The Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) and several trade associations in China and Taiwan have organiized a forum in Taipei as part of WFSGI's  “The Future of Manufacturing” initiative, which aims to help help manufacturers of apparel, equipment and footwear for sporting goods brands.



The event, which will take place Dec. 2-3, 2013, will feature three leading manufacturing experts.

 

“Together with other expert lead speakers we are very excited to welcome three eminent authorities in the field of product manufacturing and engineering, innovative manufacturing in industrial sustainability and in political and macro-economic perspectives”, says Robbert de Kock, Secretary General of the WFSGI.

 

The speakers are:


  • Prof. Aleksandar Subic, Dean of engineering and head of School, Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at RMIT University in Melbourne. He is an expert in the field of product manufacturing and engineering. Although his background is in the Automotive and Aeronautics industries, he is fully immersed in the sporting goods manufacturing and has worked with several sport brands. He will talk about the new wave of thinking emerging in the sporting goods industry around sustainable design and manufacturing. “Significant changes are being considered in regard to how sports products are designed and manufactured, involving higher level of automation, higher level of utilisation of digital manufacturing technologies coupled with customisation, and higher level of integration across the key processes and the supply chain, conveys Subic.

  • Prof. Steve Evans, director of the new EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Industrial Sustainability as well as the director of the Centre for Industrial Sustainability at the Cambridge University Institute for Manufacturing (IfM). He has a long track record in both academia and business in the fields of systems engineering, manufacturing and sustainability involving different sectors such as the automotive industry, urban redevelopment and food. “My speech will offer a unique combination of academic insight and expertise, practical experience and entrepreneurial drive. Derived from research conducted for other sectors, the greatest trends, most challenging problems, promising opportunities and solutions around modern manufacturing will be presented. The focus will lie on the trends coming from a sustainability angle while keeping an international approach.”

  • Dr. Haico Ebbers, professor of international economics at Nyenrode Business University, The Netherlands. He works in the Centre for International Business and Diplomacy. Ebbers will talk about political and macro-economic perspective on the economic changes and developments in Asia. Special attention will be paid to the impact this development has on the company level. “How do fundamental shifts in the manufacturing sector affect production efficiency, productivity, low-cost strategies and innovation?”, will be one question raised and answered by Ebbers.

Brands and Manufacturers will also present their views on future development and needs, examples from other industries as the car industry for example, be presented and experiences shared.


Registration for the event, which costs CHF600 per person, registration can be completed at www.wfsgi.org/events-cal/the-future-of-manufacturing/registration


The WFSGI would like to express its sincere gratitude towards the following institutions and persons for their support in organising the event:


– Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI)
– Taiwan Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (TSMA)
– Taiwan External Trade Development Council (Taitra)
– George Wood, WFSGI Board Representative for Taiwan
– Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA)