/R E P E A T -- Media invitation - The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal is holding a Strategic Forum on the manufacturing sector/

MONTREAL, Feb. 19, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Michel Leblanc, president and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, is pleased to invite media representatives to a Board of Trade Strategic Forum on the manufacturing sector, February 21 at 7 a.m.

The manufacturing sector is critical to Québec and Montréal. In 2010, 16.3% of the province's GDP depended on this sector, which alone generated $41 billion in direct benefits and $26 billion in indirect benefits. This industry is in a period of transition, with some talking in terms of the start of a new industrial era.

Against a backdrop of change, this event will help you understand the challenges manufacturers are facing and the strategies they need to implement to ensure their sustainability.

Élaine Zakaïb, Minister for Industrial Policy and the Banque de développement économique du Québec, will attend the Forum.

Date:	Friday, February 21, 2014
Time:	7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Location:	Palais des congrès de Montréal 1001 Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle

Media accreditation required.

INTODUCTION - A LOOK AT THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR

Michel Leblanc
President and CEO
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal

Guy Barthell
Partner, Strategy and Performance
Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton

Normand Chouinard
Head of Investments
Fonds de solidarité FTQ

I. MANUFACTURERS IN THE DIGITAL AGE

Glenn Sawyer
Director
Center for Manufacturing
Operational Excellence, SAP Canada

Elliot Lifson
Vice-Chairman
Peerless Clothing Inc.

Jean Thibodeau
Senior Vice-President
InteliBuild and Management
Information Systems
Canam Group Inc.

II. NEW DRIVERS OF COMPETITIVENESS: AUTOMATION AND ROBOTIZATION

Jean Bélanger
President and Chief Operating Officer
Premier Tech

Jean-François Albert
Vice President, Manufacturing
MEGA Brands

Éric Bélanger
President
Avant-Garde Technologies

Jacques Latendresse
Co-President
Ezeflow

III. MANUFACTURERS OUT TO CONQUER THE WORLD

Éric Beauregard
President
AV&R

Hélène V. Gagnon
Vice President, Public Affairs, Communications, Corporate Social Responsibility and Achieving Excellence System
Bombardier Aerospace

MINISTER'S SPEECH

Élaine Zakaïb
Minister for Industrial Policy and The Banque de développement économique du Québec

About the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal has some 7,000 members. Its primary mission is to represent the interests of the business community of Greater Montréal and to provide individuals, merchants, and businesses of all sizes with a variety of specialized services to help them achieve their full potential in terms of innovation, productivity and competitiveness. The Board of Trade is Quebec's leading private economic development organization.

SOURCE: Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal

For further information:

Please confirm your presence with Michelle LLambias Meunier, Advisor, Media Relations, by phone at 514 871-4000, ext. 4042, or by email at [e-mail].