By Mark Norton — Northwest I-90 Manufacturing Alliance (NIMA)
“Our similarities bring us to a common ground; Our differences allow us to be fascinated by each other.”
Our team at NIMA (Northwest I90 Manufacturing Alliance) is in full-on planning mode for our annual conference in Coeur d’Alene on May 26th-27th, 2026. Once again, our focus will be cross sector, with speakers discussing everything from AI and robotics, to the outlook with Boeing and the aviation industry.
A perfect example of a cross-sector focus is our keynote speaker, Chris Wood. An Eastern Washington native who grew up on a farm, he is a world-renowned expert in lean manufacturing. He will be talking about how he used those principles for helping George Lucas build his new Museum of Narrative Art — opening September 2026 in Los Angeles. The building itself looks like a starship from the future, and Chris helped figure out how to stitch together custom panels to create this amazing structure. Expect some GREAT visuals at the event!
Our Inland Northwest region is very diverse in the markets that it serves — aerospace, medical devices, clean energy, test and control, etc. That is why our conference always looks for the common ground that impacts all of those manufacturing sectors. Too often, I think we become “siloed,” thinking that our industry focus is unique, when there are a lot of common problems that together, we can work to solve.
Expect to see a lot of regional diversity from Idaho, Montana, British Columbia and Alberta. Our speakers will include leadership from ConvergX in Calgary, which recently inked an agreement with Boeing to support the Xpand program for new suppliers and new technology in Central Canada. Boeing itself recognizes that technology from other industries has applications that can super charge innovation in aerospace.
We hope that you will join us in Coeur d’Alene, one of the garden spots of the Inland Northwest, and prepare to be challenged and entertained by some out-of-the-box thinking. See you in May!
Mark Norton and team
Northwest I90 Manufacturing Alliance
