WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo | May 22-23, 2012

Omni Dallas Hotel | Dallas, Texas, USA

Conference Sessions

Tuesday, May 22

9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Machinery Roundtable

Panelists:

Marco Dell’Oro, General Manager, MFL USA Service Corp. Frigerio/Frigeco, USA
Larry Geiswite, Sr. Project Engineer, Alcan Cable, USA
Richard Miller, Sr. Vice President Electrical Manufacturing, Southwire Co., USA
Dominique Perroud, CEO, SAMP Shanghai, China

Robert L. Strauss, VP/CEO, Morgan-Koch GmbH Corp., USA

Join this panel of wiredrawers and equipment suppliers as they address the latest issues regarding machinery. Members of the panel will discuss concerns and needs for the future, the latest technology, and the pros and cons of machinery originating in specific markets (including Asia), weighing lower costs against other considerations. Particular attention will be given to future directions. Panelists will share their experiences as well as field questions from the audience and each other.

10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
Commodity Outlooks | Justin Honrath, CPM Group, USA.

Honrath, who is a commodity analyst at CPM Group, provides a macroeconomic outlook with specific attention to copper, aluminum, and steel markets. He also identifies Chinese market drivers and challenges facing the metals market, as well as techniques for managing commodity price risk exposure. The CPM Group is an independent commodities research firm servicing producers, consumers, investors, and other professional market participants around the world. Honrath covers the base metals and energy markets for CPM Group’s Base Metals Advisory and Weekly Commodity Views.

10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
Safety Culture Shift Roundtable
Panelists:

Kevin Bodine, PolyOne Corporation| Brian Parsons, Southwire Co. | German Zavala, General Cable
Moderator:

TBD
Join this panel of manufacturers and suppliers as they discuss the challenges of fostering changes in the mindset and habits of their staff to create a safer work environment. Organizations who adopt safety strategies realize a program’s success relies on more than new equipment and procedures, but also on changes to the very habits and outlook of their employees. Panelists will share their experiences shifting workplace culture, as well as field questions from the audience and each other.

11:15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Copper Wire in Renewable Energy | David Brender, Copper Development Association Inc., USA.

This presentation addresses the wire and cable contained in so-called renewable energy generation technologies. It examines specific wire applications in solar and thermal photovoltaic systems and wind energy, as well as current growth trends in these areas.

11:15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
9 Drivers of Overall Process Effectiveness (OPE) | John Golden, The Go Group LLC, USA

Would you eliminate 800 hours of unplanned downtime and reduce operating costs by $375,000 in the next six months if you could? The 9 Drivers of Overall Process Effectiveness provide a roadmap to success. Application of one or more will quickly improve performance, while implementation of all nine will make excellence inevitable. This presentation shares how this happened in five wire and cable plants in North America.

Conference Sessions

Wednesday, May 23

9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Washington Overview: What is at Stake in the 2012 Elections | Omar Nashashibi, The Franklin Partnership, USA

This presentation provides an overview of the regulatory and legislative activity impacting manufacturing. A founding partner of The Franklin Partnership, Nashashibi works with members of the U.S. Congress on behalf of his clients on a variety of issues from trade to federal funding opportunities to telecommunications.

9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

Power Factor – The Hidden Utility Penalty | James “J.D.” Dodson, Rapid Power Management LLC, USA

Power Factor penalties are a relatively unknown new cost expense that utilities are enforcing against industrial power users. The penalties are costing manufacturers significant expenses. This presentation presents example cost calculations along with providing a thorough understanding of the definition of power factor. This summary also provides suggestions on the proper way to shop for a solution and how to spot potentially fraudulent products. Note: Attendees are encouraged to bring recent power invoices to the presentation for review and advice.

9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Alternative Fuel Options in Material Handling |Mark Hoch, Hyster Co., USA

This presentation discusses the recent trends in the material handling industry as it relates to alternative fuel options and TEIR 4 requirements. An estimated 15 to 25% of the Total Cost of Ownership is driven by fuel costs. This session introduces alternative fuel choices that may help reduce fuel costs and at the same time operate a “greener” fleet of lift trucks.

9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Update on the UL Mark for Telecommunications Cable | Steven Galan, Underwriters Laboratories Inc., USA

This presentation focuses on updates made to UL’s Mark Integrity Program for Telecommunications Cable. Procedures as well as “screening tests” and new labeling requirements which were added to the program to help reduce the amount of noncompliant/counterfeit cable entering the North American marketplace are discussed. Attendees will learn the correct marking requirements for telecommunications.

10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Intellectual Property Law Developments | David E. Weslow, Wiley Rein LLP, USA

This presentation focuses on three major, recent developments in the field of intellectual property (IP) law. The first is the America Invents Act and the U.S. patent system change to a “first to invent” system. The second is the 24% increase in IP violation seizures by U.S. Customs. The final topic is the pending expansion of the Internet to allow for .Anything domains and the implications for trademark rights.

10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Encore Wire – LEED Platinum Research and Development Center | W. T. Bigbee, Encore Wire Corp., and Michael J. McCoy, Page Southerland Page LLP, USA.

Encore Wire Corp. has constructed a new Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified Platinum Research and Development Center at its McKinney, Texas, campus. In this presentation, the owner’s representative and architect for the design and development of the facility present the programmatic issues, the LEED Credits pursued and obtained, as well as the hurdles, constraints, and accomplishments of the facility.

11:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Workforce Challenges Facing U.S. Manufacturers | Jennifer McNelly, Manufacturing Institute, USA

Wire and cable companies have reinvested in their plants and improved efficiency so that they can compete on the global level. At the same time, companies recognize that a highly skilled workforce is essential to their survival. Jennifer McNelly of The Manufacturing Institute will discuss that this challenge is not unique to the wire and cable and detail the Institute’s strategy to address this crisis facing the United States.

11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Employee Involvement in Sustainability Roundtable

Panelists:

Theresa Block, Senior Corporate Environmental Engineer, Leggett & Platt, USA

Bruno Lioi, Regional Director of Operations, Gerdau—Wire Products, USA

Roberta Rocheleau, Environmental Coordinator, Champlain Cable Corp., USA
Moderator:

TBD
Join this panel of manufacturers and suppliers as they discuss how to get employees to buy in and play an active role in their companies’ green initiatives. Panelists will share their experiences and offer strategies for turning environmental consciousness and energy efficiency into a truly company-wide effort. Participants will answer questions from the audience as well as each other.

11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Talent Management Brought Full Circle | Nicole Yost, General Cable, USA.

An organization’s talent management life cycle encompasses the efforts spent on recruiting, hiring, onboarding, developing, and retaining top-notch employees. The key to a winning talent management program considers: 1. better employee selection decisions during the recruiting and hiring process to reap benefits that pay future dividends; 2. HR and managers are not solely responsible for onboarding and developing talent to recognize potential – it’s everyone’s job; and 3. retaining and promoting high performers requires long-term program strategies to drive the organization forward.

Schedule subject to change.