The fifth annual Manufacturing Summit, featuring the theme “Focus on the Future,” will bring together manufacturing, logistics and transportation leaders for a day of celebrating, innovating and challenging the future of manufacturing.

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant will be offering the keynote address, morning sessions will focus on the future of manufacturing on global, national and regional scales, and afternoon sessions will focus on the future of intermodal transportation and manufacturing logistics. Hal Sirkin, senior partner and managing director at Boston Consulting Group in Chicago, will serve as the featured speaker and will discuss CEO research-based predictions for the future of manufacturing. In addition, former Mississippi State University (MSU) president Malcolm A. Portera will discuss regional manufacturing opportunities and what he sees as important issues for Mississippi manufacturers.

Additional Speakers Include:

• Chad Miller, director of the Center for Logistics, Trade and Transportation at the University of Southern Mississippi. Miller will moderate a panel discussion on new logistics strategies and intermodal transportation. Panelists include: Bryan Hunt, Seacor America’s Marine Highway, LLC; Steve Puryear, MSU Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems Extension; and Dan Pallme, Intermodal Freight Transportation Institute at the University of Memphis.
• Bill Perdue, vice president of regulatory affairs at American Home Furnishings Alliance. Perdue will present the latest information on regulatory restrictions.
• Steve Puryear, MSU Center for Advance Vehicular Systems Extension. Puryear will speak on highway transportation logistics facing the furniture and home furnishings value chains.
• David Shaw, MSU vice president for research and economic development. Shaw will discuss how the university develops and supports job growth in the manufacturing industry.

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Hilton Garden Inn in Starkville. Call 662-615-9664 and ask for the Manufacturing Summit rate.