Establishing Metrics to Accelerate Your Business

9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

How do you establish metrics to know if your business is on the right path? Sales may be increasing and your margins may be climbing for now, but is that enough? This workshop will showcase Currier Plastics, an Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) award-winning manufacturer that has successfully developed a process for creating customer value and accelerating improvements in all areas of the business. Lean enterprises will be particular interested in how some traditional measurements conflict with lean operations and how to develop meaningful metrics for your company.

Speaker:
Alan Gross, VP of Operations
Currier Plastics

What's New in On-line Marketing for Manufacturing and Tech Businesses

10:45 - 11:45 a.m.

Industrial marketing has changed dramatically over the past decade. We all know the days of dependence on print advertising and tradeshows for the bulk of a company's new business leads and launch and forget websites have gone the way of drive-in theaters and VCRs. This session will provide the latest marketing insights and success stories gathered from hands-on experience with hundreds of high-tech firms, manufacturers and industrial companies. Learn about how to deploy and measure results for search engine optimization (SEO), how to evaluate and implement the right social media strategies for you and how to develop a roadmap to brand your company as experts in its field. Hear from a local, global company about their significant results delivered through these strategies.

Speakers:
Brian Bluff, President
Site-Seeker, Inc.
Ron Wright, Corporate Sales Engineering Manager
Nixon Gear & Gear Motions

The Nuances of On-Line Marketing for International Markets

1:45 - 2:45 p.m.

Doing business internationally presents large opportunities along with some challenges. Investing in your on-line strategy can prevent market confusion, establish credibility, and generate leads quickly. Hear from a web and translation expert about the tips, tricks and traps of on-line global marketing. Walk away with actionable tips to grow your business internationally.

Speaker:
Brian Bluff, President
Site-Seeker, Inc.
Scott Bass, President
Advanced Language Translation Inc.

Supply Chain Trends – The Business Case for Reshoring

9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

Reshoring, onshoring, backshoring – all terms to describe the national trend to move procurement and production of some goods back to the U.S.; increasing profits for manufacturers and creating jobs for Americans. The analysis driving the decisions focuses on total cost of ownership (TCO) as opposed to purchased price. With changing market factors such as increased shipping costs, delayed deliveries due to increased port security, costs of fuel, rising wages in China, and political unrest in many parts of the world, TCO has shifted rapidly in favor of domestic suppliers. Considering the well known, yet often tolerated, problems with quality, communications, IP risk, and technology transfer, the argument is even more persuasive. Lastly, if you are a supplier searching looking to reclaim domestic business, what do you need to do to compete effectively in the TCO arena?

Speakers:
Chuck Miller, Vice President
Mohawk Global Trade Advisors
& TBA

Sustainability Initiatives - Improving Operations & Generating Savings

10:45 - 11:45 a.m.

Learn about two businesses that undertook major sustainability initiatives with impressive results. While being good corporate citizens was critical to both firms, the driving factors were efficiency, productivity and profitability. Pall Corporation embarked on a program targeted at their existing facilities and Welch Allyn focused on a total redesign and expansion of their facility. The incredible documented savings from both projects can provide lessons and inspiration for your businesses.

Speaker:
Glen Petaja, VP Technology Development
Pall Corporation
Scott Spanfelner, Director of Operations
Welch Allyn

Scaling Up Your Workforce for Business Growth

1:45 - 2:45 p.m.

Whether you are reaping the rewards of innovative strategies in new markets or responding to an improving economy in current markets, scaling up your workforce can be a challenge. Finding the skills sets you need, establishing a culture of accountability and pride, training new employees to be productive quickly and maintaining your corporate culture and norms in a fast changing environment are all potential obstacles. Learn about the hiring and training issues faced by a local manufacturer that recently doubled its workforce. Which strategies worked, which didn't, and how did they successfully navigate the workforce ramp-up?

Speaker:
Kirk Wardell, Director of Operations
Marquardt Switches, Inc.

Opening Your Business to Open Innovation

9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

In a world of increasing specialization and distributed knowledge, companies can no longer succeed by relying on internal R&D alone. Open Innovation encourages companies to seek innovation from a wider landscape of possible sources, by buying, licensing or partnering to acquire processes or inventions from external sources, and to get their unused internal inventions out into the world through joint ventures, spin-offs, sponsored research at universities, or licensing. This workshop will explore ways small and large businesses can work together to create a mutually beneficial "innovation ecosystem" that will lead to greater profit and growth for both—and for the surrounding business community.

Speaker:
Dave Eilers, Vice President Business Development
Blue Highway, LLC

Just What is That Cloud Thing Anyway?

10:45 - 11:45 a.m.

The business press has been full of buzz about "the Cloud" for the past few years, but what exactly is "the Cloud," and what do you really need to consider before committing your company's data to the Cloud? Workshop presenter Prof. Steve Chapin, a computer software and security expert with the Center for Information Security, Assurance and Trust (CISAT), has a wealth of experience and insight to share. In addition to his academic research and teaching, he served as Project Manager at the Technical Committee, overseeing Microsoft's compliance with the DoJ's judgment in areas relating to web browsers, email clients, instant messengers, and media players. Dr. Chapin will discuss key practical issues related to Cloud Computing, including what Cloud Computing really is and isn't, with a special focus on security, reliability, and why your business should — or shouldn't — trust "the Cloud."

Speaker:
Professor Steve Chapin
Syracuse University

Protecting Your Ideas: Best Practices and Trends in IP Strategies (…Not Just Patents!)

1:45 - 2:45 p.m.

This workshop will cover a variety of strategies for protecting your valuable ideas, inventions and innovations - but it's not only for IP novices. With the changing environment in technology, global trade, and patent laws in the all parts of the world, conventional wisdom is changing and IP strategies are shifting. Victor Cardona, from one of New York's leading intellectual property law firms, Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti, will also cover the latest developments in IP law, including what it will mean if patent reform legislation passes, or if it doesn't. Don't miss this important, interactive IP update.

Speaker:
Victor A. Cardona, Co-Chair Cleantech Practice Group
Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C.

The PitchFest will provide opportunities throughout the day for attendees to learn from investors, see brief presentations from cutting-edge technology companies, and network with entrepreneurs, inventors, investors and venture capitalists.

The Investor Landscape

9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

A panel drawn from investors and funders who will be participating in various tracks of the PitchFest throughout the day will discuss the latest trends in venture capital and what they are looking for in a company ripe for investment.

Panel:
Armand Balboni PhD, JD, Vanscia Group
Craig Buckhout, Rockbridge Investment Management
Dennis DeLeo, Trillium Group LLC
Rami Katz, Excell Partners
William Kilroy, Portal Capital
Melanie Littlejohn, National Grid

Emerging Business PitchFest

10:45 - 11:45 a.m.

Early stage companies will deliver pitches outlining their compelling technology. Companies include: Applied Biorefinery Sciences, ZetrOZ, Haledyne, ProTerra Lighting US, Antek, Impact Technologies, We Are Mobile and others who are developing leading edge tech applications.

Student Venture PitchFest

1:45 - 2:45 p.m.

Central Upstate is a hot-bed for exciting young entrepreneurs launching new ventures. Hear from some of the best and brightest: Broodr, Helios, iGetMoreFit, Lujo, Meeting Sprout, Stampede.It, Touch Not, Venue Spy, Wavelink and others who are growing young talent.