Ormond Beach, Fla. – The Book Manufacturers’ Institute (BMI), has announced that the focus of the 2019 Spring Management Conference will be on new and emerging technologies and practices that will enable the industry to thrive in the 21st century. Topics to be covered under “Industry 4.0: The Next Revolution in Book Manufacturing” include: automation, artificial intelligence, system integration, and how the book manufacturing industry will evolve during the current industrial revolution.

The annual gathering of executives will be held April 28 – 30, 2019, at the Omni Charlotte in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina—a city widely heralded as a top hub for technology.

Executive Director of BMI Matt Baehr said, “As we enter the fourth industrial revolution, book manufacturing is being affected by automation, data exchange, artificial intelligence, and more. This conference will explore what it means for manufacturing, what industry leaders are already doing, and how they plan to adapt to the next revolution in book manufacturing.”

Industry experts on the agenda include: Dr. Noel Greis, Director of the Center for Logistics and Digital Strategy and Adjunct Professor, Operations, at UNC-Chapel Hill; Dr. Ashley P. Lesko, President of Square Peg Solutions, and other leaders of forward-thinking manufacturers and service providers; Nick Ott, Applications Engineer at Atlantic Packaging; plus panel discussions let by Kent Larson of Bridgeport National Bindery and Jay Foster, President of SoftSolutions.

BMI President James H. Fetherston said, “The programming for BMI’s Spring Management Conference is intended to raise the bar for the industry, in terms of questioning the status quo and improving the supply chain through innovation and experimentation.” On BMI’s role in the book manufacturing ecosystem, he continued, “As a trade organization, we’re fostering really important conversations about how to best serve customers, and that means developing technologies to support our businesses, and exploring new efficiencies and opportunities with data and automation.”

In addition to presentations, panels, and a round-table information exchange, the BMI Rising Star Awards will be presented at the conference, recognizing book industry professionals who may not be long-standing industry veterans, but are making a positive impact on their companies, in their communities, and in the industry. The first-ever Rising Star Awards will be announced on Monday April 29th at the conference.