2026 Kentucky Industry Conference

The conference addresses legal and regulatory challenges for manufacturers, with sessions on tariffs, trade policy, U.S. Customs and Border Protection enforcement, supply chains, labor and employment policy, and generative AI intellectual property issues including training data, copyright, ownership and licensing. Other sessions examine Suncor Energy v. Boulder and Supreme Court decisions affecting manufacturers; coordination of litigation defense with regulatory compliance and enforcement; professional responsibility, ethics and AI governance across legal and manufacturing functions; PFAS regulations and litigation; local-government lawsuits targeting manufacturers and products; and emergency-response practices covering evidence preservation, site control, internal investigations, liability management, stakeholder communications and reputational protection. The program offers CLE-accredited educational content. Registration is reserved for in-house manufacturing counsel.

The program includes keynotes, panels, breakouts, and interactive roundtables on steel-industry conditions; fabrication businesses, leadership, and industry outlook; AI and digitization in manufacturing; shop-floor equipment use cases and return on investment; and manufacturing’s economic and financial outlook. Sessions also address profitability, capital investment, business growth, tariffs, steel, leadership development, recruitment, small- and midsize-manufacturer growth, and potential changes to tax policy, OSHA and EPA regulations, and tariffs. Roundtable topics include culture, marketing, AI, and operations.

Attendees will meet with members of Kentucky’s congressional delegation and other key officials to discuss issues and priorities impacting Kentucky manufacturers. Attendees will stay at the historic Mayflower Hotel.

The program combines technical and management sessions, exhibits, and presentations for foundry professionals, suppliers, casting designers, buyers, and OEM representatives. Topics include additive manufacturing, casting design and purchasing, engineering, environmental health and safety, ferrous and nonferrous alloys, Industry 4.0, marketing and sales, melting, molding, pouring, quality control, workforce development, and casting case studies, reshoring, material selection, and casting quality. The program also includes the Hoyt Memorial Lecture on integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) and artificial intelligence for sustainable metalcasting. Its themes include alloy design, process innovation, digital manufacturing, workforce development, and using physics-based ICME with AI and machine learning to improve casting development, manufacturing processes, and prediction of microstructure, defects, and mechanical properties.

Theme: “Manufacturing America's Future.” Topics include innovation, precision manufacturing, and the future of manufacturing. The overview lists keynote presentations, technology demonstrations, hands-on learning, and real-world solutions. No session titles or timed program were available.

Exhibit areas include automation, robotics, smart manufacturing, precision machining, software solutions, industrial IoT, and cybersecurity. The Executive Perspectives series features panels with manufacturing-company executives and technology providers; Knowledge Bars cover advanced manufacturing technologies and how innovation and AI adoption can address technology challenges for small and midsize manufacturers. Other listed features include the SME Mission Critical: Workforce 2030 experience on manufacturers’ workforce challenges; a Pop Up Factory demonstrating an assembly and inspection workflow that captures data and connects apps, devices, and analytics; and a Corporate and Institutional Roundtable addressing the manufacturing skills gap, alignment between academic outcomes and workforce needs, and strategies for manufacturing’s future. The Bright Minds College Experience includes executive chats, student-led sessions, hands-on exposure to advanced manufacturing technologies, industry roundtables, and discussions about the manufacturing workforce.

The event features manufacturing, distribution, and supply-chain equipment and systems, hands-on demonstrations of equipment and technology, expert-led educational sessions, and in-person business connections. Featured keynote themes include the 2027 MHI Annual Industry Report, innovation at scale, and teamwork and leadership.

ASME’s Manufacturing Engineering Division sponsors MSEC as a forum for advanced manufacturing research, with technical presentations, poster sessions, panels, workshops, and an early-career forum. It is co-located with NAMRI/SME’s 55th North American Manufacturing Research Conference and JSME’s International Conference on Leading Edge Manufacturing/Materials & Processing. Technical tracks include additive manufacturing (including smart, solid-state, metal and hybrid processes, multi-material processing, and sensor fusion); advanced materials manufacturing and semiconductor packaging; biomanufacturing; circular manufacturing and critical-material supply chains; manufacturing equipment, robotics, and automation; manufacturing processes and systems; in-space manufacturing; energy technologies; microelectronics metrology; and quality and reliability. Research themes include in-situ monitoring and control, digital twins, AI and machine learning, process qualification, and energy and material efficiency.

The program combines manufacturing exhibits with an executive perspectives keynote panel series and featured presentations across manufacturing disciplines. Exhibit and technology areas include automation, robotics, smart manufacturing, precision machining, additive manufacturing, software, industrial IoT, advanced materials, cybersecurity, and energy and environmental efficiency. The Smart Manufacturing Experience Knowledge Bars focus on advanced manufacturing technologies and how technology, innovation, and AI can help small and medium-sized manufacturers address technology adoption challenges. The event also features SME Mission Critical: Workforce 2030, focused on manufacturers’ workforce challenges, and the Bright Minds College Experience, with panels, roundtables, executive insights, peer learning, and hands-on exploration of manufacturing technologies.