plant in Geel, Belgium. His prior position at Janssen Pharmaceutica was IT Project Manager where he, together with Carl van Laer, defined an MES strategy for all API producing companies within the Johnson & Johnson Group, of which Janssen Pharmaceutica is a part. His IT career began at Caterpillar Logistics after earning his Master's degree in Economics from Hasselt University in Belgium.
Wednesday's keynote speaker is Arne Svendsen, Head of Manufacturing Services & Automation at Arla Foods Global IT (GBSIT). Svendsen will present his case study, "Bringing Business and Manufacturing-IT Together," and show attendees how Arla Foods Global managed to successfully integrate the best IT-tools to optimize their world.
With 20 years of experience in developing and consulting on manufacturing execution and control systems, Svendsen joined the end-user manufacturing enterprise when he accepted a position at Arla Foods, one of the leading dairy companies in Europe, in 2002.
Svendsen has been a driving force in converting the theoretical standard documents in the ISA95 standard into real-life implementation as the first European customer in 2003 to implement open standard SAP-MES integration. He has constantly pushed vendors in the direction of implementing standard interfaces. The latest example of this is the integrated packaging solution that is currently under roll-out at Arla Foods. Svendsen earned a Masters degree in Control Systems Engineering from Technical University of Copenhagen in 1980.
Built around the theme of "Bridging the Divide between IT and Manufacturing," WBF has created a conference with presentations and demonstrations relevant to today's emerging issues-how to incorporate these two business functions, IT and Manufacturing, into cohesive units without losing production time, money, and labor. The conference offers helpful best-practices and advice around global issues. "This year's theme is a truly hot topic. Businesses worldwide are constantly working on implementing profitable, and sensible, solutions that incorporate both engineering and IT into cohesive operating units. Our event, with presentations by subject matter experts based upon best-practices and experiences, will offer tremendous value to business professionals and companies currently working on creating solutions to their business units," said Charlotta Johnsson, WBF Director of European Operations.
WBF holds a conference bi-annually in Europe in addition to an annual North American Conference. The conference has become an international event with participants from around the world. Originating in the ISA88 realm, WBF has naturally evolved to become the main, dedicated supporter of ISA88, ISA95, ISA99, and OMAC standards. WBF has broadened its scope to the entire production system control, from batch to continuous, discrete, and hybrid manufacturing processes, and from production planning to equipment automation.
Exhibits and sponsorship opportunities at the conference are also available. Contact Chris Johnson, WBF Sales Consultant, at + 1 919 990-9230.
To learn more about the conference, or to register, visit wbf.org/EU08 or call +1 919 314 3970. Attendance is limited, so early registration is recommended.
About WBF
WBF provides an open forum for the exchange of information related to the management, operation, and automation of manufacturing processes. Created in 1994, members of the non-profit, professional organization include end-users, vendors, consultants and academics. WBF provides organization, management, and structure to facilitate networking among its members and sharing of knowledge and information related to manufacturing processes. WBF documents best practices and guidelines for implementation of standards that apply to batch control and the exchange of batch data, as well as conducting technical conferences and technical training programs. WBF is a charter member of The Automation Federation (www.automationfederation.org). More information about WBF is available at www.wbf.org.
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