The 2012 WHMA Annual Wire Harness Conference is scheduled for February 15-17 in Orlando. The Walt Disney World Swan Hotel will serve as headquarters.

The conference will feature a number of timely presentations on topics important to every wire harness manufacturer and supplier. Here is a sampling.  

• Jason Piatt, President, Praestar Technology Corp., will make two presentations. They center around workforce development and business development: “Workforce Development for Strategic Competitive Advantage” and “Growth in Turbulent Times: Selling Without Being the Cheapest Guy in Town”
• Dave Bender is the Director of Product Compliance for TE Connectivity.  In this capacity he is responsible for establishing the strategies and associated policies, procedures, and systems that are driving the TE Global Business Units to compliance with RoHS, REACH, WEEE and other global product compliance initiatives. Dave will lead session entitled, “REACH, RoHS and other Regulations: Are You Prepared?”
•  Brian Hirt is the Marketing Manager at IEWC, a global wire and cable distributor based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin dedicated to serving customers in the OEM and sub-assembly market. His presentation at the Conference is,  “ Developing a Strategy Around Commodity Prices.”
• Dave Pheteplace, Bishop & Associates, Inc., will discuss the “Current Health and Future of the Interconnect Industry”.  Dave will also give an update on the North American Cable Assembly Manufacturers report that is for sale through WHMA.
• Michael Wurzman of RSJ Technical Consulting, will make a presentation on, “Conflict Minerals Legislation.”
•  There will also be panel discussions on “What Lies Ahead for the IPC / WHMA A-620a Workmanship Standard”  and “Benchmarking”. And of course the always popular Best Practice Roundtables on the top topics of the day.

Conference Refund Policy: Members that cancel in writing before January 10, 2012 will receive a refund minus a $100 administrative fee.  Non-members that cancel in writing before January 10, 2012 will receive a credit for the 2013 Annual conference, minus a $100 administrative fee.  No refunds after January 10, 2012. 

WHMA Challenge Testing - Wednesday, February 15

WHMA will offer CIT Challenge Testing to reamin certified as a trainer for the IPC/WHMA A-620 A standard. The charge for the challenge test is $525. You are asked to bring your own copy of the A-620 book. The test iwll be administered by Tyco Electronics - an IPC approved A-620 training center. If you have an active account with Tyco Electronics, you can register for the course with purchase order information. If not, Tyco will accept Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. To register contact Rick Hawthorne (717) 810-2417 or email rlhawtho@te.com.

Golf Outing Info:  Must provide own transportation.

February 15 at the ChampionsGate International.  Fee covers green fee, cart, lunch and prizes.

Hotel Info:  When attending the conference please consider registering at The Swan.  This will help the WHMA organization fulfill their room block commitment.  Call 407-934-4000 for in-house reservations.  Room rate is $199 for single or double.  Room block cut-off date is January 21, 2012.   Indicate you are with WHMA or Wire Harness Manufacturers Association.  Please call Kathi Schlieff if you have trouble with your reservation at 952-253-6085.

Discounted Disney Tickets: For advance purchase savings on specially priced Disney Meeting/Convention Theme Park tickets, call (407) 566-5600 or visit their website at: https://disneytickets.disney.go.com/store/swan2012.

Transportation Info: MEARS Transportation provides a $4.00 convention discount.  Visit their website at http://www.mearstransportation.com.