Enhancing productivity has always been the prime concern for SMEs in the manufacturing industry that primarily runs on minimum costs and minimum resources. Among several technologies that have been developed to aid SMEs meet their demands in this regard, IT and Automation technologies are believed to be at the forefront in terms of increasing both productivity and profitability for SMEs in manufacturing.

In this backdrop, INK Media Pvt Ltd (one of the leading conference management companies in India), recently announced ‘SME India Outlook 2011’, a National Conference focused on SMEs in manufacturing industry with a theme on “Capitalising IT and Automation for Manufacturing Excellence.” The conference would be held on February 10, 2011, at Hotel Novotel Juhu Beach, Mumbai.

The target sectors for SME India Outlook 2011 include Chemicals and process equipment, Food processing, Pharmaceuticals, Plastics and Packaging, Engineered products, and Machine Tools and Metalworking. Around 150 delegates are estimated to attend the event.

The conference aims to provide the delegates a unique opportunity to get updated on the latest technologies in IT and Automation focused specifically at SMEs, while keeping an eye on keeping costs at the optimum. Further, apart from knowledge sharing, there would be abundant networking opportunities to meet the stalwarts from IT and Automation industry and leverage the customized solutions in offer, specifically to suit business demands of this sector. This forum would also provide an opportunity for the SMEs to meet various funding agencies, banks and venture capital firms, which provide customized packages for the SMEs to adopt modern technologies.

Supported by the Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), Automation Industry Association (AIA) and several other leading associations in the country, the highlight of this event would be its esteemed list of speakers which includes Udaykumar Varma, Secretary, Ministry of MSME; Dr. HP Kumar, CMD, NSIC; Anup Wadhwa, Director, Automation Industry Association (AIA); Vijay Srinivasan, Managing Director, Invensys India Pvt Ltd and Vice President, AIA; Raj Singh Rathee, Managing Director, Kuka Robotics India and Milind Kulkarni, Head- Development (factory automation), Siemens India Pvt. Ltd, among others.

Prominent topics to be discussed during the conference include overcoming automation complexity and protecting RoI, adopting energy efficient and sustainable IT solutions, affordable robotic solutions for SMEs in manufacturing, integrating IT & Automation solutions in manufacturing operations, future of cloud computing, data security in cloud and exploring the concept of private cloud in manufacturing business; leveraging virtualization technology for optimum cost reduction, etc.

The conference would conclude with a Visionary Panel Discussion on “Challenges faced by SMEs in leveraging IT and Automation, and how to overcome them.”