October Manufacturing Summit Featuring “Embedded Smarts,” to be Hosted by SOREDI

First Annual Summit to be held in Conjunction with National Manufacturing Day

SOREDI is pleased to announce it will host its first annual Manufacturing and Technology Summit at the Table Rock Campus of Rogue Community College in White City on Friday, October 6, 8 am – 1:30 pm. The event, scheduled for National Manufacturing Day, is designed to bring multiple manufacturing and technology companies together to learn of opportunities and trends in their industries and to provide a peer to peer networking interface for companies to share resources and best practices. Early bird tickets are available through September 15: SOREDI Members $20/Non-Members $35. After September 15, prices will increase to $30 for SOREDI Members, $45 for non-members. Ticket price includes coffee and morning refreshments and a taco bar lunch. There will also be door prize drawings at the conclusion of the summit. Register at www.soredi.org/events.

The theme for the summit, “Embedded Smarts,” captures the critical importance of both technology and talent in today’s manufacturing environment. Keynote Speaker Pat Scruggs of Scruggs and Associates, co-author of the Oregon Talent Council, will speak on the Future of Talent in Manufacturing, to share the factors driving needed skills. In addition, the summit will provide breakout sessions on various topics, including Research & Development Tax Credits, Top Cybersecurity Tips, Additive Manufacturing, and Smart Talent Recruitment and Retention. Participants will have opportunity to attend two sessions.

Colleen Padilla, Executive Director of SOREDI, notes that this event has been on the agency’s radar for many years. “Southern Oregon is made up of numerous small and diverse companies across several industries that really do not know about one another. This event will help bring companies together to learn trends, share ideas and resources, and discuss needed strategies to help our region’s manufacturing and technology base become even stronger.”

At the conclusion of the program, Rogue Community College faculty will offer a tour of the campus with special emphasis on their 3D printing and robotics capabilities. Rogue Community College will provide continuing education credits for interested summit attendees.

Supporting sponsors currently include Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership (OMEP), Rogue Community College, and Rogue Workforce Partnership/Rogue Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (RAMP).

About SOREDI: SOREDI is a private, membership-based, non-profit organization, governed by a board of directors. Its seven-person staff is charged with local business expansion and new business recruitment efforts, financial assistance to start-up companies through its business loan fund, and management of Enterprise Zones in Jackson and Josephine Counties. The agency was formed as a regional economic development agency in 1987. Learn more at https://soredi.org.