Space is booking up fast for the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry’s (WFSGI) World Manufacturers Forum (WMF), with only a few seats available for this annual, international event, according to organisers.


The forum addresses the latest issues impacting the global sporting goods industry

Taking place on 11-12 December 2018 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the sixth edition of the forum, aimed at senior level executives and industry leaders, will offer participants cutting-edge content and over five hours of networking opportunities across the two days.

The title of this year’s edition is ‘Manufacturing 4.0: Steps towards a future vision’ – building on the themes of previous editions of the WMF. The key topics on the agenda include: Software and innovative technologies; Workforce in a changing landscape; Industry 4.0 implementation phase; and Raw materials disruption.

Addressing these topics will be speakers from around the world, including:

  • Nicholas Russel, IDEA London, University College London, UK
  • Martin Strommer, head of Commercial and Consultant, nCinga Innovations, Singapore
  • Rakhil Hirdaramani, director, Hirdaramani Intl Exports, Sri Lanka
  • Catherine Cole, executive director, Alvanon, Hong Kong
  • Harry Nurmansyah, senior director, Field Operation, Social and Environmental Affairs, Asia Pacific, Adidas Group, Indonesia 
  • Mark Jarvis, managing director, World Textile Information Network (WTiN), UK
  • Christian Decker, CEO, DESMA, Germany
  • Jonas Wand, chief sales officer, Foursource Group GmbH, Germany & Louise Leuchtenberger, head of Marketing and PR, Foursource Group GmbH, Germany
  • George Huang, Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
  • Kanji Kajiwara, research fellow, coordinator, Shinshu University, Japan
  • Marius Janta, senior project manager, Research, Application and BD, WT | Wearable Technologies, Germany

The forum will be moderated by Edwin Keh, CEO of The Hong Kong Research Institute for Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA).

Various brands, manufacturers and retailers from the sporting goods industry will be present at the event, with major names including adidas, ANTA, Nike, Under Armour, New Balance, and Pentland etc.

To complement the networking opportunities available during the forum sessions, WFSGI has also organised an evening of drinks and dinner – on the conclusion of the first day’s session – which will allow participants to “mix with other WMF guests in a relaxed, informal and friendly setting – encouraging all participants to make the most of these opportunities,” says WFSGI.

To create an engaging and interactive conference experience, WFSGI has announced that it will focus on the use of Zeetings – a tech tool that will be used throughout the forum to enable participants to ask questions, post comments, participate in polls, take notes, download session summaries, and connect with everyone that tunes in. According to WFSGI, the WMF host will provide details of how to use the tool at the start of day one and “we encourage all our participants to make the most of this opportunity to engage with our speakers, their content and the other WMF participants at the touch of a button”.

To find out more about WFSGI’s World Manufacturers Forum, click here.

To claim one of the last remaining seats, click here.