Collaborate 2006 Brings Together the Best of the Automotive, Aerospace, and Defense Worlds

HAYWARD, CA – October 9, 2006 – Executives from The Corporation for Manufacturing Excellence (Manex) will keynote Collaborate 2006 being held October 10th – 12th in Huntsville, Alabama. The conference is hosted by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) in partnership with the Alabama Aerospace Industry Association and the Alabama Automotive Manufacturers Association. Manex is well known for their work helping enterprises transform their organizations through Lean Manufacturing.

As part of a panel of industry leaders, executives from Manex, Toyota, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman will kick off the event by sharing an industry perspective on innovative technology applications and processes, including Lean Manufacturing, supply chain integration, and workforce development.

"We are delighted to have the opportunity to share our insights at this collaborative forum," said Brent Meyers, President & Chief Executive Officer. "At Manex, we are working with numerous enterprises, including United Services and Del Monte Foods, to help implement innovative practices for improved competitiveness. We look forward to sharing best practices and key learnings on driving value and productivity across the manufacturing enterprise."

Collaborate 2006 is the first event designed to foster formal collaboration between automotive, aerospace and defense manufacturers. As the world's largest industries, these OEMs and their suppliers share numerous technology and process challenges.

About Manex
Founded in 1995, The Corporation for Manufacturing Excellence (Manex) (www.manexconsulting.com) provides a broad array of proven advisory and implementation solutions exclusively to manufacturers, distributors and their supply chains, enabling them to increase growth, productivity, quality and profitability. Manex delivers high-impact solutions in four key areas: strategy, people, process and performance. Meaningful, rapid impact and ROI are achieved through a modular-yet-holistic approach encompassing corporate strategy and planning, marketing strategy, training and development, lean manufacturing, supply chain and logistics, Six Sigma, ISO and performance management systems.