Monday, September 22, 2008

MESA Plant 2 Enterprise I'm in Orlando at the MESA International P2E conference. Outgoing chairman Matt Bauer of Rockwell Automation gave his last keynote emphasizing the drivers of manufacturing software of "globality," convergence of IT and operations and the necessity of innovation. We in manufacturing need to learn to communicate to business managers that manufacturing need not be a "black box" and that we provide real value to a company. Part of the legacy of the last four years of renewal of the organization can be seen in the five Strategic Initiatives unveiled at the conference. Each is supported by a document available to Premium Members. The Initiatives, meant to provide some definition to the MES term, include Lean Manufacturing, Quality and Compliance, Product Lifecycle Management, Real-time Enterprise and Asset Performance and Management. Another part of the legacy can be seen in large growth in membership in the last year and in burgeoning interest in the organization in Western Europe, China, India, Singapore, Japan, Korea and South America--especially Brazil. The guest keynoter was Peter Williams, Ph.D., CTO of the Big Green Initiative at IBM. After presenting all the dire possibilities happening to our planet due to climate change, greenhouse gases, water use and the like, Williams laid out some business opportunities that exist to counter the problems. Many of the problems are really information problems--and IBM, of course, is an expert in information. So can we all be. 11:48:37 AM    comment []

Management changes at Emerson Process John Berra has announced a number of leadership changes to take place over the next few months at Emerson Process Management. Effective October 1, Steven A. Sonnenberg will become executive vice president of Emerson Corp. and business leader of Emerson Process Management, serving as president. Berra, who has been business leader since 2000, is taking a new role as chairman of Emerson Process Management to focus on strategic planning, technology, key customer relationships and organizational planning. "Steve is an integral member of the Emerson management team and has long played a strong role in growing Emerson Process Management's leading position around the world," Berra said. "I'm excited for the future of this business under his leadership." Sonnenberg joined Emerson in 1979 as a marketing analyst with Brooks Instrument. He assumed a number of marketing and general management positions in Germany, London and Asia Pacific. In 2000, Sonnenberg was appointed president of Emerson Process Management Asia Pacific and in 2002, he was appointed president of Rosemount. He holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from Georgia Tech and a master of business administration from University of Virginia. Berra announced additional changes to the Emerson Process Management structure including: Michael H. Train, president of Emerson Process Management Asia Pacific, will become president of Rosemount and will return to the United States from Singapore. Sabee Mitra, president of Emerson Process Management Middle East has been named president of Emerson Process Management Asia Pacific and will move to Singapore. David A. Tredinnick, vice president Southeast Asia for Emerson Process Management Asia Pacific, will move to Dubai and replace Mitra as President of Emerson Process Management Middle East. Gene Shanahan, group vice president for the Emerson Process Management Flow Group will retire Oct. 1, 2008 after 21 years of service to Emerson. Larry W. Flatt will replace Shanahan effective Oct. 1, 2008. 11:18:08 AM    comment []