The 5th International Conference on Changeable, Agile, Reconfigurable and Virtual Production (CARV 2013) will take place in Munich, Germany on 6-9 October, 2013. It offers a forum for engineers, scientists and researchers from academia and industry to discuss current practices and future challenges germane to the success and survival of manufacturing in a changing and globally competitive environment. This year’s theme of CARV 2013 is “Enabling Manufacturing Competitiveness and Economic Sustainability.” It features several focus areas highlighted by: • Manufacturing Systems • Product and Production Co-Development • Global Competitiveness and Sustainability • Enablers of Change and Manufacturing Success • Enterprise and Knowledge Management • Application and Trends The conference is organized by the Intelligent Manufacturing System (IMS) Centre, University of Windsor, Canada and the Institute for Machine Tools and Industrial Management (iwb), Technical University of Munich, Germany. It is supported by a strong International Scientific Committee to ensure best quality and global participation. On behalf of the Organizing Committee members, we extend to each and everyone an invitation to participate. We look forward to welcoming all of you during CARV 2013 in Munich.