SOUTHEAST Exhibitor: We are a prototyping service company in southern California. Our manufacturing site features state-of-the-art CNC machines and other advantageous equipment. We have been working on prototyping for over 25 years from hand-made to machining. Also, we have ISO9001 and IATF 16949 Certified.
SOUTHEAST Exhibitor: WEIMA manufactures shredders and briquette presses for the metal industry. Reducing the volume of metal scrap by can decrease transportation and storage costs, increase the ability to reclaim expensive coolants or cutting fluids, and make it easier to resell metal scrap to recyclers. We want you to benefit from our decades of experience! With WEIMA metal shredders, it’s possible to shred all kinds of light metals including aluminum, magnesium, copper and brass. WEIMA's industrial scrap metal shredders can shred metal items such as cans, LED bulbs, electronics, metal scraps and steel chips. Once the metals have been processed, compressing them into briquettes can reduce input material volume by up to 90%! Transportation is much more efficient with the reduced volume and the metal recyclers like the dense, fluid-free briquettes for smelting. The briquetting process also offers the opportunity to reclaim expensive coolant, residual oils and emulsions allowing reintroduction into the production cooling and lubrication circuit. The WEIMA C.200 chip press is revolutionizing how machine tool businesses handle their turnings, swarf, and birds nests. From collecting and compressing to draining and fluid reclaim, this machine does it all in a single step. This machine has garnered quite a lot of interest from industry professionals that want to maximize the money they spend on cutting fluid and the time they spend moving this scrap around their plants.
Speaker at SOUTHEAST: Rebecca Battle, Director, South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce
Speaker at SOUTHEAST: Taylor Powell, Chief Operating Officer, Industrial Motor Service inc.
Speaker at SOUTHEAST: Robin Blackburn, Technical Wage Recruiter /Technical Scholar Recruiter, Michelin
SOUTHEAST Session:
SOUTHEAST Session:
SOUTHEAST Session: Digital twins are rapidly becoming a cornerstone of advanced manufacturing, enabling companies to simulate, optimize, and validate their production processes in a virtual environment before committing to physical execution. This presentation explores the value of digital twins specifically in the domains of CNC machining, robotic automation, and the broader virtual factory. In CNC machining, digital twins replicate the behavior of machines, tools, and part geometries, allowing for precise simulation of toolpaths and real-time detection of potential collisions, over-travel, and inefficiencies. By simulating the exact machine kinematics, spindle dynamics, and tool libraries, manufacturers can reduce setup times, improve part quality, and significantly lower the risk of costly rework or downtime. In robotic work cells, digital twins mirror robotic behavior, motion, and task sequences. This enables manufacturers to program, test, and optimize robot trajectories and tool interactions virtually - ensuring safety, cycle time optimization, and maximum utilization of expensive automation assets. Collision detection, reach analysis, and process synchronization can all be handled digitally before deployment on the shop floor. At the virtual factory level, digital twins provide a holistic view of the entire manufacturing environment - integrating machines, robotics, material flow, operators, and logistics into a unified simulation. This enables strategic decision-making, accurate capacity planning, and the ability to test process changes in a risk-free virtual environment. The result is greater agility, resilience, and efficiency across the entire production lifecycle. Attendees will gain insight into how digital twins reduce risk, increase productivity, and enable smarter planning across manufacturing operations. By harnessing digital twins in CNC machining, robotic systems, and factory-wide simulations, companies can accelerate their journey toward digital transformation and fully realize the promise of Industry 4.0.
SOUTHEAST Session: Manufacturing faces an unprecedented workforce transition as the “silver tsunami” of retiring Baby Boomers and Gen X workers accelerates. Decades of institutional knowledge are leaving with them, forcing companies to scramble for ways to preserve expertise while managing increasingly complex operations. Many facilities now schedule critical work around the availability of a single seasoned technician, while others bring retirees back at premium wages just to keep production running. At the same time, new hires arrive with expectations shaped by consumer technology—anticipating smartphone-level intuitiveness—yet encounter manufacturing systems that feel stuck in the 1990s. This presentation will share field-tested insights on how modern manufacturing systems must be transparent, modular, and designed to evolve with their users. It will also explore how manufacturers can fundamentally rethink “experience” for a new era—moving from legacy tools to adaptive, intelligent platforms that empower rather than frustrate. Attendees will see a detailed case study of 3D Glass Solutions, Inc., where strategic MES implementation boosted yield, reduced downtime, and created systems that engaged the workforce instead of alienating it. The conversation will break down the real-world challenges, adoption strategies, and critical success factors that make the difference between results and setbacks. The session concludes with a first look at Project Phoenix, MASS Group’s next-generation platform built for the realities of today’s manufacturing floor—without the complexity of yesterday’s enterprise software.
SOUTHEAST Session: Every manufacturing leader wants better results—higher productivity, stronger margins, improved retention. But results don’t just happen. They are outcomes, driven by a chain of causes. If you want to change what your organization is producing, you must first understand—and influence—what’s producing it. In manufacturing, we obsess over KPIs, processes, and performance data. But what if the real leverage point lies deeper? Behind every action is a decision. Behind every decision is a belief. And behind every belief is a mindset. This session takes you beneath the surface of your organization’s performance to uncover the unseen drivers of success: the thinking patterns and belief systems shaping behavior on your shop floor, in your offices, and across your leadership team. Because here's the truth: your organization will never rise above the mindset of its people. If you’re ready to stop reacting to problems and start redesigning outcomes, this session is your roadmap. Learn how to shift beliefs, align behaviors, and build a culture that fuels measurable, sustainable transformation—starting with the end in mind.