Dubai will host a major summit that will focus on manufacturing excellence and technology that will help in the expansion of the GCC region's industrial base.

The GCC Manufacturing Excellence and Technology Summit 2016 will be organised by Expotrade,  global conference producers, on November 14 and 15 November at Sofitel Dubai The Palm Resort & Spa.

Significant expansion of the GCC region’s industrial base in terms of the number of factories and size of investments over the last five years is a clear indicator of manufacturing becoming the key sector contributing significantly to the region’s economy, the organisers said.

Data from industry reports indicate that across the GCC, 3,257 factories were set up within the last five-year period.

The United Arab Emirates is at the forefront of this growth with the country expecting the manufacturing sector aiming to contribute 25 per cent to its overall GDP by 2025.

Taking advantage of this robust growth, manufacturers are adopting lean manufacturing practices to improve productivity, streamline processes, reduce waste and be cost effective, a statement said.

Under the theme ‘Achieve Manufacturing Operational Excellence’, the summit will address major developments, cover success stories and focus on key topics such as IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things), matured lean processes, process excellence & quality management, advanced industrial robots, mobile technologies for smart factories and improve environmental performance with green manufacturing.

Strategies to improve operational capabilities to achieve excellence in manufacturing will be shared through keynote presentations, panel discussions and case study presentations by experts and top executives from the leading manufacturers in the world.

Ashraf Zaki, manufacturing director, Colgate Palmolive; Kunal Sharma, national head - operational excellence and centre of excellence, Coca-Cola; Mario Naldini, director of manufacturing, Pirelli; Jagdish Ramaswamy, president - corporate business excellence, Aditya Birla Group; Sathish Narayanan, productivity lead- Lean Six Sigma - Middle East & Africa, Pepsico; and Souraj Salah, business process improvement manager, Juma Al Majid Group, amongst others have confirmed to speak at the summit.

Brad Hariharan, regional director, Expotrade Middle East, said: “The GCC region’s emergence as a manufacturing powerhouse is imminent. Keeping this in mind, the GCC Manufacturing Excellence and Technology Summit has been designed. As the only event of its kind in this region, the summit will bring together the who’s who of industry heads to network, ideate, engage in cross-sector knowledge sharing and learn techniques that will help your organisation assess its capabilities and attain global competitiveness.”

At the summit, participants can learn from industry experts from across the globe the techniques and nuances to improve and attain excellence in manufacturing operations.

The summit will attract over 300 senior department heads representing engineering, lean manufacturing, operational excellence, process innovation, process development, plant production, process management, quality assurance and control, Six Sigma, supply chain, IT and cyber security, R&D, designing and health and safety.  - TradeArabia News Service