LAS VEGAS — A group of CEOs featured at a roundtable at the FABTECH exposition remain optimistic that the growth experienced by many manufacturers since 2010 will continue for a third year in a row. The roundtable is part of the special events planned for FABTECH 2012, held November 12–14 in Las Vegas.

The CEOs include Jerry Ward, Vice President of Metcam Inc.; Rick Taylor, President and CEO of Jay Industries; Gregg Simpson, President of Ohio Laser; Shivie Dhillon, President of SunDial Powder Coatings; and Patrick Thompson, President of Trans-Matic Manufacturing. The roundtable, entitled “State of the Industry: Manufacturers’ Executive Outlook,” will take place the first day of the show at 12:30 p.m. Dr. Chris Kuehl, Economic Analyst for the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, International, will moderate the panel.

Each CEO participating in the roundtable represents a business that specializes in a different technology and serves a different customer base, ensuring a variety of opinions. The CEOs will discuss and debate several factors that impact business for manufacturers: energy costs, raw materials, regulations, areas of growth and decline, exports, uncertainty, skilled-labor issues, and capital investments.

In pre-show interviews, some CEOs agreed that materials supply will continue to be unpredictable, making it challenging to plan. For others, energy costs are a greater concern. Despite this uncertainty, the CEOs all agreed that their companies expect to continue the growth that they have experienced in the last two years. Some of the CEOs predicted strong growth of 20 percent or more, while others are expecting slow but steady growth in the coming year or two.

Complete event information is available at www.fabtechexpo.com.