From left, Franco Schena, of Rednoise, Peter Campbell, of Volgren, and Philippa Smith, of PPG Industries, answer questions about theirTHINK Smart – that was the message as three successful Greater Dandenong manufacturers took a seat to provide an insight into the changing face of industry.
South East Melbourne Manufacturers’ Alliance (SEMMA) hosted its annual Lunch with the Winners at the Sandhurst Club last week.
This year’s panel – which followed the tradition of sitting on a couch to talk with the audience and MC James Sturgess – consisted of smart young manufacturers willing to share their stories.
They included Volgren’s Peter Campbell, a lean manufacturing specialist, who has been developing projects to slash the company’s turnaround time in bus production, while retaining the product’s quality. Mr Campbell was also Young Manufacturer of the Year in 2007.
Next was Philippa Smith, from PPG Industries, a product reliability engineer with a keen interest in design.
Franco Schena, a marketing and branding specialist, started his business Rednoise in 1997 and now works with manufacturers to position and promote their companies and products.
The lunch was a great opportunity for young people to listen and put questions to the panel about their success and hurdles encountered in the process, as well as their plans for the future.
