Executive Summits · by the Future of Manufacturing Alliance
Wastewater & Air Quality Summit for Manufacturing Plants
Meet the plant leaders paying surcharges on every gallon they send down the drain.
Each summit is capped at 20 sponsors. Talk to Joe before it fills.
Who’s coming so far
21 manufacturers have confirmed they will send people. The target is 100+ plant leaders in the room by each summit.
- Honda
- GE Aerospace
- General Motors
- Stellantis / Jeep
- Procter & Gamble
- Cleveland-Cliffs
- Whirlpool
- Goodyear Tire & Rubber
- Parker Hannifin
- Swagelok
- Crown Equipment
- Lincoln Electric
- Sherwin-Williams
- + 8 very large manufacturers, not named at their request
Two days with environmental, plant engineering and operations leaders from Midwest manufacturers facing discharge limits, surcharges, VOC permits and odor complaints. Pre-scheduled 1-on-1 meetings. No expo hall.
The people who sign the PO for environmental projects.
Invited from plants across Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Every delegate is screened by title and plant.
1,470plant leaders from 495 manufacturers have come to past FMA summits.1,033 of them pick the vendor, own the budget or sign off.
Who decides a plant purchase, and how many came
- Step 1287Find the problem, write the specEnergy Engineer, Facilities Engineer, Environmental Engineer
- Step 2560Pick the vendorFacilities Manager, Environmental Manager, Energy Manager
- Step 3337Own the budgetDirector of Engineering, Director of Operations, Director of Manufacturing
- Step 4136Sign offPlant Manager, General Manager, President
Who we invite to this summit
Each title, and what that person owns.
- Environmental ManagerPermits and reporting
- Plant Engineering DirectorSpecifies the system
- Plant ManagerSigns off on capex
- Utilities ManagerRuns the treatment plant
- EHS DirectorCompliance across sites
Where past delegates worked
Plant leaders at past FMA summits, by industry.
Industries we are inviting to this summit: Food and beverage (BOD, FOG, surcharges) · Automotive and parts (paint-shop VOCs) · Metals and finishing (metals in the effluent) · Chemicals and plastics (Title V permits) · Paper and packaging (odor and water reuse).
Counts are past FMA delegates, each counted once. They show who this audience is; they are not 2027 attendees.
Past speakers and delegates, by industry
Food and beverage
12 speakers · 161 delegates
Automotive
10 speakers · 192 delegates
Machinery, equipment and electronics
7 speakers · 209 delegates
Chemicals, plastics and rubber
6 speakers · 120 delegates
Steel and metals
2 speakers · 82 delegates
Aerospace, pharma, building and consumer products
29 speakers · 667 delegates
They came back.
Past FMA sponsors, and how many summits each one sponsored, from the printed programs.
- 2Bio-Reaction IndustriesWastewater and air quality · 2 summits
- 18US LED18 summits
- 17Kaeser Compressors17 summits
- 14Covanta14 summits
- 14Solution Dynamics14 summits
- 10Advanced Power Technologies10 summits
- 8Smardt Chiller Group8 summits
- 7BASF7 summits
- 7EQUIDEX Energy7 summits
- 7LG Electronics7 summits
- 6AgriPower6 summits
- 6Greenstar Recycling6 summits
See the other 102 companies that sponsored two or more FMA summits
3M 2 · Acuity Brands 4 · Advanced Green Technologies 3 · Advantix Systems 8 · AERCO International 5 · Air Balance 2 · AmbiRad 3 · Ameresco 2 · Armstrong Fluid Technology 5 · Badger Meter 2 · Be Power Tech 2 · BLUEFIN 4 · Bosch Thermotechnology 2 · Burns & McDonnell Engineering 3 · Camfil 2 · Capstone Turbine 2 · Chelsea Group 2 · Cleaver-Brooks 4 · ConDex Energy 2 · Constellation Energy 5 · Control Instruments 2 · CopperTree Analytics 3 · Cushman & Wakefield 2 · Cypress Envirosystems 5 · Doosan Fuel Cell America 3 · DTE Energy Services 2 · Dyson 4 · Eaton 3 · EcoSafe Zero Waste 2 · EDF Renewable Energy 2 · Edison Energy 2 · Emerson Climate Technologies 2 · Energy Management Systems 4 · Energy Source 2 · EnerNOC 2 · Enertech Global 2 · EnterSolar 2 · Environmental Resources Management 2 · ERS International 3 · ETwater Systems 2 · Every Watt Matters 2 · Eye Lighting International 3 · Facility Solutions Group 2 · FacilityConneX 2 · Fellon-McCord & Associates 3 · GDF SUEZ Energy NA 2 · GE Distributed Power 2 · GE Solar 2 · Gexpro 3 · GI Energy 2 · Green Ballast 2 · Greenworks Energy Solutions 3 · Harris Lighting 2 · Heritage Interactive Services 2 · Hurst Boiler & Welding Co. 2 · IBM 4 · ICETEC Energy Services 2 · ICONICS 3 · Invensys Operations Management 2 · JLL 4 · Jorgensen Facilities Services 5 · K+S Services 2 · KDC Solar 2 · KERAMIDA 2 · Knauf Insulation 2 · KVAR Energy Savings 3 · LEDtronics 2 · Lutron Electronics Co. 3 · MaxLite 2 · MCEnergy 2 · MEP Associates 2 · MPC Energy 5 · Munters 2 · Newton Distributing Company 2 · Nortec 3 · North America Power Partners 2 · North American Roofing 2 · OAKLEAF 4 · Optimum Energy 2 · Orion Energy Systems 2 · OSRAM SYLVANIA 5 · Pfister Energy 2 · PowerSecure 5 · Rinnai America 2 · Rockwell Automation 2 · ROXUL 2 · Rubicon Global 2 · SAP America 2 · Schneider Electric 6 · Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure 5 · Sloan 2 · Solar UV Solutions 3 · Solatube International 3 · Steril-Aire 2 · Synergy Investment 6 · The Dow Chemical Company 2 · Thermal Energy International 3 · Trane 2 · Tremco Roofing and Building Maintenance 2 · Viridity Energy 2 · Wahaso - Water Harvesting Solutions 2 · Zurn Industries 2
In writing, from past delegates.
Their words, not ours.
“Every year we are able to find new partners to develop breakthrough projects”
Breitner MarczewskiDirector of Energy Engineering, General MotorsRead the whole quote
“FMA Summit has been a very friendly business event for General Motors. Every year we are able to find new partners to develop breakthrough projects”
“We will be partnering with a couple of the presenters at the Summit”
Read the whole quote
“…The expertise represented at this Summit (solar, lighting, etc.) was impressive and very informative. We will be partnering with a couple of the presenters at the Summit…”
Scott CullenAmericas Environmental Compliance Manager, Bostik“…full of opportunities to network with vendors I was interested in”
Read the whole quote
“I found the experience well organized and full of opportunities to network with vendors I was interested in.”
Warren VoughtCorporate Facilities Manager, Archer Daniels Midland“…so we can learn more about what each company has to offer”
Read the whole quote
“The presenters were very knowledgeable and did a great job of communicating during the one on one time during breaks. I look forward to the site visits so we can learn more about what each company has to offer.”
John ShewmakerFacility Maintenance Manager, Hitachi Automotive SystemsSee 8 moreShow fewer
“I am always skeptical with conferences whether they will be worth my time. This Summit was a very good blend and balance of solutions and testimonials. I will recommend this seminar to others in my company…”
Larry GlaserAVP, Director of Operations Support, OSI Industries“…Enjoyed the Summit and met some good contacts.”
Russ DelozierDirector of Sustainability, J+J Flooring Group“Great Summit to attend and see the diversity of industry and government. Several vendors presented new ideas to problems we all face in the industry.”
Ed HagerstromDirector EHS, Refresco Beverages US Inc.“Excellent set of presenters on a wide range of subjects, lots of new and forward thinking. Great networking with small groups- startup dinners and circulation times.”
John DeVinneySenior Project Manager, Perdue Farms“I’ve been to a lot of conferences and I found the FMA sessions to be excellent, engaging and interesting. I think it had some of the best speakers I’ve ever seen in a conference I’ve been to. I certainly liked the format, the 20 minutes sessions, so you can get the top level ideas or thoughts without having to hear in infinite detail. The format is well structured, the speakers were really, really good and I would highly recommend this conference to anybody in this field.”
Brendan SullivanExecutive Director, Facilities, Estée Lauder“The Summit was truly ‘eye-opening’. I got an excellent sense of momentum building for companies and institutions making significant changes for the future. Woe betide those organizations who turn a blind eye to the need and benefits of changing how they manage and operate their facilities.”
Chris WendtFacilities Manager, Standard Motor Products, Inc.“As a global leader, it’s extremely important for me to stay current on technological advances. The FMA Summit brought current advances and best practices to me in an efficient 1.5 day event”
Maria WatsonSr. Manager Global Energy, Pall Corporation“The FMA Energy and Sustainability Summit provides valuable insight into where leaders in various industries are finding success in systems and processes that drive overall efficiencies and organizational sustainment.”
Brian SkrobarcekCorporate Director of Environmental Affairs, StandardAeroWhat sponsors closed, and what buyers said.
Past sponsors on the business that came from an FMA introduction, and past buyers on the vendors they met there.
Set up Wednesday. Two full days of meetings. Home Friday afternoon.
Same schedule in Columbus and Detroit.
- Wednesday afternoonSponsors set up their exhibits. Everyone checks in.
- ThursdayThe full day: plant case studies, booked 1-on-1s, the reception and dinner.
- FridayMorning case studies, more 1-on-1s, closing lunch. On the road by mid-afternoon.
The hour-by-hour plan and the venues
| Time | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7:00 AM | Breakfast at your company table | Breakfast at your company table | |
| 8:00–10:00 AM | Plant case studies | Plant case studies | |
| 10:00 AM | Coffee and shop talk in the exhibit room | Pre-booked 20-minute 1-on-1s at your table | |
| 11:00 AM | Plant case studies | Plant case studies | |
| 12:00 PM | Lunch with your booked 1-on-1 meetings | Closing lunch with your booked 1-on-1 meetings | |
| 1:00 PM | Plant case studies | Plant case studies, then head home | |
| 2:00 PM | Sponsor setup and check-in | Pre-booked 20-minute 1-on-1s at your table | |
| 3:00 PM | Sponsor setup and check-in | Coffee and shop talk in the exhibit room | |
| 3:30 PM | Sponsor setup and check-in | Plant case studies | |
| 5:00–7:00 PM | Sponsor setup and check-in | Reception and dinner, with more 1-on-1s |
The full package's 15 pre-booked 20-minute 1-on-1s run Thursday and Friday: in the meeting blocks above, at lunch, and at the reception. Each is with a plant leader who asked to meet you, at your company table. You get your meeting schedule before you arrive, and the delegate list, with names, titles and companies, 30 days before the summit.
Venue photos via Wikimedia Commons: Hilton Columbus Downtown by Ɱ (CC BY-SA 4.0); Renaissance Center by Crisco 1492 (public domain).
The program: plant leaders come to hear how other plants fixed it.
The program is built from projects plants actually finished, presented by the plant and the company that did the work. Every wastewater and air quality category has room for more. If you've solved a problem like these, your story belongs on this program.
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Wastewater treatmentInvited
Keeping fat out of the DAF at a Midwest meat rendering plant
A Kurita tallow recovery program, started in September 2023, cut FOG from between six and seven pounds per head to approximately three to four lbs./head, and stick water fat is now consistently less than one percent (as reported by Kurita America; customer not named).
The problem: Stick water returned to the dissolved air flotation systems carried more than seven percent fat, and the plant's tallow missed its customer's 2 percent free fatty acid spec.
Published result: A Kurita tallow recovery program, started in September 2023, cut FOG from between six and seven pounds per head to approximately three to four lbs./head, and stick water fat is now consistently less than one percent (as reported by Kurita America; customer not named).
Invited: Kurita America · Read the published case
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Air pollution controlInvited
An RTO for the e-coat oven in a Midwest auto plant's paint shop
CPI installed an 18,000 SCFM TRITON 18.95 regenerative thermal oxidizer with 98% destruction efficiency and 95% thermal efficiency as its specifications, and ran pre-compliance testing (design figures; as reported by Catalytic Products International; customer not named).
The problem: VOC emissions from an electrodeposition coating line oven in a Midwest automobile manufacturer's paint shop needed control.
Published result: CPI installed an 18,000 SCFM TRITON 18.95 regenerative thermal oxidizer with 98% destruction efficiency and 95% thermal efficiency as its specifications, and ran pre-compliance testing (design figures; as reported by Catalytic Products International; customer not named).
Invited: Catalytic Products International (CPI) · Read the published case
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Wastewater treatmentInvited
Turning yogurt wastewater into boiler fuel: Danone's plant in Minster, Ohio
A PurposeEnergy anaerobic digestion pretreatment facility, costing more than $40 million and handling up to 250,000 gallons per day, was commissioned beside the plant. At full operation it is projected to send about 50,000 MMBtu of biogas a year to a dedicated Danone boiler, displace about 3,200 U.S. tons CO2e a year and avoid about 720 U.S. tons CO2e a year compared with off-site handling (projected; as reported by PurposeEnergy).
The problem: Wastewater and high-strength residuals from Danone USA's largest U.S. yogurt plant were handled off-site, and the plant burned conventional natural gas in its boiler.
Published result: A PurposeEnergy anaerobic digestion pretreatment facility, costing more than $40 million and handling up to 250,000 gallons per day, was commissioned beside the plant. At full operation it is projected to send about 50,000 MMBtu of biogas a year to a dedicated Danone boiler, displace about 3,200 U.S. tons CO2e a year and avoid about 720 U.S. tons CO2e a year compared with off-site handling (projected; as reported by PurposeEnergy).
Invited: PurposeEnergy, with Danone · Read the published case
See all 6 stories, in 3 categories, and how a session runs
- 1The problemWhat was happening at the plant.
- 2The costEnergy, maintenance, downtime or lost output.
- 3The decisionThe options they weighed, and why this one.
- 4The workWhat changed, how long it took, what went wrong.
- 5The resultsMeasured before and after. Achieved, estimated or identified, said plainly.
- 6The lessonsWhat another plant should check first.
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Wastewater treatment
3 stories invited · 1 open slot-
Invited
Keeping fat out of the DAF at a Midwest meat rendering plant
A Kurita tallow recovery program, started in September 2023, cut FOG from between six and seven pounds per head to approximately three to four lbs./head, and stick water fat is now consistently less than one percent (as reported by Kurita America; customer not named).
The problem: Stick water returned to the dissolved air flotation systems carried more than seven percent fat, and the plant's tallow missed its customer's 2 percent free fatty acid spec.
Published result: A Kurita tallow recovery program, started in September 2023, cut FOG from between six and seven pounds per head to approximately three to four lbs./head, and stick water fat is now consistently less than one percent (as reported by Kurita America; customer not named).
Invited: Kurita America · Read the published case
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Invited
Turning yogurt wastewater into boiler fuel: Danone's plant in Minster, Ohio
A PurposeEnergy anaerobic digestion pretreatment facility, costing more than $40 million and handling up to 250,000 gallons per day, was commissioned beside the plant. At full operation it is projected to send about 50,000 MMBtu of biogas a year to a dedicated Danone boiler, displace about 3,200 U.S. tons CO2e a year and avoid about 720 U.S. tons CO2e a year compared with off-site handling (projected; as reported by PurposeEnergy).
The problem: Wastewater and high-strength residuals from Danone USA's largest U.S. yogurt plant were handled off-site, and the plant burned conventional natural gas in its boiler.
Published result: A PurposeEnergy anaerobic digestion pretreatment facility, costing more than $40 million and handling up to 250,000 gallons per day, was commissioned beside the plant. At full operation it is projected to send about 50,000 MMBtu of biogas a year to a dedicated Danone boiler, displace about 3,200 U.S. tons CO2e a year and avoid about 720 U.S. tons CO2e a year compared with off-site handling (projected; as reported by PurposeEnergy).
Invited: PurposeEnergy, with Danone · Read the published case
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Invited
From 52 sludge haul-offs a year to an estimated nine at a U.S. food and beverage plant
Switching to Kurita's Kurifloc 204 organic coagulant cut sludge handling costs 60%, reduced haul-offs from fifty-two a year to an estimated nine, kept turbidity at 100 and less NTU, and is estimated to save over $100,000 a year (estimated, period not stated; as reported by Kurita America; customer not named).
The problem: An inorganic coagulant fed at about 500 ppm added over 100,000 pounds of sludge a year, and the plant hauled away a full dumpster every week.
Published result: Switching to Kurita's Kurifloc 204 organic coagulant cut sludge handling costs 60%, reduced haul-offs from fifty-two a year to an estimated nine, kept turbidity at 100 and less NTU, and is estimated to save over $100,000 a year (estimated, period not stated; as reported by Kurita America; customer not named).
Invited: Kurita America · Read the published case
- Open slot
Your customer's story goes here.
Solved a plant problem in this category? Propose it for the program.
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Air pollution control
3 stories invited · 1 open slot-
Invited
An RTO for the e-coat oven in a Midwest auto plant's paint shop
CPI installed an 18,000 SCFM TRITON 18.95 regenerative thermal oxidizer with 98% destruction efficiency and 95% thermal efficiency as its specifications, and ran pre-compliance testing (design figures; as reported by Catalytic Products International; customer not named).
The problem: VOC emissions from an electrodeposition coating line oven in a Midwest automobile manufacturer's paint shop needed control.
Published result: CPI installed an 18,000 SCFM TRITON 18.95 regenerative thermal oxidizer with 98% destruction efficiency and 95% thermal efficiency as its specifications, and ran pre-compliance testing (design figures; as reported by Catalytic Products International; customer not named).
Invited: Catalytic Products International (CPI) · Read the published case
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Invited
Meeting BACT on a new topcoat line at a Midwest Tier 1 auto parts supplier
CPI installed a 30,000 SCFM TRITON-30.95 RTO with a permanent total enclosure, designed and permitted to destroy at least 98% of VOCs with up to 97% thermal efficiency, and supported the formal compliance test (design figures; as reported by Catalytic Products International; customer not named).
The problem: A new topcoat line for plastic and fiberglass auto parts had to meet VOC BACT, PSD minor-source limits and a permit requirement for 100% capture.
Published result: CPI installed a 30,000 SCFM TRITON-30.95 RTO with a permanent total enclosure, designed and permitted to destroy at least 98% of VOCs with up to 97% thermal efficiency, and supported the formal compliance test (design figures; as reported by Catalytic Products International; customer not named).
Invited: Catalytic Products International (CPI) · Read the published case
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Invited
VOC compliance for coating and cleaning lines at a Midwest metal finisher
CPI installed a 20,000 scfm RTO with 98% destruction efficiency as its specification (design figure; as reported by Catalytic Products International; customer not named).
The problem: Xylene, toluene, MEK and acetone from several part coating and cleaning operations had to meet federal and state air quality rules.
Published result: CPI installed a 20,000 scfm RTO with 98% destruction efficiency as its specification (design figure; as reported by Catalytic Products International; customer not named).
Invited: Catalytic Products International (CPI) · Read the published case
- Open slot
Your customer's story goes here.
Solved a plant problem in this category? Propose it for the program.
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Monitoring & permits
Open: no story invited yet
"Invited" means invited: none of these companies has confirmed. Results are as published by the supplier; we ask every presenter for dates, baseline costs and verified results before the program is final.
Real FMA Summit rooms. No stock photography.
Get in front of the decision makers, not the crowd.
Full package
- 15 guaranteed pre-scheduled meetings
- A 20-minute case-study session
- A fully furnished exhibit
- Your corporate dining table
- Three people at full access
Add meetings up to 40 at $1,500 each.
- Any booked meeting that doesn’t happen is added to your next summit, written into your sponsor agreement.
- Each summit is capped at 20 sponsors, each solving a different problem for the people in the room.
Want the category to yourself? Each summit is capped at 20 sponsors. To talk about your category, .
- Plant leaders ask to meet you. We seat the ones who asked at your table.
- Your booked meeting schedule arrives before the summit.
- Any booked meeting that doesn't happen is added to your next summit: miss 3, and you get 15 plus 3. It's written into your sponsor agreement.
- You get the delegate list 30 days before the summit: names, titles and companies.
- Three people are included with full access. Extra passes are $2,900 each.
Or pick only what you wantMeetings from $15,000, talk $15,000, exhibit $15,000, dining table $10,000
One category, one summit. Prices in USD. Whatever you pick includes three people with full access. Meetings are booked on an opt-in basis before the summit; any booked meeting that doesn't happen is added to your next summit.
No vendor walks the show. Solution providers attend only as sponsors. A vendor that has not sponsored cannot register, attend or work the room, so the plant leaders you meet are not being chased by your competitors in the hallway.
The ten questions every sponsor asks.
Past sponsors answer all ten in one 5-minute film. Pick a question and the film jumps to its answer.
Now ask your own questions.
Answered on camera by past FMA sponsors. Recorded at past FMA summits.
Who's behind it.
Started FMA in Montreal in 2007 and has run every summit himself: 35 of them, 17,000+ meetings. Capped at 20 sponsors per summit, meetings booked before anyone arrives, and no vendor walks the show.
Read the full story
Wastewater and air quality sponsors were in 2 of the 35 summits. Every sponsor and speaker, as printed.
Open any programCapped at 20 sponsors per summit. Your next customer already has a permit deadline.
Twenty minutes with Joe Piazza: who is coming to your summit, where your company fits among its 20 sponsors, and what the agreement says. The sponsor brief has the delegate profile, the full agenda and the itemized pricing.
35 summits since 2007. Joe Piazza, who founded FMA, runs every summit himself. The videos on this page are from past summits.