(Detroit, Michigan) – Controls-Con, a bi-annual conference proudly presented by Cochrane Supply & Engineering, will educate attendees on the latest technologies and possibilities of Building Controls, Building Automation and the Internet of Things (IoT) at the MotorCity Casino Hotel on May 2nd and 3rd, 2019. 

During this streamlined, power-packed event, contractors, systems integrators, service technicians, facility managers, engineers and more will join an industry-leading speaker lineup to dive into current hot topics and where the industry is heading. After attendees get an initial opportunity to browse the Building Automation Trade Show floor and network during lunch, the impactful 3.5-hour general session will kick off in MotorCity Casino Hotel’s state-of-the-art Sound Board Theater. Here’s a glimpse of what they can expect from this powerful group of keynotes:

• Scott Cochrane, President and CEO of Cochrane Supply & Engineering, will discuss the rapid change taking place in the building controls industry, demonstrating new technologies that attendees should be aware of and why. See indoor positioning and artificial intelligence in action and the benefits these technologies bring to your customers and buildings.
• Ken Sinclair, Editor, Owner and Founder of AutomatedBuildings.com, will address new ways of thinking about technology and how the Dawn of Disruption is upon us. As an industry that will survive, Ken notes that we need to be the people Doing the Disruption, not the ones just watching and waiting to be Disrupted. It’s time for building emotion and focusing on the occupant experience—it’s time to build elegant mindful bridges between disruption, innovation, and reality. Ken feels our industry is on a journey towards Automated Intelligence and that for now is the "AI" we are talking about. The interlocking "AI" Autonomous Interaction occurs when we start Automating Intelligence. It is early days but we need to learn how to walk before we can allow true "AI" to run our buildings.  
  
• Laurent Vernerey, EVP and President of the Technology Group at Acuity Brands, Inc. will focus on what the industry looks like, dive deeper into indoor positioning systems and where it’s successful, cases where it’s bringing value to the end customers, how to unify lighting and HVAC, what will disrupt contractors positively or negatively, how to reduce hours to be competitive in the marketplace, and how buildings are shifting from costs to assets.
  
• James Burke, VP and General Manager of Building Automation Systems at Johnson Controls, will address their converging businesses and how contractors should be changing also. Learn about plans for packaged HVAC equipment with smart controls that will communicate to any BAS system and why it’s important to understand.
  
• Kevin Smith, Chief Technology Officer at Tridium, will discuss openness and flexibility needed to adapt to new technologies and new trends, as well as what’s being done to enable that. Discover the evolution of Niagara, why it’s moving to the Edge, and what it means for you.  Other topics will include cyber security, the reliability of applications, the openness of data structures, and how to streamline business, not make it bulkier.
  
• Jim Young, Co-Founder and CEO of Realcomm Conference Group, will further touch on current trends such as cyber security and privacy, better ways to engage with end users and position yourself, letting go of traditional building automation and grabbing onto IT to achieve a perfect balance of skills, an emphasized need for change, and much more.
  

Following Jim Young’s speaking portion, all of these speakers will come together on stage to form a moderated panel, allowing for questions and discussion points to come from the audience as well. Once the panel wraps up, attendees will be welcomed to the MotorCity Casino Hotel’s Grand Ballroom for a huge networking reception with nearly 30 trade show booths lined along the room’s perimeter. Vendors will include VYKON by Tridium, Honeywell, Johnson Controls, and Distech Controls, all of which attendees will have the opportunity to meet with one-on-one to help them strategize for the future. 

Controls-Con attendees will then have the opportunity to enjoy a sit-down dinner and watch the 2019 Controls-Con Awards that will recognize winners for Product Hall of Fame, Integrator of the Year, and Industrial IoT Innovation. The excitement will continue with entertainment, more networking, and refreshments for the remainder of the evening.

Enter Day Two, and the Controls-Con spotlighted breakout sessions. Attendees will have the option of choosing between the Business Track (geared towards sales professionals, managers, and executives) or the Technology Track (geared towards programmers and engineers), each taking place from 9am-12pm.

The Business Track will bring in a panel of large end users that are using an IoT framework on a large scale, with discussions focusing on best practices in how they’re implementing it, what they like, what they don’t, and much more. Dive into real-life examples of how IoT is changing the business we work in, and get inspired with new, fresh ideas to grow and differentiate your business. The projects discussed will be unique and varied, as the speakers in this track will stretch across many industry segments. Confirmed speakers include:

• Host: Scott Cochrane, President/CEO, Cochrane Supply & Engineering
• Host: Ken Sinclair, Editor/Owner/Founder, Automatedbuildings.com
  
• Joe Pattenaude, Director of Building Systems at Bedrock
• David Ditton, Senior Project Engineer at GM Sustainable Workplaces
• Jesse Hopkins, Business Project Manager at Nationwide Insurance
• Gerry Hamilton, Director of Facilities Energy Management, Stanford University
• Mike Miotto, Global Infrastructure and Collaboration Fulfillment Manager, Ford Motor Company

The Technology Track will run concurrently and focus on concepts and best practices surrounding the “Integration Lifecycle.” Topics will include Network Planning, N4 System Database, Tag Dictionaries and Hierarchy Planning, Authentications, Virtual Points, N4 Analytics, Responsive Panes, and more! The speakers leading the charge here will be:

• James Johnson, Sales Engineer at Tridium
• Kevin Williamson, Technical Support Manager at Tridium
• Kevin Mamajek, IoT Sales Engineer at Tridium
• Mike Mitchell, CTO, Cochrane Supply & Engineering
• The Cochrane Tech Services Team
  

Grab one final lunch, network, and/or continue to browse the exhibitor showcase for another hour before Controls-Con comes to an end. Hundreds of industry professionals have already reserved their spots… have you?

For more details or to register now, visit www.controlscon.com!

Controls-Con At a Glance:

Cochrane Supply & Engineering was founded in 1967 and has grown into a multi-award-winning company and a Leading Industrial IoT Supplier with locations in Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky. Cochrane Supply is proud to be your source of building controls products and hardware to connect to the internet, as well as software and world-class support to enable and successfully implement functional integrations. Representing the industry’s top manufacturers, Cochrane Supply’s diverse product lines blend innovation and solutions for successful facility management and improved building efficiency when it comes to HVAC, security, energy, lighting, gas-detection, and more.