Metalforming Matters

Did you know?     PMA has partnered with various organizations in order to provide discounts on industry-tailored services available exclusively for PMA members.  As an exclusive benefit to PMA members, APPI Energy can review electricity and natural gas bills and recommend many reliable suppliers with competitive pricing.  PMA members can lower costs and increase margins when they ship with YRC Freight, the original LTL (less-than-truckload) experts. PMA has negotiated special rates for members for qualifying LTL shipments.  PMA has partnered with Grainger to provide members with discounts on MRO products and services. Grainger has more than 450,000 products in stock. This includes more than 130,000 metalworking products.  Put logistics to work for you with industry-leading shipping solutions from UPS. PMA members can take advantage of special savings on package and freight shipping -- designed to help you work smarter and ach...

Each month, the PMA Member Spotlight features an outstanding member sharing his/her insights into the latest industry trends and technologies.  PMA is pleased to introduce third-generation metalformer, Andrew Bader, sales and marketing director for Ohio Gasket and Shim (OGS), Akron, OH .  Andrew’s grandfather started OGS in 1959 as a small shop to service the local industry.  More than 50 years later, the company has expanded in size and capacity to become a national leader in high-precision metal stampings, gaskets, shims, metal fabrication, brackets, and military and export packaging.  Hear Andrew’s thoughts about the challenges of finding skilled workers, how he incorporates social media into his company’s marketing strategy, what’s on his wish list for his plant in 2015 and much more!  Andrew Badar, Sales and Marketing Director, OGS Industries Q:        Which job classifications are the most challenging ...

CLEVELAND, OH—January 21, 2015—According to the January 2015 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report, metalforming companies are optimistic about business conditions during the next three months.  Prepared monthly, the report is an economic indicator for manufacturing, sampling 133 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada. The January report shows that 45% of participants predict that economic activity will improve during the next three months (up sharply from 29% in December), 49% expect that activity will remain unchanged (compared to 58% last month) and only 6% believe that economic activity will decline (down from 13% in December). Metalforming companies also anticipate a spike in incoming orders during the next three months, with 50% predicting an increase in orders (up from 37% in December), 42% anticipating no change (compared to 51% in December) and 8% expecting a decrease in orders (down from 12% in December). Current avera...

The Guardian ran an interesting piece today in the lead-up to tonight's sixth State of the Union speech by President Obama. "If it's possible to gauge administration interest in an issue by the number of mentions it gets," the paper posits, "then a survey of State of the Union speeches since 1981 reveals that emphasis on manufacturing...is a relatively recent phenomenon." The article notes that Presidents Reagan, Bush Sr., and Clinton made virtually no mention of manufacturing in the addresses during their tenures. And then, writer Benjamin Preston notes, President George W. Bush offered only one comment on manufacturing, a passing mention that came in a list of other items during his 2004 address. Preston contrasts those years with the tenure of President Obama who, he says, has offered substantive remarks on manufacturing in his annual addresses in the years 2012, 2013 and 2014. The article tells readers to again expect the president to focus ...

A new Associated Press article reports on the impact of the high dollar on American companies who operate internationally. The piece, written by Paul Wiseman and Stan Choe describes how this "symbol of American economic might" can actually harm U.S. companies when they export products overseas. PMA member Ralph Hardt is quoted in the piece . "It's started to bite," the article quotes Hardt as saying.   Hardt, who is president of the Jagemann Stamping Co. in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, notes that exports account for about one-fifth of his company's revenue. He says in the article, "You risk having a (foreign) competitor getting between you and your customer." Read the full piece here .

A new story in the Washington Post reports that U.S. small businesses added 106,000 workers in the month of December. Writer J.D. Harrison reported that, in the year 2014, small businesses added more than 1 million employees. This is an increase of about 10,000 jobs per month over 2013 numbers. Read the full story for more on how these numbers may be another good sign of recovery for Main Street.

President Obama made a stop at a Ford assembly plant about 20 miles west of Detroit this week.  During his speech there he said, “Since 2010, America has put more people back to work than Europe, Japan and every other advanced economy combined. Let me tell you what is leading the way: American manufacturing." He also said, “After a decade of decline, American manufacturing is in its best stretch of job growth since the 1990s." Read more about the speech and the latest in the manufacturing sector in this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story .