SME's WESTEC 2001 is the 'Land of Plenty' For West Coast Manufacturing Resources

    LOS ANGELES, March 23 For West Coast manufacturers in
search of the latest resources, WESTEC 2001 is the place to be -- a hands-on,
up-close and personal opportunity to see, compare and learn about the latest
metalworking and manufacturing equipment, services and technical information.
Offering a comprehensive array of machine tools and accessories, rapid
prototyping and design resources, job shops, and technical information, North
America's largest annual metalworking and manufacturing exposition is a high-
tech "land of plenty" during its four-day run March 26-29.
    Opening Monday at the Los Angeles Convention Center, WESTEC 2001 will fill
the facility with 843 machine tool builders, regional distributors, job shops
and other exhibitors displaying and demonstrating the latest machine tools,
metalworking technologies and manufacturing processes in 345,000 net square
feet.  More than 300 companies will unveil a total of nearly 700 new products
and services.

    Pavilions Showcase Vital Technologies, Equipment and Services
    New on the WESTEC show floor are the Rapid Prototyping and Design Pavilion
and the International Pavilion.  The Rapid Prototyping and Design Pavilion
(located in South Hall) will highlight the entire design-to-prototype-to-part-
manufacturing process, and the International Pavilion (located in West Hall)
will highlight new exhibitors featuring machinery and equipment from around
the world.  The annual Job Shop Pavilion will return to Kentia Hall (lower
level of South Building) to provide contract manufacturing services from
leading job shop companies offering cost-effective design and manufacturing of
parts, components and sub-assemblies made of metal, plastic and rubber.
    Show hours for WESTEC 2001 are: South and West Halls open at 9 a.m. and
close at 6 p.m. March 26-28 (close at 4 p.m., March 29), and Kentia Hall opens
and close one hour earlier each day.
    WESTEC 2001 features equipment and products from 2,500 international
product lines, representing more than 150 technology categories, including:
machine tools and accessories; cutting tools and inserts; milling; grinding
and deburring; drilling and tapping; EDM; CAD/CAM; machine controls; flexible
manufacturing systems; waterjet cutting; finishing; laser systems and more.
    WESTEC is co-sponsored by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME),
the American Machine Tool Distributors Association (AMTDA), and AMT - The
Association For Manufacturing Technology.  WESTEC is part of the Advanced
Productivity Exposition (APEX) Series produced by SME.  APEX events bring
together builders, distributors and users of machine tools and metalworking
equipment in key U.S. manufacturing centers.