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Networking Receptions

The Manufacturing Technology Series SOUTHWEST event is where the manufacturing industry comes together. Connect face-to-face, build meaningful relationships, and enjoy great refreshments while networking. Whether you're meeting your next key contact or reconnecting with colleagues, your badge is your all-access pass—everyone is welcome!

Built to Sell: How Configuration Is Becoming the Hottest Way Manufacturers Are Fueling Sales Growth

SOUTHWEST Session: Manufacturers are rethinking how they sell — and configuration has quietly become the hottest lever for growth. In an era where 86% of manufacturers say they’ve lost deals due to slow, manual quoting, the ability to configure products quickly and accurately isn’t just an operational advantage — it’s a sales accelerator. This session explores how leading manufacturers are modernizing their quoting and selling processes with connected CPQ and AI-driven tools that integrate seamlessly with their ERP systems — without replacing them. You’ll see how “Built to Sell” insights are reshaping sales strategies across industries, helping teams quote faster, sell smarter, and scale revenue without adding complexity.

Cobots vs Robots: Finding the Right Fit for Your Floor

SOUTHWEST Session: In today’s fast-evolving manufacturing environment, automation is no longer a one-size-fits-all solution. This session will explore the critical decision between deploying collaborative robots (cobots) and traditional industrial robots, offering clarity around when each choice makes strategic sense. While industrial robots excel in high-volume, high-speed, heavy-load operations—thriving in fenced-off cells for repetitive tasks—cobots are designed for safe, direct interaction with human workers, offering flexibility, ease of redeployment and quicker changeover.    Attendees will gain a framework for matching automation type to production need: evaluating criteria such as payload, cycle time, workspace environment, operator exposure, and change-frequency. We’ll also cover key trade-offs including installation cost, safety infrastructure, reprogramming agility and human-robot collaboration.    Through real-world use-cases and decision lenses, you’ll walk away with actionable guidance: when to choose a cobot for tasks like machine tending, light assembly or flexible layouts; when an industrial robot remains the superior option for brute strength, continuous throughput and long runs; and how future-oriented operations can combine both in hybrid strategies.    Join us if you’re looking to move beyond buzzwords and make informed automation choices that align with both current realities and future factory goals.

Edge AI: The Future of Industrial Machine Health Monitoring

SOUTHWEST Session: Driven by the rise of Edge AI, industrial machine health monitoring is undergoing a transformative shift—enabling smarter, faster, and more autonomous decision-making at the edge. In this session, we’ll explore how edge computing and artificial intelligence are converging to deliver real-time insights directly at the source of data generation, minimizing latency and enhancing responsiveness. We'll examine traditional Condition-based Monitoring (CbM) methods and their limitations in dynamic industrial environments, then dive into how predictive and prescriptive maintenance strategies—utilizing Edge AI—are anticipating failures, optimizing performance, and reducing costly downtime. This evolution is reshaping the future of industrial reliability, operational efficiency, and long-term asset sustainability.

Evolution of Material Disruption with Automation & AI

SOUTHWEST Session: This demonstration showcases how agentic automation streamlines material replacement and inventory management using UiPath Maestro. The flow begins with an MTR (Material Test Report) being received, processed, and linked to its corresponding purchase order (PO). Upon identifying a defective material, the system transitions to a Maestro-driven workflow where an intelligent agent analyzes the issue, reviews inventory, and finds suitable substitute materials. The agent then recommends replacements based on availability and need. A human operator reviews and refines these recommendations—such as adjusting shipping quantities—and approves an automatically drafted email prepared by the remediation agent for the customer and requisition team. The demo concludes by highlighting how this automation fits into a larger source-to-pay and manufacturing management process, improving speed, accuracy, and end-to-end efficiency.

Excellence Isn’t Complicated

SOUTHWEST Session: In today’s manufacturing environment, quality systems are often weighed down by the very tools meant to improve them. Multiple databases, disconnected platforms, and redundant processes can make even the most capable teams less efficient. Yet true excellence has never been about doing more — it’s about seeing clearly. In this session, James Lozos shares insights from over three decades working with manufacturers to design, implement, and sustain ISO-based management systems across aerospace, automotive, medical, and industrial sectors. Drawing on lessons from the field, he demonstrates how simplicity and integration — not complexity — drive productivity, consistency, and long-term success. Attendees will learn how to: Recognize where complexity hides in everyday processes Connect core quality functions to everyday workflow Adopt simple, best practices Align digital tools with ISO 9001’s process-based intent to achieve measurable efficiency

Overcoming Variability Challenges in Surface Processes with Adaptive Automation

SOUTHWEST Session: Manufacturers increasingly struggle with robotic surface finishing, treatment, and welding as production shifts toward high-mix, high-variability manufacturing. Traditional robotic systems demand time-consuming, manual programming—often taking days or weeks to accommodate complex geometries. These systems also lack adaptive capabilities, making it difficult to compensate for part variations. The result: costly manual touchups, process inefficiencies, and production delays.   Augmentus transforms robotic surface applications by combining advanced 3D scanning with automated toolpath generation. By eliminating the need for manual programming and enabling seamless adaptation to part variations, Augmentus delivers greater accuracy, reduced rework, and significantly improved operational efficiency.   This presentation explores how Augmentus overcomes key industry barriers—empowering manufacturers with precision, adaptability, and unmatched process efficiency across surface finishing, surface treatment, and welding applications.

Panel: Opportunities and Challenges in Developing a Viable Workforce in the Fusion Energy Sector to Support US Manufacturing

SOUTHWEST Session: Join this panel discussion to hear from the Fusion Development Lead for Tokamak Energy’s U.S. subsidiary, Tokamak Energy Inc., Dr. Andrew Shone, in addition to Jay Vitha, Vice President of Business Development at MetOX International, Inc. and Executive Director Rodney Reddic of the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center (TMAC) as they share their views on the opportunities and challenges Nuclear Fusion will need to address from a technology as well as workforce perspective.