WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—January 20, 2009— Manufacturing on the East Coast is alive and well and EASTEC serves as proof. The largest annual manufacturing event on the East Coast, EASTEC will celebrate its 30-year anniversary on May 19^th-21^st at the Eastern States Exhibition Center in West Springfield, MA. The three-day event will draw approximately 14,000 attendees and 600 exhibitors.

EASTEC is spread over 160,000 square feet of space and consists of five technology-focused areas: Precision Manufacturing Equipment and Systems; Automation, Supply Chain and Process Improvement; Plant, Energy, and Environmental Efficiency; Design Engineering and Rapid Technologies; Tooling, Workholding, and Machining Accessories. New Resource Centers will provide attendees with access to experts on Lean & Green, Energy, Medical, and Aerospace & Defense who will present the latest innovations in their field.

Contrary to news coverage about manufacturing jobs going overseas, this industry will have hundreds of thousands of good paying, highly-skilled job openings in the next decade so EASTEC will hold its Careers In Technology Program for 8^{th –} 12^th grade students on Thursday, May 21^st. Students will have the opportunity to tour the exhibits, talk to manufacturers, and participate in a design competition. Through its sponsor, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), EASTEC has access to $600,000 in scholarships and each student attending this year’s program will have the opportunity to apply for one. Approximately 500 students attended the Careers In Technology Program last year.

On May 19^th, economist Alan Beaulieu from the Institute for Trend Research will address manufacturing executives and their top clients to an invitation-only dinner and presentation at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA.

Since 1979, EASTEC has provided close to a half million manufacturing attendees with the ideas, tools, and technologies to be competitive. Recent studies, including “ Staying Power. The Future of Manufacturing in Massachusetts,” noted the stabilization of manufacturing jobs and the increased output, productivity, and contributions to gross state domestic. According to the Massachusetts study, the manufacturing industry of today is “highly sophisticated and likely to remain a strong contributor to both state product and employment.”

Show Sponsors

EASTEC 2009 is co-sponsored by SME, the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association (AMTDA), and the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT).

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Contact:

For EASTEC
Lori Ann Dick, APR, 313-425-3187
Sr. P.R. Representative, Society of Manufacturing Engineers
Email Contact
Website: http://www.EASTEConline.com
Blog: http://www.eastec.wordpress.com
www.twitter.com/EASTEC