The 11th GCSM will take place at the Production Technology Centre (PTZ) in Berlin. The centre combines the competencies of both the Institute for Machine Tools and Factory Management of TU Berlin IWF and the Fraunhofer-Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK. The PTZ’s focus is technology and management in industrial value creation. This covers modern solutions and innovations based on a long tradition in manufacturing technology. In order to solve the major sustainability challenges of the 21st century, the Institutes’ activities are progessively expanding to relevant emerging areas, e.g. renewable energy supply, resource cycle oriented technology and circular economy. Those efforts sum up in the Collaborative Research Centre “Sustainable Manufacturing – Shaping Global Value Creation”, supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The 11th GCSM will overlap with the PTK 2013 Conference (www.efficient-factories.com), which will provide in-depth technological answers to many of the questions raised more generally at the GCSM. The PTK is a well established industry-oriented conference on manufacturing innovation held on 25th - 26th September 2013 at PTZ.