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KALAMAZOO--The use of technology in revolutionizing the manufacturing industry will be the topic later this month when the head of a leading manufacturing technology firm speaks at É«É«À² Michigan University.

Mike Dunlop, chief executive officer and founder of the technology-based quality system company Net-Inspect, will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 20, in Brown Auditorium of Schneider Hall, home of the Haworth College of Business. His talk, "The Rebirth of American Manufacturing through Supply Chain Excellence," will provide perspectives on competitiveness, employment and the use of technology in the manufacturing environment.

Dunlop's talk is free and open to the public. Reservations can be made by calling the dean's office at (269) 387-5050. Parking is available in the nearby Fetzer Center parking lot.

After 17 years in turnaround consulting, Dunlop, a British expatriate, founded QPM Aerospace in 1998, a company he grew from $400,000 to $40 million in sales during the 10 years he was at its helm. QPM was named by the Puget Sound Business Journal as one of the fastest growing private businesses in Washington State on three separate occasions.

Due to the critical nature of the aerospace components that QPM produced, Dunlop was continuously searching for ways to more effectively manage quality as it relates to complex components--and that led him to design Net-Inspect.

Headquartered in Kirkland, Wash., Net-Inspect is a web-based system that eliminates the need for traditional quality inspectors and prevents defective parts from ever being produced. The system is used across a broad spectrum of industries from aerospace and medical to electronics.

Now, 11 years since its inception, Net-Inspect is revolutionizing American manufacturing, The system is used by more than 4,000 companies in 40 countries worldwide, including Boeing, RollsRoyce, GE (Unison), Honeywell, Lockheed, Hawker, Cessna, Spirit Aerospace and many others.