GLOBAL manufacturers are meeting in the region to discuss how industries must adjust in the recession.

Delegates from 37 countries are attending the annual Faim (Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing) conference from Sunday, July 5, to Wednesday, July 8.

This year’s theme is lean manufacturing and services, which will focus on contemporary and emerging trends.

The conference, being held at Teesside University, will also be attended by representatives from local industries, including Stanley Vickers, DLS and Stockton Castings.

The delegates will be taken on a tour of the North-East to highlight examples of good practice in manufacturing, visiting Cummins Engineering, in Darlington, and Caterpillar, in Peterlee, east Durham.

Professor Farhad Nabhani, Faim conference chair and professor of biomechanics and manufacturing at Teesside University, said: “We aim to help local industry in a time of economic downturn by bringing together expertise within the manufacturing environment to look at production improvements in the next decade.”