Event Program

Join industry experts Jonathan Marsh and Amanda Comunale for “The Pulse of Fabrication,” a practical session designed to directly involve you in program. Through live polling and roundtable discussions, you’ll have the opportunity to share your insights on key topics in fabrication technology and processes.

• Live Polling: Participate in real-time polls to voice your views on important fabrication issues. Your input will drive the session’s discussions.
• Roundtable Discussions: Engage in focused discussions led by Jonathan and Amanda, exploring solutions and strategies based on your feedback.
• Published Report – Following the conference, you will receive a copy of the report’s findings based on both the survey and the roundtable discussion.

Join main facility tour hosts, JM Brennan, as they discuss their operations, markets and fabrication mentality.  The tours this year are split into two different areas of operations – Plumbing/Fitting and Sheet Metal.  In this session, leadership from JM Brennan will talk about what drives the work they are fabricating and provide an overview of their fabrication mindset.

A secondary tour offering will be to the Milwaukee Tool Redline facility.  This tour, only available to contractor registrants, will showcase some of their manufacturing, research and development.  In this session, leaders from Milwaukee Tool will discuss their manufacturing strategy as well as their goal of increasing their domestic production of more tools.

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This session explores all the costs related to fabrication, beginning with well-known expenses like equipment purchases and productivity benefits. It will also cover often overlooked factors such as building depreciation, software, and overhead costs, which significantly impact the total cost of operations.

Session Highlights:

• Initial Costs: Review the upfront costs most contractors are familiar with, including equipment purchases and productivity-related savings.
• Additional Costs: Discuss lesser-known expenses like depreciated building costs, software investments, and overhead, and understand how these affect your profitability.
• Finding Your Target: Determine the target amount of work your fabrication shop needs to handle to justify its operations, helping to set realistic production goals.
• Baseline Stats for Investment: Learn how to calculate essential statistics to assess the worth of investments in your fabrication operations.
• Adjusting Costs with New Purchases: Explore how buying or selling equipment impacts your total costs and how this should influence your business goals and performance metrics.

After the general session program concludes and the tours end for the day, join us for a reception in the Imperial Ballroom that includes a taste of Milwaukee and demonstrations of the latest fabrication technology.

While the program might be concluded at 6:30 PM, the night is still young.  Join Stratus and Milwaukee Tool for an after party in The Rouge room.  Located in the lobby right near the registration, The Rouge is the historic drawing room for the 130-year-old hotel that has taken on many roles throughout the hotel’s history, hosting celebrities and royalty.  On Wednesday night, Stratus and Milwaukee Tool invite all guests to join them to meet and rub elbows with the celebrities and royalty of fabrication.

Explore the critical aspects of modern manufacturing setups with Carrie Struss from Milwaukee Tools in this session.  Aimed at executives looking to optimize their production environments, this workshop covers the essentials of space planning, material flow, and process efficiency.

Session Highlights:

• Space Requirements: Understand how to effectively allocate space for essential equipment and operations to maximize productivity.
• Material Flow and Logistical Concerns: Dive into the logistics of material flow, from receiving to production to shipping, and learn strategies to streamline these processes.
• Flow and Pace: Identify common bottlenecks that slow down production and discover techniques to improve the flow of materials, reduce wait times, and implement strategic holding areas.
• Quality Assurance and Control: Discuss the importance of integrating space for quality checks within the production line to maintain high standards without compromising pace.

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Check back soon for details!

Check back soon for details!

Check back soon for details!

While high tension wire systems have been accepted and used in hanger systems for sheet metal and electrical for years, more projects are pushing for their acceptance in mechanical and plumbing systems as well. This session, funded by JRGF research, will explore three case studies and cost comparisons of contractors using tension wire systems for mechanical purposes, what lessons were learned with engineers, what project types have worked best with them and the productivity increases and costs comparisons with their use.

We finish the day off with a reception featuring the taste of Wisconsin. Join us for what will truly be a unique experience as we lean into a cheese themed event. Hosted by four sponsors with four different areas of entertainment including bar games, music and food. The reception will conclude with a competition like no other. Champions from each of the four sponsors will compete in a very unique tournament of skill with the winners receiving one-of-a-kind rewards and glory.

The best ideas at this conference often come from each other. This facilitated discussion will share some of the best ideas that have been submitted by you with the group. Each person that shares their best ideas will earn a customized Yeti with a fabrication theme and the best idea or fabrication will earn a special prize.

Check back soon for details!

Check back soon for details!