In order to be ready when the economic rebound finally comes, companies will need to ensure that their staffing levels, workforce skills, resin contract positions and production capabilities are properly aligned to respond to an uptick in demand under the “new normal” market conditions.
The Plastics News Executive Forum — which returns March 7-10 to Saddlebrook Resort in Tampa, Fla. — aims to help plastics company officials assess market conditions and lead their companies through the current challenging times.
Krzystzof Bledowski, a Ph.D. economist and council director for the Arlington, Va.-based policy research forum Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, will open the event with his assessment of the macro economy. The native of Poland, who previously worked as a senior economist for the International Monetary Fund, last year also served as president of the National Economists Club in Washington, the nation's largest local economics society.
Additionally, Gerald Bell, founder and CEO of Bell Leadership Institute in Chapel Hill, N.C., will share insights from his upcoming book Great Leaders, Great Results, which will highlight what works and what doesn't in building a company into a great organization.
Bell, a leading business consultant and Ph.D. professor at UNC-Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School, aims to provide practical, take-home actions for specific needs and culture.
Forum attendees will get a global view, as the lineup of more than 20 speakers will include officials from the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Hungary, Singapore and New Zealand with extensive experience in China, India, the Middle East and Russia, among other emerging markets.
Executives representing PN's Processor of the Year finalists again will offer best-practices managerial and operational advice, while a range of processor and resin officials, consultants, merger-and-acquisition experts and major medical-device makers also will share their knowledge.
Topics to be covered will include global resin trade trends and market prospects, the latest biopolymer and nanotechnology advances, insights into emerging markets such as central and Eastern Europe and Asia, supply-chain and medical market trends, tool transfer and maintenance strategies, and the effective application of technology.
To help keep participants abreast of the latest program and speaker developments and to stimulate interactive, pre-conference dialogue, editor and conference director Robert Grace has launched the Forum Insider blog, at www.plasticsnews.com/forum-insider.
Finally, in recognition of current economic conditions, the registration price for the Forum is as low as it's ever been, with processors and their original-equipment-manufacturer customers able to attend the 21/2-day event for as little as $795, given certain conditions.
For full program and registration details, go to www.plastics news.com/forum2010.
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