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TMA Board Members Speak at DMDII Smart Manufacturing Panel

Technology & Manufacturing Association of Illinois (TMA) Chairman Fernando Ortiz, Jr., Vice Chairman Jim Carr, and Board Member Patricia Miller participated in a panel discussion last week on "How to convert Smart Manufacturing vision into reality," at Wipro's 'Smart Manufacturing-Making It Real' symposium hosted at the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII) in Chicago. Joining them on the panel were TMA members Jason Zenger of Zengers and Bill Fienup of Catalyze Chicago. Panelists were asked their thoughts on real world applications for Smart Manufacturing technology. "We're all on a journey together and there are many facets of Smart Manufacturing," stated Ms. Miller, CEO of Matrix IV, Inc. "It's exciting to see two great associations, with different missions but the same goal of improving manufacturing and keeping its strength in the U.S. come together and see synergy."

"Small legacy manufacturers can integrate new technologies in the same way we integrate 'smart manufacturing marketing' in our business, including our wildly successful podcast entitled "Making Chips," stated Mr. Carr, President of Carr Machine Tools Inc. "It's critical we get the message out to the larger companies that we are the ones who make things and we are open for business."

TMA can play an important role in facilitating the relationship between suppliers and customers as well as serving as the face of small to mid-size manufacturing in Illinois and the region. "We are the supply base. As an organization, TMA has gathered a community of manufacturers that feed into the OEM's (original equipment manufacturers)," said Mr. Ortiz, Vice President and General Manager at Roberts Swiss, Inc. "TMA can teach this community how to integrate Smart Manufacturing into our shop floors."

The symposium was sponsored by Wipro Ltd, a global information technology, consulting and outsourcing company with more than 158,000 employees serving clients in 175+ cities across 6 continents. Wipro's Smart Manufacturing group also presented their approach and solutions that help manufacturers reap benefits of Smart Manufacturing.

About DMDII: The Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute, a federally-funded research and development organization, encourages factories across America to deploy digital manufacturing and design technologies, so those factories can become more efficient and cost-competitive.

About TMA: 8 small manufacturing companies who thought they could better themselves by associating with one another founded TMA in 1925. Through the years, members established programs and services to help their businesses grow and prosper, train their employees, and provide medical and retirement benefits. TMA has grown into an almost 1,000 member not-for-profit organization representing more than 30,000 employees of precision manufacturing and supplier companies throughout Illinois.

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