The changing manufacturing environment requires more responsive and adaptable manufacturing systems. The theme of the 4^th International Conference on Changeable, Agile, Reconfigurable and Virtual production (CARV2011) is 'Enabling Manufacturing Competitiveness and Economic Sustainability'. Leading edge research and best implementation practices and experiences, which address these important issues and challenges, are presented. The proceedings include advances in manufacturing systems design, planning, evaluation, control and evolving paradigms such as mass customization, personalization, changeability, re-configurability and flexibility. New and important concepts such as the dynamic product families and platforms, co-evolution of products and systems, and methods for enhancing manufacturing systems' economic sustainability and prolonging their life to produce more than one product generation are treated. Enablers of change in manufacturing systems, production volume and capability scalability and managing the volatility of markets, competition among global enterprises and the increasing complexity of products, manufacturing systems and management strategies are discussed. Industry challenges and future directions for research and development needed to help both practitioners and academicians are presented.

Professor Hoda A. ElMaraghy is Director of the Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS) Centre, University of Windsor and Canada Research Chair in Manufacturing Systems (since 2002). She obtained Master & PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering from McMaster University where she was Professor and founding Director of its FMS R&D Centre. In 1994 she became the first woman Dean of Engineering in Canada at the University of Windsor.
Professor ElMaraghy is a Fellow of CIRP, SME and CSME and senior Member of ASME. She received numerous honours and awards. She is a member of the Editorial Board of several international journals. Her current research includes: Manufacturing Systems Flexibility, Reconfiguration and Changeability, Products and Production Systems Modelling and Co-Evolution and Process and Production Planning. She trained more than 100 Master and PhD students and has over 380 publications.