Recapping two days of strategy, hands-on training, and 1:1 planning at the Historic Hotel Bethlehem

The Autodesk PLM Workshop opens at the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.

Two Days, One Connected Valley

On September 1–2, 2026, Hagerman & Company welcomed manufacturing leaders, engineers, and IT professionals to the Historic Hotel Bethlehem for our Autodesk PLM Workshop. The event was built around a simple idea: successful Product Lifecycle Management isn't just a technical rollout; it's a business strategy. Over two days, attendees moved between executive-level discussions and hands-on technical training, all aimed at helping teams get more value out of Vault PLM and Fusion Manage.

The agenda paired big-picture thinking with practical skill-building. Day one combined keynote presentations, a real-world customer case study, and a choice of breakout workshops. Day two offered something rarer: private, 1:1 executive sessions where attendees could map out their own PLM roadmap directly with Autodesk and Hagerman experts.

Day One: Strategy Meets Hands-On Training

Setting the Stage

The morning opened with a welcome from Hagerman's team, followed by an executive presentation on Autodesk's data and process strategy from Loren Welch, Director of Business Strategy for Data and Process at Autodesk. Loren's session framed the rest of the day, highlighting where PLM investment is heading and why cost control remains the top challenge manufacturers are wrestling with today.

Loren Welch presents Autodesk survey data showing cost control as manufacturers' top challenge, with AI adoption close behind.

A Real Customer's Ten-Year Journey

One of the most valuable sessions of the day came from Doris Pichardo, Document Control Manager at C&D Technologies/Trojan Battery Company. Doris has managed Fusion Manage since becoming an administrator in 2019, and she shared candid lessons from over a decade of continuous improvement.

Start small, create a simple workspace with an easy, straightforward workflow, then add to it as you see what additional items, fields, or workflows are needed. Don't try to do it all yourself — if you get stuck, reach out for help.
— Doris Pichardo, C&D Technologies/Trojan Battery Company

Her practical advice — map the process before building it, test changes in a sandbox environment, and lean on Hagerman's service hours instead of troubleshooting alone — resonated with a room full of administrators facing the same growing pains.

Doris walks the room through her "Lessons Learned" slide, built from ten-plus years managing PLM.

Choose Your Own Track

After lunch and a session on how Vault PLM supports Manufacturing Bill of Materials (MBOM) management — including a live look at the MBOM Editor tool from Applications Engineer Josh Johnson — attendees split into two workshop tracks. Leaders could join an Executive Workshop focused on preparing for a successful implementation project, while technical champions rolled up their sleeves in a hands-on session covering BOM and change management in Autodesk PLM.

Emad Mian outlines what to expect from the Executive Workshop track, including building a quantifiable business case.

Identifying key personas for a successful PLM rollout — from executive sponsors to system administrators.

The day wrapped up with a happy hour that gave attendees a chance to keep the conversation going informally — often where the best follow-up questions get asked.

Day Two: A Private Executive Experience

The second day looked very different. Rather than a full agenda of sessions, Wednesday was reserved for limited-availability, 1:1 executive experiences. In these private conversations, attendees worked directly with Autodesk and Hagerman experts to align on their goals and project scope, map resources and prerequisites within the Autodesk ecosystem, and leave with a tailored implementation roadmap.

Keeping the seats intentionally limited meant every conversation was substantive — less a conference session and more a working meeting focused entirely on one organization's next steps.

How Hagerman Supports the Next Step

For attendees ready to move forward, the workshop closed with a look at how Hagerman helps translate these conversations into action — from Quick Start packages for BOM and change management to helping teams convert file-based Vault environments to items-based ones.

"How Does Hagerman Help" — closing out with the Quick Start packages and services available to attendees.

Looking Ahead

Events like this one reflect what we hear from customers again and again: PLM success depends less on the software itself and more on having the right plan, the right people, and the right partner alongside you. Whether your team is just starting to explore Vault PLM or has been running Fusion Manage for years, the same principles Doris shared apply — map it out, start small, and don't be afraid to ask for help.

If your organization couldn't join us in Bethlehem this year, our team is happy to walk through what a similar roadmap could look like for your facility.

Ready to map out your own PLM roadmap?

Connect with a Hagerman advisor to talk through where your team stands today and what a practical next step could look like — no pressure, just a conversation.