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OCTOBER 16-17, 2023 | THE HENRY HOTEL, DEARBORN, MI



SUCCEEDING THROUGH LEANER, GREENER, MORE FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING


Join the conversation #AMSLIVE



Register Now Become a Sponsor








OCTOBER 16-17, 2023 | THE HENRY HOTEL, DEARBORN, MI




SUCCEEDING THROUGH LEANER, GREENER, MORE FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING

Join the conversation #AMSLIVE



Register Now Become a Sponsor





OCTOBER 16-17, 2023 | THE HENRY HOTEL, DEARBORN, MI

Succeeding through leaner, greener, more flexible manufacturing

Join the conversation #AMSLIVE


Register Now Become a Sponsor



The first Automotive Evolution North America conference will help manufacturing
leaders and experts at automotive OEMs and suppliers take advantage of
increasing localisation, changing skills and production technology in the
transition to electrification and sustainability across the region’s factories.

The North American automotive industry is not only bouncing back from recent
crises, but also transforming production for an electrified, digital and
sustainable future. Automotive OEMs and suppliers are making tremendous capital
investment in existing and greenfield plants to build new technology and
components, leading a charge to localise vehicle and battery manufacturing in
the region.

Although the growth of electrification in the region is clear, manufacturers
must manage a complex transition, and one that will have significant
implications for manufacturing technology, investment, and jobs not only at
automotive OEMs, but also for production at major tier-1 and tier-2 suppliers in
the region.

This changing landscape will require the automotive manufacturing industry to be
more flexible and leaner than ever before. That’s why Automotive Manufacturing
Solutions is launching the first of its Automotive Evolution series of events in
North America, bringing together top production leaders, plant directors,
manufacturing engineers, equipment, digital and technology experts to explore
how we succeed through leaner, greener, more flexible manufacturing.





CONFIRMED SPEAKERS

Be Informed and Inspired by Leaders and Innovators







CHRIS GLOVER

Chief Executive Officer

VOLKSWAGEN CHATTANOOGA



BIO

Chris Glover graduated from the University of Cape Town, South Africa with a
degree in Electronic Engineering in 1987. Glover’s lifelong career with
Volkswagen then began, where he has held positions within information
technology, product management, manufacturing planning and production. More than
half of these positions were international assignments in Germany, Brazil,
China, Mexico and now the United States. After a decade with Volkswagen of South
Africa, Glover began his international career with 2 assignments in production
in Wolfsburg, Germany. Following this, he returned to South Africa as a Product
Planning Manager. In 2004, Glover joined production planning and industrial
engineering at Volkswagen do Brazil. Years later, he returned to South Africa as
Division Head for Production from 2007-10 and Division Head for Production
Planning from 2010-12. As Head of Production Planning for SAIC Volkswagen in
Shanghai from 2012-19, Glover was responsible for the planning and construction
of seven new vehicle factories, including the first all-electric vehicle plant
in Anting, Shanghai. He spent 2.5 years as Vice President of Production and
Logistics at VW Mexico in Puebla before joining the team in Chattanooga,
Tennessee at the beginning of 2022. As President and CEO at the Volkswagen
Chattanooga plant, Glover has overseen the successful launch of the ID.4 in 2022
and the factory’s transformation to become Volkswagen’s North American hub for
electric vehicle and battery assembly. With Chattanooga now entrenched as a key
player in the VW Group’s international strategy, Glover and team are now setting
their sights on the future growth of the plant to meet the increasing demand for
electric mobility in the North American region. Glover speaks four languages:
English, Spanish, German and Portuguese. He is married with 3 children.






BRIAN BREUHAN

Sr. Manufacturing Engineer, Advanced Technology

GENERAL MOTORS



BIO

Brian Breuhan has over 20 years of experience working in mechanical design,
project engineering and project management within the automotive
engineering/manufacturing industry. Brian has held various professional
leadership roles for nonprofits, including, Executive Board Member for the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Metro Detroit, Industry 4.0
Advisory Council for Automation Alley and a member of the Industrial Advisory
Board for Wayne State University. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical
Engineering Technology from Wayne State University and a Master of Science in
Engineering Management from Central Michigan University.






PAUL STEPHENS

Manufacturing Transformation Lead

FORD MOTOR COMPANY



BIO

Paul Stephens in an innovation leader across Ford’s manufacturing, playing a
critical role in transforming the carmaker’s vehicle production, especially for
electric vehicles and greenfield plants. Since February 2023, he is responsible
for next-generation manufacturing innovation initiative to improve production
efficiency and lower costs. His main focus is on new electric vehicles and
platforms, and production at Ford’s upcoming EV factories in Tennessee and
Kentucky. Stephens has been with Ford for more than eight years in a variety of
manufacturing engineering roles across various model launches and tooling, and
across vehicle operations for forward vehicle launches. He a degree in
mechanical engineering from Kettering University.






ERIC ANDERSON

Associate Director, Americas Light Vehicle Powertrain forecasting

S&P GLOBAL



BIO

Eric Anderson serves as Associate Director, Light Vehicle Powertrain forecasting
for the Americas at S&P Global Mobility (formerly IHS Markit), performing
research and forecasts on light vehicle production, electrification and
competitive forces around the region. He has an in-depth understanding of market
conditions, OEM electrification and platform strategies, product lifecycles, as
well as the regulatory environment. This also entails understanding consumer
habits, preferences, trends, and macroeconomic conditions expected to play out
in the market. Prior to joining S&P Global, Eric worked for a global Tier 1
automotive supplier and played a key role in their North American supply chain
and logistics operations. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from
Western Michigan University and a Master of Business Administration from Walsh
College.






ABBY CHITWOOD

Senior Engineering Manager

PANASONIC ENERGY OF NORTH AMERICA



BIO

Abby Chitwood is the senior engineering manager in charge of new product
introduction at Panasonic Energy of North America. In her role at the
Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada, she leads a cross-functional team of engineers
through new process development, the introduction of new technologies, and the
design of optimised factory layouts, while also maintaining the Hazardous
Material Inventory Sheet she created to assess risk and develop building code
policy. Chitwood oversees the design and layout of new factories to optimise
utilisation, ensures efficient and ergonomic workflows are in place and
appropriate mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems exist, and leads
regulatory compliance efforts that improve cost per gigawatt-hour. She is also a
key player in Panasonic’s global collaboration with the Japanese engineering
teams and has extensive experience in presenting business growth at the
Gigafactory. In her previous role at Panasonic, Chitwood led a team of 40
engineers in battery manufacturing across areas including electrode, winding,
assembly, and formation of cells – including utilization of design review based
on failure mode to assess equipment. She also served in various capacities at
the company as a battery engineer. Chitwood is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of
Oregon State University where she earned an Honors Bachelor of Science in
Chemistry and a Minor in Biology, Pre-Medicine. She is the recipient of the 2022
STEM Star Professional Award, 2021 Global Panasonic President’s Award, and 2019
US Panasonic President’s Award.






LARS CARLSTROM

CEO

STATEVOLT - ITALVOLT



BIO

Lars is a Swedish-born entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience across
multiple industries, with particular focus on real estate and recently green
industrialisation. He is passionate about supporting the global energy
transition to power the world more sustainability and is a strong advocate of
advancing low carbon energy solutions. Lars believes that battery cell factories
can be used as a dual-track solution for advancing the energy transition and
economic development. He advocates for building battery cell factories in areas
which have experienced economic decline or underinvestment. By focusing
development in these areas, battery cell plants can help generate employment
opportunities and deliver direct and indirect economic benefits. In 2021, Lars
founded a company that plans to build a 45GWh battery plant in Italy, which will
be the country’s largest, independent, battery cell factory. The battery cell
factory will focus on creating new opportunities for re-skilling and upskilling
workers in Italy’s automotive industry. Italvolt is supporting the green
industrialisation of Italy, and Europe, more widely, by delivering battery cells
which will help drive decarbonisation across a variety of industries. In 2022,
Lars founded Statevolt, which is planning to build a 54 GWh battery factory in
Imperial Valley, California. The Statevolt project will focus on developing a
new, ‘hyper-local’ business model for battery development. The arrangement will
see the business source its key feedstock, lithium, and power, from local
sources, to minimize the environmental impact of production and build a more
sustainable and secure supply chain. The unifying aim of Lars’ work in building
battery cell plants is to support economic regeneration, green
industrialization, and good jobs, in Italy and USA.

VIEW MORE SPEAKERS





EVOLUTIONARY STRATEGIES IN AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING






Transforming factories, assembly lines and cultures



READ MORE

Automotive manufacturers across North America are designing and redesigning
factories to meet requirements for changing technology, EVs and software-defined
cars, exploring every opportunity to simplify and automate processes and improve
productivity, from gigacasting to artificial intelligence. OEMs and suppliers
must carefully consider new tools, investments and partnerships across
manufacturing functions – as well as new skills and ways of working. Experts at
AMS Evolution North America will share insights not only on the layout, tooling
and automation changes in factories, but in how they are training employees,
forming new supplier relationships and changing cultures.





Visualising and leveraging value of manufacturing data



READ MORE

As carmakers and suppliers introduce smart production systems and connect
industrial internet of things (IIoT) equipment across all areas of
manufacturing, they are building large data lakes, for example in tracking part
locations in the plant, monitoring machine activity, scanning materials and
inventory, to AI-driven algorithms powered by the cloud. But to gain the most
value from this data, manufacturers are working on visualisation systems,
including control rooms, digital Kanban and digital twins of entire facilities.
AMS Evolution North America will delve into how manufacturers can make the most
practical and valuable application of production data, making it accessible for
teams with goals like preventing plant stoppages, ensuring accurate
measurements, continuous improvement, as well as using machine learning and AI
to avoid errors and help workers make better decisions.





The diverse labour and talent in urgent demand now, and in the years to come



READ MORE

As automotive manufacturing strives for greater efficiency and transitions to
new technology, some roles and functions are set to be eliminated. However, OEMs
and suppliers are nevertheless struggling to find talent and retain its existing
manufacturing workforce in the face of changing working expectations and the
desire for flexibility. AMS Evolution North America will explore how
manufacturers can better develop a workforce to meet its changing needs, along
with the measure it needs to take to attract, train and retain the diverse and
flexible working culture it will need to succeed in the transition to
electrification, digitalisation and carbon neutral manufacturing.





Making the most of vehicle and battery localisation



READ MORE

OEM and supplier factory investments are rising across North America, driven by
customer demand, global supply chain disruption and government incentives such
as the IRA in the US. The region is flourishing with EV and gigafactories in the
US, battery suppliers in Canada and expanding output in Mexico. This
localisation brings opportunity for OEMs and suppliers to shorten complex value
chains in products like batteries packs, while requiring entirely new skills and
technology at other locations. At AMS Evolution North America, production
experts will share how to capitalise on and attract more local supply, and
ensure it helps North American automotive and battery manufacturing to grow and
stay competitive.





Making production more digital, automated and flexible



READ MORE

As they upgrade, expand and build new plants, automotive OEMs and suppliers in
North America are introducing digital tools and automation that aims to increase
help rather than hinder flexibility, from real-time tracking of parts,
predictive maintenance tools for equipment, to the use of smart AGVs, grippers
and cobots in assembly. In a time of changing model mix and so much uncertainty,
manufacturers want to change speed, powertrains, products, bodies and platforms
without significant reconfiguration or downtime. At AMS Evolution North America,
plant directors and production experts will share innovations in manufacturing
engineering, automation systems and process design that help automotive plants
go with the flow.





Lean and green in urgent demand now, and in the years to come



READ MORE

Major automotive manufacturers have committed to carbon neutral production
across North America, but achieving it requires close coordination with
regulators, suppliers and energy providers to manage transitions to renewables
and to try new technology, as well as between manufacturing, engineering and
purchasing teams to reduce unnecessary complexity. At AMS Evolution North
America, learn about the first plants that are achieving carbon neutrality,
including ambitious clean energy programmes, and better understand what they
require from cross-functional, partners and regulators to achieve their goals.

VIEW AGENDA






SHOULD YOU ATTEND?

Automotive Manufacturing Solutions North America is an opportunity to discuss
the recent crises in the automotive industry and and how it is undergoing a
major shift towards electrification, digitization, and sustainability. OEMs and
suppliers are investing heavily in existing and new plants to build new
technology and components, and are focusing on localizing vehicle and battery
manufacturing in the region, we'll bring together production leaders, plant
directors, engineers, and technology experts to discuss and explore this
transformation.


 * Manufacturing leadership: Senior manufacturing executives, plant directors
   and leaders in key functions aiming to optimise processes, technology, reduce
   emissions and develop staff to meet the needs of changing automotive
   production
 * Plant management: Experts managing production and assembly lines, aiming to
   improve workflow, manufacturing visibility, automation, reduce costs and
   bottlenecks to ensure production targets are met
 * Manufacturing engineers: For those leading on the design, development, and
   improvement of manufacturing processes and systems. Experts will explore new
   tools and technologies, integrating robotics and systems, and optimising
   brownfield and greenfield plants for electrification and sustainability
 * Quality Control and maintenance specialists: Strategies for testing,
   measuring and inspecting production and tooling at various stages of
   manufacturing, and tools for analysing data and using AI (Artificial
   Intelligence) to identify defects or non-conformities, and carrying out
   preventative maintenance to minimise downtime





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