EEF welcomes sponsor Infor

Infor is a leading provider of business application software and serves more than 73,000 customers worldwide. Its customer base includes 19 of the top 20 aerospace companies and all of the top ten high tech companies worldwide. Infor is also joining forces with IBM in co-sponsoring a report: Manufacturing, Britain's Future, which has been specially-commissioned for the conference. This looks at how technology is a major driver of the 4th industrial revolution – dubbed Industry 4.0 – and how manufacturers, Government and policy-makers need to react in order to ensure that Britain remains at the forefront of change. It also provides a vision of what the 'Factory of the Future' will look like – showing how manufacturers will be making the most of virtual and augmented reality, robotics, automation and 3D printing, and how this will make factories in 2050 almost unrecognisable compared to today's. Terry Scuoler, CEO of EEF, said: "The 4th industrial revolution is already under way and it is vital that British manufacturers take a leading role if we are to maintain competitiveness, momentum and growth. "This conference is about enabling manufacturers, Government and policy-makers to understand the opportunities that lie ahead and to lay the right groundwork to ensure Britain stays at the forefront. As Industry 4.0 suggests, technology is going to play an ever-more pivotal role in our sector so I am delighted to be welcoming Infor on board again this year." Pam Murphy (pictured), COO, Infor, added: "British manufacturers can be proud of their recent resurgence but continued success is all about change - it is not good enough to accept 'business as usual'. "Even the definition of manufacturing is changing. It is no longer about raw materials going in one door and finished product going out of another. Today's manufacturers must embrace higher value services, whether that be servicing contracts; supporting or complementing products; or offering outcome or availability based contracts for products. "These are fundamental changes and the success of such initiatives hinges on people making decisions based on quality information at their fingertips, no matter where they are situated at that time. Infor is on a quest to make this happen."