WESTEC News
Below you will find past news coverage on WESTEC, the leading West Coast Manufacturing event. For questions, or to submit a story email us at westec@sme.org.
Feb 03, 2021
Forbes Energy Awards 2020: NextEra Energy, Bigger Than Exxon, Greener Than Tesla
After a year of endless disasters, distractions and sub-zero oil prices, it’s time to look back at the people and companies that defined the energy sector in 2020. You will find no Gretas or Elons…
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Aug 15, 2020
Why America is running out of aluminum cans
A shortage of one of the most mundane items in daily life -- the humble aluminum can -- means beer fans are likely to find that some of their favorite brews are out of stock…
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Jul 15, 2020
Tesla May Temporarily Shut Down Its California Factory Soon
While the possibility of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) building a new factory in Texas is gaining traction, the automaker is also focused on its current U.S. facility in Fremont, California. Electrek.co, a website that follows the electric transportation industry, is reporting that in…
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Jun 15, 2020
Manufacturing is big business in San Jose, and it’s ready to get back to work
Virag Saksena’s whisky, which he makes at 10th Street Distillery in San Jose, is sitting in barrels ready to bottle, but his hands have been tied for months due to the shelter-in-place order that prohibited…
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Apr 15, 2020
Vehicle Emissions Have Dropped, But The Effect On SoCal’s Air Is Complicated
You don't need us to tell you that Los Angeles' skies are cleaner and clearer right now as the COVID-19 pandemic has the majority of us staying in our homes and off the roads. The…
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Mar 15, 2020
Southern California is a leader in electric vehicle industry, report says
California leads the nation in the design, manufacturing and adoption of electric vehicles, with Southern California playing an important role, according to the report released this week by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation. “There’s…
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Feb 14, 2020
Coronavirus Impact: How To Prepare Your Supply Chain
Today’s supply chain is global. Prior to 2020, supply chain leaders laughed when they said, “When local supply chains sneeze the global process catches a cold.” The severe contagious disease outbreak known as the 2019-nCov now makes…
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Jan 15, 2020
2019 California Manufacturing Facts
Manufacturers in California account for 10.67% of the total output in the state, employing 7.72% of the workforce. Total output from manufacturing was $316.76 billion in 2018. In addition, there were an average of 1,326,000…
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Oct 01, 2019
California’s Manufacturing Sector is Truly ‘Golden’
There’s a good reason that WESTEC, a trade show and conference produced by SME and AMT—The Association for Manufacturing Technology, takes place in Southern California every other year. California, the “Golden State,” is the most…
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Sep 12, 2019
WESTEC – First-Hand Insight into the Latest Technologies Revolutionizing the Industrial Sector
WESTEC, produced by SME and AMT, is an industry-leading west coast manufacturing trade show. As a biennial event, in 2017, WESTEC attracted over 10,000 guests and 428 exhibitors. This year WESTEC will be held in a…
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Sep 12, 2019
Manufacturing Technology Series: Great location + perfect timing = can’t-miss events
“Location, location, location.” “Timing is everything.” We most often use these maxims in relation to the real estate business, but they also apply to the manufacturing industry in general and the Manufacturing Technology Series in…
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Sep 06, 2019
How Manufacturers Save Time and Money with WISER Systems’ Micro-Location
This is a guest blog written for WESTEC by WISER Systems Losing things is a universal problem. What’s worse, lost assets usually mean lost money for manufacturers of every kind. For instance, losing inventory often…
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Aug 01, 2019
Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence Division Selects Greater Toronto Area for New Canadian Headquarters
North Kingstown, RI – July 30, 2019 – Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division announced it has selected the Greater Toronto Area for the site of its new Canadian headquarters in Oakville, Ontario. The interior of the…
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Jul 24, 2019
West Coast Manufacturing: Surfing a Wave of Prosperity
The West Coast is known for many things, including Hollywood movies, juicy oranges, sandy beaches, snow-capped mountains, redwood forests, a rugged coastline, crashing surf and thousands of wineries. West Coast manufacturing probably isn’t anywhere near…
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Jul 02, 2019
Smart Manufacturing: It’s Time to Get Smart
With all the changes in technology over the past 20 years, many buzz words and phrases have arisen. “Smart manufacturing” is one of them, and it’s got a definite “wow” factor, as in, “Smart manufacturing…
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Jun 24, 2019
Want to see California on the rise? Look inland
What comes to mind when you think of California? Is it Hollywood or Silicon Valley? Disneyland, perhaps? Conventional narratives about California have long focused on the areas closest to its coast. The state’s coastal metropolitan…
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May 23, 2019
First 3D-Printed Car Marks a Manufacturing Milestone
To see the first 3D-printed car may be something you never thought you would do in your lifetime. Looking back, who would have thought when the first mass-produced Ford Model T rolled off the assembly…
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Apr 11, 2019
Skilled Trades: Enhancing the Talent Pipeline with SME PRIME
By now we’ve all heard about the impending skills gap in manufacturing — and how the combination of baby boomer retirements, economic expansion and new technology will likely cause some 2 million manufacturing jobs to go unfilled…
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Oct 04, 2018
How Do Ambitious Climate Pledges Impact Economic Growth? For Insight, Compare Texas And California.
Compared to other places, like Texas – known for its oil and gas production – California’s economy is performing better on most measures, showing that it is entirely possible to pair steep emission reductions with…
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Sep 05, 2018
Renishaw Opens Additive Manufacturing Demo Center in California
Advanced metal additive manufacturing systems manufacturer Renishaw (West Dundee, IL) opened a new Additive Manufacturing Demonstration Center in Newbury Park, CA. Working in collaboration with Ibex Engineering (Newbury Park, CA), the Demonstration Center is situated within Ibex’s headquarters and…
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Jun 08, 2018
The Virtuous Cycle of Closed-Loop Manufacturing
Closed-loop manufacturing is a strategy for increasing revenue and reducing costs that relies on data from all parts of an organization. The data is used to inform development teams of improvements that can be made…
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Oct 09, 2017
Over-the-Air Software Updates Beckon in AM, Just Beyond Cultural Hurdles
LOS ANGELES—In the “factory of the future,” manufacturers will adopt over-the-air software upgrades used by Carbon and Tesla as the modus operandi, Carbon CEO Joe DeSimone said yesterday at the Westec manufacturing industry conference. Carbon’s…
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Oct 09, 2017
Participa Estado en Westec 2017
Con los objetivos de promover la economía y de atraer proveedoras de procesos especiales a Baja California, promotores del Gobierno del Estado participaron en el evento Westec 2017, el cual se realizó los días 12,…
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Oct 08, 2017
CNC Provides High-Speed Machining with Accurate Surface Finishes
Westec 2017: The Fagor 8065 CNC is designed for high-performance applications and equipped with features for high-speed machining while maintaining accuracy and surface finish. The Fagor 8065 CNC is designed for high-performance applications and equipped…
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Oct 05, 2017
Software’s AM Module Simulates Hybrid Manufacturing Processes
Westec 2017: CGTech will demonstrate the newest version of its CNC machine simulation, verification and optimization software, Vericut 8.1. CGTech will demonstrate the newest version of its CNC machine simulation, verification and optimization software, Vericut…
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Oct 05, 2017
Control & Simulation Software Enables Intelligent Robots
Reiterating again that software is the heart and ‘soul’ of artificial intelligence (AI), the equally largest part of AI is robotics. The two go together like orange and chocolate. Energid knows this quite well as…
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Oct 05, 2017
Manufacturing’s Future is Bright at WESTEC 2017
WESTEC 2017 — the premier West Coast manufacturing event — opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, Sept. 12, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. WESTEC showcases the latest in machinery, metrology, design, digital, 3D…
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Oct 05, 2017
What We Learned at WESTEC 2017
Westec offered a useful mix of emerging technology and practical applications. This slide show reflects this mix in its eclectic coverage of what exhibitors had to offer. I can honestly say I’ve never been to…
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Sep 08, 2017
Top 3 Downtime Killers
An exclusive blog for WESTEC 2017 from Shop Floor Automations (Booth 1935) The manufacturing industry is expensive. The fruits of our labor are not only costly, but so are the machines and tools we use…
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May 05, 2017
An open letter to Apple: Manufacturing thanks you
Dear Tim Cook, On behalf of SME, thank you. Thank you for standing up for manufacturing. Thank you for investing your financial strength in the manufacturing industry that truly drives local, national and global economies.…
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May 04, 2017
Digital Manufacturing Boosts Competitiveness
In a column for The Huffington Post (5/4, Holt, Contributor) Proto Labs President and CEO Vicki Holt writes that “for businesses looking to operate more efficiently and competitively, digital manufacturing models have the potential to…
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Apr 20, 2017
2017 Trends for Manufacturing
Engineers and technologists are using technology to their advantage for projects in a number of fields such as Additive Manufacturing, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Automation and Robotics. Read full article
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Apr 20, 2017
Tools for Managing Tools
Machinists today can create some of the most complex, efficient, and precise parts ever made. However, with precision comes complexity. This is especially true in the choice of cutting tools used in today’s five, six,…
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Jan 16, 2017
2017 Manufacturing Trends
There are many opportunities that lie ahead for the manufacturing industry. These include disruptive processes such as additive manufacturing and the internet of things as well as newly created materials that bring substantial benefits to…
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Jan 04, 2017
America’s Job Center of California in Santa Clarita
America’s Job Center of California (AJCC), located at College of the Canyons, sees thousands of Santa Clarita residents come through its doors every year. Like hundreds across the county and country, AJCC serves as a…
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Aug 13, 2016
SME AND AMT Announce Major Partnership
(CHICAGO, Sept. 13, 2016) – AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology and SME have announced a major new partnership for a series of regional co-branded trade shows focused on the manufacturing technology industry. The collaboration encompasses the…
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