Transforming Manufacturing Industries Through Innovation | ARC Forum 2012

Presenting the Sixteenth Annual ARC World Industry Forum

Transforming Industry through New Processes and Technologies

February 6-9, 2012 - Orlando, Florida

Operational excellence is fundamental to success for industrial enterprises.  The way companies design, engineer, source, make, and deliver products - and manage their assets - determine profitability, sustainability, and customer satisfaction.  Perfect execution of today’s best practices provides competitive advantage, but maintaining this lead is an ongoing challenge.  Innovative competitors and game-changing technology can quickly undermine even the most, well-tuned organizations.

Today’s turbulent, global economy makes it difficult for any company to sustain competitive advantage.  Operational excellence has become mandatory, while new technologies constantly change the rules of the game offering the potential to achieve quantum improvements in process efficiency and customer satisfaction.  New regulations and the aging workforce add to this challenge by portending a significant shift in regional competitiveness, unless companies take actions to address these trends.  Winning today clearly demands flexibility, agility, and continuous innovation.

Technology is central to all these issues.  Technology fuels today’s dynamic environment by enabling continuous improvements in critical areas like asset management, production efficiency, product quality, safety, sustainability, and supply chain efficiency.  New Technology can also help companies retain vital knowledge, collaborate effectively with customers and suppliers, maintain operational excellence, achieve sustainability goals, and improve their processes to stay ahead of competitors.

At the same time, the need to reduce costs, reduce risk, reduce project cycle time, reduce energy use, and reduce carbon footprint remain key challenges facing every company.  And managers are being tasked to address these issues with fewer people, smaller budgets, limited visibility, and little tolerance for risk.

ARC's World Industry Forum focuses on all of these challenges and can help you develop winning strategies.  It provides the ideal environment for industry executives to collaborate, share ideas, and find new ways to attack their most pressing problems.  The event includes sessions on the major issues facing our industry, with multiple tracks that enable executives to explore these topics from different perspectives.  Dynamic roundtable discussions will provide an intimate opportunity for attendees to ask questions and share experiences with the speakers and their peers.  Owner/operators, solution providers, and technical experts will all benefit from this experience while simultaneously contributing to the community’s body of knowledge.  [View wrap-up of ARC's 2011 World Industry Forum.]

Benefits of Attending

Top ten reasons for attending ARC's Orlando Forum:

• Learn about new technologies, new practices, and emerging standards
• See the latest product releases from leading suppliers
• Hear how others are solving some of your most pressing problems
• Discuss your issues and ideas with peers, suppliers, and ARC Analysts
• Network with colleagues and develop valuable relationships with peer and supplier executives
• Expand your knowledge by attending sessions from eight exciting programs
• Discover new ways to breakdown cultural, organizational, and contractual barriers
• Collaborate with peers on shared problems like limited capital, aging workforce, etc.
• Impress your boss and colleagues with new fresh ideas to improve performance
• Inject your requirements into supplier product roadmaps

Attendee Testimonials from ARC's 2011 World Industry Forum

"We’ve found that a lot of the concepts that have been developed by ARC over the years have become foundation concepts for a lot of our planning."

Eric Cosman
Engineering Solutions IT Consultant

"ARC’s Forum provides a great opportunity to network, along with interesting presentations about top notch topics."

Andreas Wernsdörfer
Vice President, Automation & Electrical Engineering

"It’s my first time to attend ARC’s Orlando Forum and I would have to say — to say the least actually — it has exceeded my expectations."

Ashraf Ghazzawi
General Supervisor, Process Control Division

Agenda by Industry

Following is the preliminary agenda for the Forum by industry focus.  Times and sessions are subject to change. 

For complete session descriptions, please download the Forum brochure PDF file.

*Petrochem includes Oil & Gas and Chemical.

**Process includes Mining, Metals, Cement, Glass, Paper, and Water & Waste.

Sunday, February 5 - Join ARC for a Super Bowl Party starting at 6 PM in The Upper Deck.
Monday, February 6 - Press Conferences for the Media will be held from 12-6PM in Coral A Room

Monday, February 6 - Forum Opening Day Workshop Sessions

Tuesday, February 7

Wednesday, February 8

Thursday, February 9

Executive Speakers

Keynote and featured speakers include the following.  Click on the speaker name to view a brief bio. 

Location

The Forum is held at the Renaissance Orlando Hotel in Orlando, Florida.

Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld
6677 Sea Harbor Drive
Orlando, Florida  32821
renaissanceseaworldorlando.com

The Renaissance is just a short shuttle or taxi ride from the most popular Orlando attractions and within easy access of Orlando airports.  Hotel amenities include complimentary 24 hour fitness center use; transportation to SeaWorld Orlando, Discovery Cove, Aquatica, and Universal Studios Orlando based on shuttle schedule; and public area wireless Internet.

The Renaissance Is Currently Sold Out - Alternate Forum Hotel
ARC has arranged for a block of rooms at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club, located one block away from the Renaissance.  One bedroom suites are at a special rate of $159/night (two and three bedroom suites are available if needed).  To make your reservations, please call 866-782-9442 (Monday-Friday 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM EST) and refer to the group block "ARC Forum".  We can also send you a one-page reservation form upon request by emailing kcoffman@arcweb.com. 

Transportation
Mears Transportation provides shuttle, taxicab, luxury sedan, and limousine transportation to and from the airport, area attractions, and local restaurants.  For reservations, call 407-423-5566 or 800-759-5219.  Taxi service from the Orlando International Airport is located level 1 outside at the curb.  For taxi reservations, call 407-422-2222.

Visitor Information
Please contact Orlando's Visitor Information Center at 407-363-5874, www.visitorlando.com, for information regarding current events in Orlando.  For discounted attractions in Orlando, please visit the Orlando Convention Aid website.  Their on-line travel guide offers discounts to restaurants, golf, attractions, nightlife, shopping, and more, including making dinner reservations for you.

Speaking Opportunities

For information on nominating a speaker for the forum, please visit our Speaking Opportunities page.

Sponsorship Opportunities

For information on opportunities for sponsoring the forum, please contact your client manager or contact us.

Previous Attendees

The following companies have attended recent ARC forums: