Ford Motor Company to Host MESA 2010 North American Conference

June Conference to focus on unlocking untapped potential in Operations

CHANDLER, Ariz., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association (MESA) announced today that Ford Motor Company will host MESA's North American Conference, June 21 to 23, 2010 at the Ford Conference and Events Center, in Dearborn, Michigan. Nationally-known conference speakers from industries including continuous process, batch and discrete will focus on best practice methods and strategies for unlocking potential for operations excellence – with an audience anticipated to be more than double previous years'.

"This conference is an educational and networking 'must-do' for anyone who holds a stake in improving their organization's production performance.  It will take attendees deep into some of the most pressing challenges and provide real-world, actionable steps that companies can take immediately," said John Dyck, Board Chair of MESA International.  "We are excited to have the support of the Ford Motor Company – which has long been a proponent of best practices in IT adoption for operational improvement across their plants and enterprise.  This is a mission that echoes the broad MESA community's commitment to driving operations excellence and competitive advantage in our global economy."

This year's conference, themed "Unlocking Your Operations' Potential," provides an opportunity for production leaders and professionals to collaborate and share best practices across a broad range of industries within the discrete, batch, mixed and continuous process environments.  Sessions will focus on topics such as lean, quality and compliance, asset performance management, tying operational metrics to financial metrics, and sustainability.  An "Unconference" portion of the event will feature attendee - chosen and - led interactive sessions – with a goal of working together to better understand what's possible in operations to improve profitability, business value, agility, and customer satisfaction.

"A healthy manufacturing community impacts the global economy—and we know that MESA shares our commitment to driving excellence in that community," said Jim Tetreault, Ford Motor Company Vice President of North America Manufacturing.  "MESA is unique in that it's not just a think tank; it's a group of real users sharing real problems and finding solutions.  We look forward to welcoming attendees at this important event."

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents.  With about 198,000 employees and about 90 plants worldwide, the company's automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Volvo.  The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company.  For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.ford.com.

About MESA

MESA International is a global non-profit community of manufacturers, consultants, analysts and service providers committed to improving business results by leveraging technology to optimize operations and by implementing best practices in management, training, and product development.  MESA is comprised of more than 30,000 members representing 1,000-plus companies in 85 countries worldwide.  For more information, please visit www.mesa.org.

SOURCE MESA International