January 25, 2005

The British American Business Council, Los Angeles is proud to have received the California Space Authority 2004 SpotBeam Award for promoting International Partnering. This honor was bestowed upon the BABCLA following its very successful inaugural Aerospace Manufacturing Conference. The second Aerospace Manufacturing Conference will be held on Monday, March 7, 2005 at the Long Beach Airport Marriott Hotel.  

Southern California and UK based aerospace and defense manufacturers continue to experience aggressive challenges from low labor cost countries in Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe and Latin America.  Therefore, this year’s Conference will place strong emphasis on best practices in advanced manufacturing in the US and UK, and processes to increase productivity and cost reduction as well as the impact on manufacturers of the continued globalization of procurement.  Alternatives to the overseas outsourcing of manufacturing to low cost labor countries will also be addressed.

The BABCLA’s award-winning inaugural conference received commendation from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Our conference is once again being supported by the California Space Authority, with which we are working closely to increase business opportunities for California Aerospace Enterprises and their UK counterparts.  With the presence of Lockheed Martin, Boeing, BAE Systems and other Primes, Conference participants will be provided a greater understanding of what it takes to qualify as a supplier to these companies, as well as insight into the direction their global procurement and quality control processes are taking.

But the event will comprise much more than just the Conference. On Tuesday, March 8th, there will be demonstrations of state-of-the-art manufacturing technology and real time quality control management processes at locations close to the Conference site.  US company participants will have the opportunity to meet with and invite UK participating companies seeking closer links with the US to visit their operations.  These links could be through trade and/or joint marketing or manufacturing arrangements or through other venturing initiatives. Further, the opportunity to meet UK based aerospace and defense and regional development organizations will broaden participants' networks into the world’s second largest aerospace and defense market

California based space enterprise supports 24% of the global space enterprise market, amounting to some $20 billion, and provides over 250,000 jobs to California. This industry makes an enormous contribution to US security and quality of life.

The Los Angeles region is the second largest manufacturing employer in the US.  Conversely, manufacturing in the UK creates over 20% of the UK’s GDP, employs approximately 4 million people, and produces the majority of UK exports.  The UK is the largest offshore supplier of defense equipment to the United States and is the only full collaborative partner on the Joint Strike Fighter program.  There are many examples of successful partnerships, joint ventures and collaborative projects between US and UK manufacturing companies, and numerous opportunities remain for Southern California and UK based middle market manufacturing companies to pursue.

In addition to the California Space Authority, several other major US and UK industry organizations are supporters of this Conference.

FACILITIES TOURS

On Tuesday, March 8^th, there will be all day manufacturing exhibitions at two leading facilities close to the conference location:  Ellison Manufacturing Technologies/Mori Seiki and Haas Factory Outlet (demonstrating Haas Automation’s Equipment). 

There will also be special demonstrations of net-inspect™, the ground-breaking global quality process control management system that provides the capability to inspect components manufactured anywhere in the world instantaneously (and prior to shipment) using the power and simplicity of the internet.  Specialists in the system and its implementation from net-inspect™ www.net-inspect.com and The Actionable Group (www.actionablegroup.com) will present at the manufacturing exhibitions.

Ellison Manufacturing Technologies (www.ellisonsc.com) prides itself in being technology integrators.  They have provided solutions for radically reducing cost, improving profitability and technical advantage to manufacturing organizations ranging from small job shops to global corporations crossing every industry.  In today’s competitive environment they reconfirm their commitment to supporting progressive manufacturers in leveraging leading edge lean technologies, innovation and efficiency.

Mori Seiki (www.moriseiki.com.jp), recognized as a leader for its technical innovations in the manufacturing industry, has delivered over 140,000 CNC machine tools worldwide. The LA Technical Center, one of seven technical centers in the U.S., provides not only information on new products but also on technical support such as training and development of advanced machining processes for the western regions of the U.S.  The LA Technical Center provides local companies the opportunity to see first-hand the latest advanced technology in operation.

Haas Factory Outlet (www.haascnc.com) is focused on ensuring that manufacturers remain competitive in today’s global economy.  Their goal is to provide companies with real value to assist them in their pursuit of increased quality, efficiency and productivity.  This is accomplished by providing personalized engineering, programming, sales, financing and service support.  Haas also offer classroom and on-site training for the use of high-quality; state-of-the-art Haas CNC machine tools.  Their full line of vertical & horizontal machining centers, CNC lathes, rotary tables and indexers are built to deliver the highest accuracy, repeatability and durability.

Haas Automation (www.haascnc.com) is the largest machine tool builder in the United States, manufacturing a full line of CNC vertical machining centers, horizontal machining centers, CNC lathes and rotary products. Haas also builds a variety of specialty machines, including 5-axis machining centers, graphite machining centers, bridge mills and gantry routers.  Extensive use of lean manufacturing methods and just-in-time production practices allows Haas to produce high-precision CNC products while maintaining value-based pricing. Widespread use of automated loaders and pallet systems allows “lights out” operation for increased productivity and efficiency.

TOUR FACILITIES TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2005: 

The Marriott Long Beach (http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/LGBLB) has extended a special rate of $144.48 per night ($129.00 plus taxes) to conference participants.  The hotel is centrally located, providing easy access to both Orange and Los Angeles Counties.  It is adjacent to the Long Beach Airport, with easy freeway accessibility to major attractions and corporate parks in the area.  Shuttle service from Los Angeles International Airport via Super Shuttle (www.supershuttle.com or 1-800-258-3826) is available for $28 per person ($9 for additional passengers in groups) each direction.

Marriott Long Beach
4700 Airport Plaza Drive
Long Beach, California  90815
(562) 425-5210
(800) 228-9290

We recommend that you consider taking advantage of the many attractions of Southern California during your stay, including the great weather!  For further information please visit the following websites:

www.visitlongbeach.com

www.visitcalifornia.com

Click here for Conference Registration. Click here to download the event program (Word doc, 72 kb).

Click here to read a BABC News Release on the event.

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