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PTDA 2009 Industry Summit
October 22 - 24, 2009
Hilton San Diego Bayfront
San Diego, California
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Session Highlights and Handouts
Opening Keynote: Engineering Your Next Move with
Dean Kamen
Closing Keynote: The Road Ahead...with Dr. Robert
Genetski
Workshop: Assessing the Options with the Cleveland
Research Company
Workshop: Plotting the Path to New Markets with Dr.
William R. McCleave
Workshop: Is It the Time to Move? with J. Michael
Marks
Next Gen Roundtable
Most well-known as the inventor of the
SegwayTM Personal Transporter, Dean Kamen
is president of DEKA Research & Development Corporation based in
Manchester, N.H. DEKA is a dynamic company focused on the development of
revolutionary new technologies that span a diverse set of
applications.
As an inventor and entrepreneur, Kamen holds more than 440 U.S. and
foreign patents, many of them for innovative medical devices that have
expanded the frontiers of health care worldwide. Kamen was awarded the
National Medal of Technology in 2000 by President Clinton for inventions
that have advanced medical care worldwide and for innovative and
imaginative leadership in awakening America to the excitement of science
and technology. He was also awarded the Lemelson-MIT Prize in 2002 and
was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in May 2005.
Kamen has dedicated his life to developing technologies that help
people lead better lives, and this inspired him to found the non-profit
US FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).
The vision of FIRST is to inspire young people to be science and
technology leaders by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs
that build science, engineering and technology skills, inspire
innovation and foster well-rounded life capabilities including
self-confidence, communication and leadership. Kamen's commitment to
inspiring young people's interest in science and technology made him an
ideal keynote speaker.
The goal of FIRST is to transform our culture by creating a
world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people
dream of becoming science and technology heroes. Based
on the model of sports, FIRST requires students to work as a team
to create robots to solve a specified challenge. Teams compete in
a double-elimination version of March Madness. The
program has grown from 23 schools in 1991 to more than
1,700 schools competing in 43 regional events in 11 countries.
According to Kamen, "[These kids] are building an understanding of what
the world offers people who learn how to think, and work on real teams,
and solve real problems."
FIRST relies on donations of time (in the form of sponsorships and
mentors) and products (for inclusion in the kits used by students to
solve the challenge). Kamen noted that many of the largest
manufacturing firms are mentoring teams and encouraged power
transmission/motion control companies to become part of the FIRST
team. "Wouldn't all of you like to have some of your really cool
products sitting on the bench of a design engineer at the biggest, most
prestigious companies in the world?" he said. For more information
about donating product for inclusion in the kits, contact FIRST at
+1.603.666.3906.
Download Dean Kamen's biography.
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Closing Keynote
Address: The Road Ahead...
Dr. Robert Genetski
President, Robert Genetski & Associates, Inc.
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One of the nation’s premier economic forecasters,
Dr. Robert Genetski’s insights into economic and
financial matters are the knowledge you need to make your next
move. His vision on how the new
administration’s policies are shaping the financial
landscape of the industry will provide the background to make timely and
effective decisions that enhance profits and market positions. As
one of 50 economists contributing to the Blue Chip Economic Indicator,
Genetski has been commended on his ability to out-forecast the
pack.
In his presentation at the PTDA 2009 Industry Summit, Dr. Robert
Genetski provided a framework of classic economic principles to explain
the current economic climate and forecast the business environment for
the coming year.
According to Dr. Genetski, the downward cycle has ended, and the
recovery is slowing beginning. However, due to a proposal by the
FDIC to require banks to prepay their insurance, Dr. Genetski cautions
that the recovery may be temporarily
“short-circuited.â€
Download Dr. Genetski's presentation to learn
more about the classic principles that drive our economy and what to
expect in 2010 and beyond! 
Concurrent Workshops
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Concurrent
Workshop: Assessing the Options
Cleveland Research Company
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Will your next move involve an exploration of new markets?
Where are the end-user markets for power transmission, fluid power and
motion control industries headed for 2010 and beyond? Where will
new business come from after the recession? In their presentation,
Adam Uhlman and Joe Calvello from the Cleveland Research Company, an
independent market research and equity financial analysis firm, focused
on recent industrial and end-user market trends and expectations for the
coming year. Uhlman
and Calvello presented
findings from their surveys of PTDA’s
members. Members reported
six end-user markets as experiencing net strength; nearly 70 percent of
those surveyed cited flat prices during the third quarter.
Uhlman and Calvello also presented
results with respect to inventory, order activity and credit
availability and an overview of 10 end-user markets.
Download the presentation from Cleveland Research
Company.
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Concurrent
Workshop: Plotting the Path to New Markets
Dr. William R. McCleave
President, W.R. McCleave & Associates
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As the industry moves through a turbulent economic environment,
distributors are finding new ways to enhance the business they have in
existing markets and are leveraging their expertise to develop
opportunities in new markets. But, as many distributors are discovering,
the path is not without challenges.
Dr. William R. McCleave stressed using
knowledge, information and data to analyze trends and developments that
will affect your success in pursuing new opportunities.
Specifically, McCleave gave participants
the tools needed to assess six areas (owner, market, customer,
competition, supplier and resource) in determining a company's ability
to make the next move.
Download Dr. William R. McCleave's
presentation.
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Concurrent
Workshop: Is It the Time to Move?
J. Michael Marks
Managing Partner, Indian River Consulting Group
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It's a whole new economic environment
and the rules have changed. Mike Marks presented models in the areas of business development,
pricing, organization and risk to help participants exploit emerging
opportunities.
Download J. Michael Marks' presentation.
Pre-Game Warm Up: Next Gen Roundtable
A new program in 2009, the Next Gen Roundtable was created to give
Next Gen leaders a venue to discuss hot topics and business challenges
in the industry.
Download the discussion notes.
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