Mike Ridelinger, Dominic Myers
The use of AI in small and medium companies and the decarbonization of waste streams are two topics to be covered in panel discussions at the BPU’s Retool’26 Conference on June 9.
The two breakout panel discussions are part of the larger day-long program that features keynote speakers from Viridi and Cummins and a panel of energy innovators from start-up companies located across the country. The New York State (NYS) Deputy Secretary of Energy Sean Ewart will be the keynote lunchtime speaker.
The Industry 4.0 Panel includes Punit Shetty, Principal Consultant for the Alliance for Manufacturing and Technology; Dan Vrana, Automation Team Leader for Buffalo Manufacturing Works; and Jason Horn, Senior Sales Engineer for R.W. Earl Automation Solutions. Dominic Myers, President of ProperlyWorks and President of the Buffalo Niagara Manufacturing Alliance (BNMA), will moderate the session.
The group will provide examples of successful implementations of robots and AI applications in businesses. The discussion will include some of the financial and productivity improvements that companies have experienced as a result of utilizing these tools.
The second panel, titled “The Business of Decarbonizing Our Waste,” will include Trevor Mance, Business Development Director for Casella; Vaishali Maheshkar, Owner of RecycleVision AI; Mark Walluk, Technical Program Manager for RIT’s Golisano Institute for Sustainability, and Kevin Newton, Technical Program Director for the Pollution Prevention Institute at RIT. Michael Riedlinger, Managing Director for Technology Commercialization at Scale for ClimateTech and NextCorps, will be the moderator.
This panel will highlight resources available to all businesses in the state to help them reduce the amount of waste in their facilities. Some of the panelists have worked closely on projects in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties and are familiar with challenges related to reducing waste and recycling materials.
Tickets for Retool’26 are available at: Retool26.eventbrite.com with discounted pricing for purchase of two or more tickets by one organization. For more information, contact Ellen Ditonto at 716-661-1686 or by email at businessdev@jamestownbpu.com.
Leave a Reply