MAY 19--NEPCON East/Electro and Assembly East 2004 (Norwalk, CT) attracted 4013 manufacturing-industry professionals in what many considered to be the best manufacturing trade show in the Northeast in years. The shows' attendance represented a 14% increase from the 2003 event. The two-day event was held May 5--6, 2004, at the Hynes Convention Center in downtown Boston, MA. In addition to the two shows, attendees this year were able to see even more new products at the concurrent running of The Vision Show East.
Attendees came to the event looking for the latest products and technologies available to help them assemble products faster, better, and with less. Many came with jobs in hand and specific applications to be addressed. There was steady traffic on both days, and the feeling among the 227 exhibitors and attendees was that there was more business activity than in recent years.
"This was a great show for all involved," said Kelvin Marsden-Kish, vice president of Reed Exhibitions, the producer of the NEPCON and Assembly family of events. "Our exhibitors were very happy, and I was encouraged with the buzz on the show floor and to see the amount of business being conducted. The event definitely reflected an upswing in the Northeast manufacturing economy and benefited from the collocation with The Vision Show East."
The highlight of the event was the keynote speech, "Transforming the Lean Enterprise Value Stream," presented by professor Deborah Nightingale, Ph.D., of the MIT Lean Aerospace Initiative. Professor Nightingale explained how lean manufacturing is about people and processes efficiently delivering value to every stakeholder and shared how applying lean principles to all production and management levels is required to achieve value for the total enterprise.
For information about next year's event, visit www.nepconeast.com or www.assemblyeast.com.
