http

Hey folks, we have continued the great meetings this winter with an outstanding Lunch and Learn hosted by our friends at Dority & Manning, one of the largest law firms in the Southeast dedicated exclusively to Intellectual Property Law www.dority-manning.com. Their presentation was very informative. We learned that even countries like China are starting to value and enforce intellectual property. If you ever have a question about your products or marketing process and need expert advice, we suggest that you call these outstanding attorneys. We would like to thank Dority & Manning for hosting this great event. As we move forward into the future, we will strive to add value to YOUR CHAPTER. If you would like to help, we are always looking for people with energy and ideas.

Starting March 6, we are planning to have a regular SME "networking" gathering on the first Monday of every month at 6:00pm. We'll start with meeting at On the Border, but may change the location in the future to provide some variety, but they have a lot of options (good food, cheap, big place, etc), so it's a good start.

Board Members are expected to attend to the best of their abilities, and the intent is to provide a very casual and fun opportunity to meet with other local members. Obviously travel and family commitments will come first, but our hope is that by establishing a regular meeting date, time and place…well in advance…we can avoid the last minute shuffle and reschedule that so often plagues our meeting attempts.

We definitely hope to get more folks involved in our programs, but don't want to scare them off prematurely under the premise of "oh uh, that sounds like more work"

It is important not to call this a "Board Meeting", so please communicate it as a social. We will definitely use it as an opportunity to discuss events, upcoming programs, and hopefully get some new people interested in helping our chapter grow.

Date: February 16th, 11:30a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Location: Buck Mickel Center; Greenville Tech 216 South Pleasantburg Dr. Room 241 https://aceweb.gvltec.edu/directions.htm

Program: Jerry Howard, the President and CEO of the Greenville Area Development Corporation (GADC) will give us an overview of exactly how the GADC is helping you in the Upstate. Their mission is to promote and enhance the economic growth of Greenville County by serving as the single source contact for economic development in the greater Greenville area. This mission will be furthered by coordinating with other community-based resources dedicated to promoting economic development in the area. GADC is funded primarily by tax dollars, but it also receives supplemental marketing funds from private-sector investors. It is a community-minded organization offering a variety of services to new and existing industries, including site and building location assistance, introductions to community resources—such as general contractors, engineers, financial institutions, private-sector business leaders, and elected officials at both the local and state levels. In addition, GADC is the only organization that has legislative authority to negotiate incentives for new and expanding companies.

The Alliance will provide a forum for plant executives, operations/manufacturing managers, and continuous improvement coordinators to share best practices on Lean/TPS in the area. Todd Taylor, (Quality Manager at Honda), Joe Jacobs of SCMEP, and Scott have a vision for how the Alliance could work for manufacturers in the area. They would like to share that vision with a good core group and move forward with it. To that end, next Friday they are holding a luncheon to present this to a small group of interested companies, take input from the group, and formally kick off the Alliance. Chris Klasing (Upstate Lean Alliance) will facilitate this discussion and share advice on how these alliances have served so well in other parts of the state. Here are the meeting details:

Who: Lean Alliance of Florence
What: Explain the Alliance and how it could work to a core group of key manufacturers in the area
Where: Call Scott Culberson for details.
When: Call Scott Culberson for details.
If you know operations, manufacturing, or continuous improvement leaders who are serious about Lean, they are invited to RSVP for this kickoff meeting. They should RSVP to one of the following: Joe Jacobs (SCMEP) at 843.729.3442, Todd Taylor (Honda of SC) at 843.250.1429 or Scott Culberson (North American Assemblies) at 843.413.7041.

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), in partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, East Tennessee Economic Council (ETEC), Technology 2020, and the Y-12 National Security Complex, presents an Emerging Technology Forum entitled “The Next Industrial Revolution: Molecular Nanotechnology and Manufacturing.”

May 10-11, 2006

Pollard Technology Conference Center

Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Speakers include the world’s leading nanotechnology researchers and developers from Y-12 National Security Complex, Accelrys, FEI, Foresight Nanotech Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), NanoInk, Rice University, Small Times, Veeco Instruments, and Zyvex Corporation. Experts will discuss the opportunities and challenges of engineering and manufacturing at the nanoscale and the nanotools required to measure, sense, manipulate, and fabricate matter at the atomic scale (e.g., scanning probe microscopes, dip-pen lithography, molecular tweezers, etc.). The conference will include a tour of the Center of Nanophase Materials Sciences and Spallation Neutron Source Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory where participants will see firsthand how nanotechnology is making possible the development of new materials that are stronger, lighter, and less expensive yet perform well under severe conditions.

Additional Information:

To register, sponsor, or learn more about the event, visit http://www.sme.org/mnt or call 800-733-4763, or outside the U.S. and Canada at 313-425-4500, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday, EST or Fax to 313-425-3401. The registration fee for the conference is $295/$395 for member/nonmembers of SME.

Contact: Alex Yovanovich/Ralton Emory

SME Public Relations/Member Council

313-425-3155/865-924-2350

Email: communications@sme.org

Chapter 107 is accepting sponsors for gift bags to be handed out to registered guests. If you are interested in participating in our gift bags please contact Garret Hendrix, garret@hendrixengineering.com.

Sincerely,

Lynne Murr

Chapter 107 Bulletin Editor

Are you looking to market your company to a local company in a positive manner? If so, consider sponsoring our newsletter and website. You can reach close to 9,000 people per month for the rock bottom price of $150 per year. This includes a link in our newsletter and a posting on our chapter's website. If you are interested, send your check to Gavin Waters, SME PO Box 305, Reidville, SC 29375 with your contact information. We will add you to the newsletter and website shortly after your check arrives.

If you wish to forward this newsletter to friends or co-workers, please feel free to do so.

If this newsletter was forwarded to you and you would like to join our newsletter mailing list, please do so by visiting our web site or by sending us an email with "subscribe me" in the subject line.

If you would like to unsubscribe from this newsletter, please email us with the word "remove" in the subject line, and we will permanently remove you from the distribution list.