FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wohlers
to Keynote Conference in South Africa
Global Alliance of Rapid Prototyping
Associations (GARPA) Scheduled to Meet at Event
FORT
COLLINS, COLORADO, USA, September 4, 2001—Industry
consultant, analyst, and author Terry Wohlers, president of Wohlers
Associates, Inc. (wohlersassociates.com),
will serve as the keynote speaker at the Second Annual Conference on Rapid
Technologies in South Africa. The event is November 14-15 in Stellenbosch
near Cape Town. Wohlers served as keynote speaker at last year's first
annual conference in Pretoria, South Africa.
"The use of CAD/CAM, rapid prototyping, and related technologies in
South Africa is advancing at an impressive pace," Wohlers said. He attributes
much of this progress to the launching of the Rapid Product Development
Association of South Africa, founded in November 2000 at the first
conference. “The
excitement of using these technologies is contagious,” Wohlers stated.
“So the association has a very important role to play.”
In connection with the event, the association will serve as host to Global
Summit 2001, the annual meeting of the Global Alliance of Rapid
Prototyping Associations (GARPA). The alliance is made up of 15 groups and
associations in Australia, Canada, mainland China, Denmark, Finland,
France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, South Africa,
Sweden, the UK, and the USA. GARPA serves as a catalyst
for the exchange of information on rapid prototyping and tooling across
international borders. Terry Wohlers and Dr. Ian Gibson of the University
of Hong Kong co-founded GARPA in 1998. More information on it is
available at www.garpa.org.
The conference will include such topics as CAD/CAM/CAE, industrial design,
rapid prototyping and tooling, and high-speed machining in tool and die
making. In his keynote presentation, Wohlers will concentrate on worldwide
developments and trends in rapid product development. “The South
Africans are outstanding organizers and hosts, so I am
really looking forward to being a part of this fine event again this
year,” Wohlers stated.
Terry Wohlers
has authored more than 250 books, articles,
reports, and technical papers on engineering and manufacturing automation.
One of his most recent publications, Wohlers Report 2001, is a
250-page softbound publication on rapid prototyping and tooling
developments and trends. It was developed with input from 53 industry
experts, 43 service providers, 23 machine manufacturers, and countless
others worldwide. Last year, Wohlers gave featured presentations in
France, Germany, Israel, Japan, South Africa, Sweden, the USA, and Wales.
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