Our kickoff event for the AME Tech Summit Series this week was nothing short of extraordinary. The AME Canada Smart Manufacturing Tech Summit 2025 brought together an outstanding community of manufacturing professionals, technology leaders and workforce development experts — all with a shared passion for shaping the future of smart manufacturing. If you joined us on June 18, you already know this wasn’t just another industry conference. It was a high-energy, insight-rich, people-first exploration of what Industry 4.0 truly means in practice.
From Stewart Cramer’s inspiring keynote on leading through transformation to Tim Hobbs’ engaging journey through innovative problem-solving, every session underscored one core message: technology is evolving fast, but it’s people who drive meaningful change. High-performing organizations utilize innovation to empower teams, enhance processes and foster a more innovative, human-centered manufacturing culture.
We covered a wide range of topics that hit at the heart of manufacturing’s next frontier:
- How cobots are reshaping collaboration on the floor
- New approaches to upskilling and workforce strategy
- AR, VR and AI use cases that are already redefining training and engineering.
- How lean principles and digital tools can — and must — coexist.
Thank you to all the speakers:
- Dr. Yi Li, co-founder and executive vice president of Maple Advanced Robotics
- Elissa Ross, PhD, CEO of Metafold
- Dr. Federico Scimarella, executive director of the Illinois Manufacturing Institute at the University of Illinois
- Peter Wawrow, director of the Workforce Development Program Next Generation Manufacturing Canada
- Valerie Judd-Rohal, senior manager of Deloitte’s supply chain & network operations
We also loved getting a behind-the-scenes look during our virtual tours, including Brian Meyers’ rapid-fire implementation of digital SOPs at FAT American Manufacturing and David Barrios’ innovative team culture and tech adoption in Guatemala.
What made this event truly exceptional was the energy you brought. This wasn’t just about learning; it was about engaging with what’s possible — together.
This was just the beginning. Over the next three years, our Tech Summit Series will dive deeper into the critical themes shaping Industry 4.0. With each session, we aim to arm you with the tools, strategies and inspiration to thrive amid complexity and transformation.
Thank you to the talented Canada Regional Board: Amish Chadha, Pushp Arora, Stewart Cramer, Brian Bush, Rafi Istanbulian, Richard Evans and the entire team. If you are an industry practitioner in Canada and are interested in joining this board, please reach out to me.
AME Canada Regional Board president Amish Chadha shared, “The AME Canada 2025 Virtual Tech Summit reminded us that excellence isn’t a destination; it’s a conversation. Thanks to our presenters and participants, we didn’t just talk about best practices; we opened doors, shared shop floors and sparked the kind of ideas that move industries forward.”
Finally, thank you to all participants for being a part of this incredible kickoff. My biggest takeaway from the whole event was the common theme of making your employees stakeholders in your transformation. We also heard several times during the summit that transformation and problem-solving start with the “WHY.”
Technology, people-centric leadership and continuous improvement will be a huge focus of this year’s AME St. Louis 2025 International Conference, with the theme of “Gateway to the future: AI and beyond.” Register now to grab our last chance pricing!
As always, please stay safe and keep looking out for one another.
