Adapt or die could be the motto of the Detroit International Auto Salon (DIAS), slated to open on October 25.
Rather that stand still and watch overseas competitors get a leg-up, local automotive suppliers are banding together under the auspices of the DIAS. DIAS is a one-stop auto parts market for
OEM and Tier 1 and 2 suppliers, which will help them lower their total procurement costs by efficiently sourcing from Asia's most elite suppliers.
The Allen Park facility will also be available to host meetings between suppliers and manufacturers, be open to the public for wholesale or retail purchases and host forums. The first such forum will be held after the ribbon cutting ceremony on October 25, and will be an opportunity for the exchange of information between academics, industry, engineers and businesses.
The moderator will be Larry Fobes, director of the Institute for Organizational and Industrial Competitiveness at Wayne State University. The expert panel includes Ron Hesse of
GlobalAutoIndustry.com, Michael Wiemann of the Salzburg Aluminum Group; Lung-Chou Huang of the
Automotive Research and Testing Center; Zhang Jin, the Secretary-General of the Confederation of Chinese Metal Forming Industry and David C. Chang, the former chief scientist of General Motors Corporation.
The panel will be addressing worldwide automotive trends. By becoming a platform for these types of discussion, the DIAS seems poised to act as a salon in the true sense of the word.
The DAIS was created under the leadership of GlobalAutoIndustry.com and Asia Forging Supply Company. The forum is supported by
Wayne County Economic Development and Airport Authority, the
Detroit Regional Economic Partnership and the Michigan Chinese Academic Professional Association.
Registration and a full agenda are available
here.
Source: Automation AlleyWriter: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
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