Tours
Monday, February 25, 2013
Start your visit to HOUSTEX a day early with an exclusive, special access tour! See technology in action by attending one of two manufacturing tours, Thurstmaster or Toshiba, both followed by an additional tour at ARC Specialties. Each facility features a technical presentation and a tour, providing you with an inside look at their manufacturing operations and access to the technical experts behind the equipment. Lunch and transportation provided.
Space is limited so add a tour to your HOUSTEX registration today!
| $78 |
SME Members |
| $178 |
Nonmembers (includes a one-year membership to SME) |
ARC Specialties
ARC Specialties, Inc. specializes in complex and unique custom automated and robotic equipment to provide solutions for multiple industries in 22 countries worldwide. Headquartered in Houston, Texas since 1983, ARC Specialties has been the supplier of choice for engineering services, systems integration, service, parts, and training.
Visitors will see automated systems and robotic cells performing demos of welding, cutting, cladding and other various manufacturing processes. Tour will include main assembly facility and the R&D lab in the engineering & consulting facility.
Thrustmaster of Texas
Thrustmaster of Texas manufactures heavy-duty commercial marine propulsion and thrusters including deck-mounted propulsion units for barges, thru-hull azimuthing propulsion in the form of Z and L drives, retractable thrusters, transverse tunnel thrusters, and the patented Portable Dynamic Positioning System. The factory and production of all thrusters is based out of Houston and all products are developed in-house by a complete engineering department for mechanical, hydraulic, electrical, and electronic design.
Visitors will gain special access to our production and testing facilities featuring the latest in large-scale, close-tolerance CNC machining equipment, the nation’s second largest CMM inspection equipment, and automated cutting and welding operations. Experience the excitement of manufacturing processes for power units that are electric, and diesel, powered for mechanical and hydraulic driven thrusters in our 200,000 sq. ft. facility.
Toshiba International Corporation
Toshiba International Corporation (TIC) is a Toshiba America Inc. Group Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation. TIC is headquartered in Houston, Texas and employs approximately 1,700 people. TIC provides application solutions to a wide range of industries including industrial, power systems, transmission and distribution systems, and lighting systems.
Hybrid Electric Vehicle Plant:
The HEV plant, which started production one year ago, is the newest and most advanced manufacturing facility at Toshiba’s Houston location. It mass-produces electric motors and generators for hybrid vehicles. This plant is extremely lean and uses much of the newest technology to build a high quality product. The guided tour will show many of our automated processes and advanced quality monitoring systems used to produce our motors. This tour will be a must see for anyone in the manufacturing field who would like to see mass production on a high level.
Tour Schedule
| 8:00 a.m.-8:30 a.m. |
Registration/Check-In at George R. Brown Convention Center |
|
| 8:30 a.m.-9:00 a.m. |
Board Busses |
|
| 9:00 a.m. |
Depart for Tour Facility
Tour 1: Thrustmaster of Texas and ARC Specialties
Tour 2: Toshiba International Corp. and ARC Specialties |
|
| 10:15 a.m. |
Expert Led Technical Session and Tour |
|
| 11:30 a.m. |
Depart to ARC Specialties |
|
| 12:00 p.m. |
Lunch, Expert Led Technical Session and Tour |
|
| 3:00 p.m. |
Depart to George R. Brown Convention Center |
|
| 4:00 p.m. |
Arrive at George R. Brown Convention Center |
Tour Requirements
- All tour participants are subject to final approval by the host facility.
- Pre-registration is required.
- SME reserves the right to amend this program if necessary.
- Individuals MUST be 18 years of age or older to attend.
- Closed toe shoes only; steel toes not required. For safety purposes, please avoid wearing any shoes with heels.
- Safety glasses must be worn during tours and returned to host company prior to departure.
- No cameras, videos, note-taking, sketching, texting or phone use of any kind while on the tour.
- No luggage, backpacks, bags, etc. allowed on the tour.
