Paul Akers, founder and president, FastCap LLC, will deliver a keynote address at the 2020 Manufacturer and Distributor Innovation Conference.
Held in conjunction with The Work Truck Show 2020, the conference offers a full day of training about how technology, best practices and lean thinking can power business success and teaches commercial truck manufacturers, upfitters, distributors and body builders of all sizes how to improve manufacturing efficiency and business results using the latest techniques and technology.
“Akers has real-world, practical experience using lean manufacturing principles to transform a company he started in his garage into a global operation,” says Doyle Sumrall, NTEA managing director. “He will share how the power of lean thinking can be successfully applied to various aspects of life and business to achieve continuous improvement and innovation.”
Akers is founder and president of FastCap, a product development firm specializing in woodworking tools and hardware for the professional builder. In 2000, he began using lean manufacturing principles to quickly take his small start-up company into one that now has distribution in more than 40 countries. FastCap launches 20 to 30 innovative products per year.
In 2013, Akers was invited to do a TEDx talk on innovation, and in 2017, was selected as No. 3 Individual Thought Leaders & Influencers in The Global State of Operational Excellence, Critical Challenges & Future Trends. He hosts a weekly podcast, The American Innovator, where he teaches about the power of innovation and lean thinking, and wrote three books — 2 Second Lean, Lean Health and Lean Travel.
