On global map

Jul 6 2009 by Sue Scott, Evening Gazette

INTERNATIONAL delegates from 37 countries are at Teesside University this week for a major manufacturing event.

The 19th annual FAIM (Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing) conference began yesterday and runs until Wednesday.

It will focus on contemporary and emerging trends, developments and problems in industry, and is a forum for practitioners and academics at the forefront of their fields to exchange ideas and concerns. This year’s theme is lean manufacturing and services.

The delegates will also complete an industrial tour of the North-east, highlighting examples of good practice in manufacturing including Darlington engineering firm Cummins. Professor Farhad Nabhani, FAIM conference chairman and professor of biomechanics and manufacturing at Teesside University, said: “Manufacturing today must adjust to the current global recession and the demanding markets facing both North-east, UK and international businesses, both large and small.”

Institutions bid to host the FAIM conference. Next year it will be held in San Francisco. Professor Nabhani said the event was putting Teesside “on the global map”.