WDM×Madison | UWEBC Annual Conference

Something remarkable happened at Lambeau Field.

This June, the inaugural Wisconsin Drives Manufacturing Showcase and Summit brought the state’s universities, technical colleges, manufacturers, and innovation partners together for two days of frank conversation about the future of making things in Wisconsin. This October, that conversation travels — to Madison, and to the region where so much of the state’s manufacturing base actually operates.

Why now? Why here?

Five tracks have anchored the UWEBC Annual Conference for years — Customer Service, Marketing, People, Supply Chain, and Technology. WDM×Madison is the sixth: a curated room with its own standard, its own audience, and its own reason for being.

The Annual Conference draws some 800 professionals from Wisconsin’s leading companies to Monona Terrace every October — ten minutes from the UW–Madison campus and the research that feeds this work. Placing the WDM stage inside it puts manufacturing leaders, universities, and technical colleges in the same building on the same day, with one badge.

WDM×Madison is the pilot of a new model: independently organized, regional WDM events run under a free license — the way TEDx carries the TED stage into communities. It is the first time the Summit’s conversation has traveled, and the first time this conference has hosted a conference within a conference.

The day is built with the forming alliance partners most local to south and southeast Wisconsin — WMC, UW-Stout, the UW-Milwaukee Connected Systems Institute, Madison College, and UW–Madison. Each appears by invitation to share the possibilities and proof they deem most valuable to this audience — a design choice that keeps the day authentic to what is actually moving in Wisconsin.

One badge. One full day.

The WDM×Madison room runs alongside the full Annual Conference. You open and close the day with all 800 guests, and spend the hours between with your peers in Manufacturing. The full agenda is still in progress, so the outline below may change slightly as speakers are confirmed.

8:00 AM – Registration, Breakfast & Networking

Start the day with the full Annual Conference in the Grand Terrace. Grab breakfast and coffee, make connections, and explore the exhibition before the opening keynote.

8:30 AM – All-Conference Opening Keynote

Join the full conference in the Exhibition Hall for the opening keynote before the WDM×Madison manufacturing track convenes.

9:45 AM – Welcome: The WDM× Frame

Wisconsin manufacturers have access to an extraordinary range of education, workforce, technology, research, and industry resources. These partners have strong connections to industry, a track record of working with manufacturers, and capabilities available to companies across the region. The challenge is knowing what is available, what is already working, who to call, and how the pieces fit together.

We’ll open the WDM×Madison track by looking at the state of manufacturing in Wisconsin and the opportunities and challenges ahead. Throughout the day, we’ll highlight successful industry partnerships while helping manufacturers understand what these resources can do for their businesses, where they fit, and how to access them.

WDM×Madison continues the momentum of Wisconsin Drives Manufacturing by bringing manufacturers and partners together, sharing what’s working, strengthening connections, and making Wisconsin’s manufacturing resources easier to access.

Featuring Oliver Schmitz, Jim Rink, and Chelsy Cegielski

10:20 AM – Madison College: Building the Technical Workforce for What’s Next

Manufacturers need skilled technicians who can work with today’s equipment while adapting to the technologies coming next. Madison College provides a critical connection between industry, technical education, and the people manufacturers need to operate and advance their businesses.

We’ll look at how manufacturers have partnered with Madison College to develop technical talent, connect students with industry, and bring real manufacturing needs into education and training. We’ll also explore opportunities for manufacturers to engage with Madison College around both established and emerging technologies and develop partnerships that address their workforce and technology needs.

Featuring Grant Emmel and Matthew Garcia

11:20 AM – UW–Madison: Where Engineering Meets Manufacturing

UW–Madison connects engineering education, advanced manufacturing capabilities, research, and industry in an environment where ideas can move from concept to something that can be built, tested, and improved.

Hands-on facilities give students and industry access to capabilities spanning design, machining, fabrication, prototyping, visualization, and testing. New initiatives are expanding hands-on CNC machining, metals casting, forging, and manufacturing workforce development while creating additional ways for industry to engage with the university.

We’ll see how industry partnerships are already bringing real manufacturing challenges, expertise, and opportunities into this environment, and explore how manufacturers can tap into these capabilities, engage students and faculty, and develop partnerships around their own needs and opportunities.

Featuring Lennon Rodgers

12:15 PM – Lunch in the Exhibition Hall & Community Terrace

Reconnect with the full conference for lunch, conversation, and networking.

UW–Madison will also host an invitation-only luncheon bringing together WDM alliance and industry partners to strengthen relationships, make new connections, and continue building Wisconsin’s manufacturing community.

1:30 PM – Exhibition, Book Pickup & Networking

Return to the Grand Terrace to explore the exhibition and continue the morning’s conversations. Use the time to connect directly with organizations and people who can help with the challenges and opportunities facing your business.

2:00 PM – UWEBC Presents: AuroraWDC

Finding the Strategic Choices Your Competitors Can’t See

Manufacturing leaders are making consequential decisions amid changing markets, new technologies, workforce challenges, supply chain uncertainty, and shifting competitive pressures. Too often, the conversation begins with the choices already in front of us: build or buy, invest here or there, pursue this market or that one.

But what if the best option isn’t one you’ve considered yet?

We’ll explore how leaders can challenge assumptions, expand the range of strategic choices they consider, and uncover opportunities or risks that conventional analysis may miss. AuroraWDC will share a practical approach to finding, evaluating, and de-risking strategic options before committing to a path forward.

Featuring Arik Johnson

2:35 PM – UW-Milwaukee Connected Systems Institute: Test Before You Invest

Manufacturers face a growing number of choices around connected systems, automation, data, and Industry 4.0 technologies. The challenge is determining what will actually create value before committing resources and disrupting production.

UW-Milwaukee’s Connected Systems Institute gives manufacturers a place to explore, test, and demonstrate connected manufacturing technologies before scaling them on their own production lines.

We’ll look at how manufacturers have used CSI to explore real challenges and evaluate potential solutions, then show how other manufacturers can bring their own challenges into the institute, work alongside university expertise, and move from exploration toward implementation with greater confidence.

Featuring Joe Hamann

3:15 PM – Networking break

Continue a conversation from earlier in the day or connect with one of the partners you’ve learned about. If you’ve heard about a capability that could help your organization, this is an opportunity to start the conversation.

3:30 PM – Wisconsin’s Manufacturing Extension Partners: Connecting the Pieces

Small and medium-sized manufacturers do not always have the internal resources to tackle every operational, workforce, technology, or growth challenge on their own. Wisconsin’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership connects manufacturers with expertise, resources, and partners that can help them address those challenges and strengthen their businesses.

We’ll look at how Wisconsin manufacturers have used these resources to turn business challenges into action, drawing on expertise and capabilities from across the state’s manufacturing community. We’ll also explore emerging collaborations around advanced manufacturing and AI that are creating new ways for manufacturers to access technology, expertise, and support.

We’ll close the track by connecting the pieces: how a manufacturer can start with a need, find the right point of entry, and tap into technical colleges, universities, technology resources, manufacturing assistance organizations, and industry partners to move forward.

Featuring Chris Baichoo

4:10 PM – Closing Celebration

Reconnect with the full Annual Conference in the Grand Terrace to celebrate the ideas, relationships, and new connections built throughout the day.

WDM×Madison is one more step in continuing the momentum of Wisconsin Drives Manufacturing. Thank you to UW–Madison, our partners, sponsors, and participating manufacturers for helping convene the community, connect resources with industry needs, and build the partnerships that will move Wisconsin manufacturing forward.

Agenda times, session order, and speakers are subject to change.

Register Now.

The room is capped at 100 attendees, so secure your spot now.