Metalforming Matters

CLEVELAND, OH—June 12, 2015—According to the June 2015 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report, metalforming companies expect little change in business conditions during the next three months. Prepared monthly, the report is an economic indicator for manufacturing, sampling 121 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada. The June report shows that 23% of participants predict that economic activity will improve during the next three months (down from 24% in May), 60% expect that activity will remain unchanged (the same percentage reported last month) and 17% believe that economic activity will decline (up from 16% in May). Metalforming companies forecast a slight dip in incoming orders during the next three months, with 33% predicting an increase in orders (down from 35% in May), 48% anticipating no change (compared to 50% in May) and 19% expecting a decrease in orders (up from 15% last month). Current average daily shipping levels also dec...

Hayley Milloy, Julie Barnes and Ben Taylor have joined the Precision Metalforming Association and Women in Manufacturing teams as part of the PMA/WiM summer internship program. Hayley Milloy is from Rocky River, Ohio and is a recent graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She received a Bachelor of Science in Business, majoring in Marketing, and minoring in English Literature. Julie Barnes resides in Akron, Ohio and is a recent graduate of Stark State College of Technology in North Canton, Ohio. She received an Associate’s Degree in Digital Video Media and is attending school again in the fall for Photography. Ben Taylor calls North Canton, Ohio home and will be a senior at Miami University this fall. He is pursuing a degree in Strategic Communications, with double minors in Economics and General Business, concentrating on Media Economics.  Hayley Milloy Marketing & Communications Intern (WiM)  Julie Barnes Videography & Photography Intern (P...

This week, Precision Metalforming Association member company B.L. Duke was ranked 40th in a Crain’s Chicago article featuring an annual summary of Chicago's fastest-growing companies, known as the “Fast Fifty.” The rankings include 50 companies that accomplished notable gains over a five-year period and highlight new companies that appear on the list. The CEOs of potential “Fast Fifty” companies were interviewed by Crain’s to find out how they were able to grow, what they did to improve and how they will continue their success moving forward. B.L. Duke has grown almost 300 percent over the past five years. As an industrial clean-up company, they specialize in the processing of recycled metal, plastic and cardboard refuse, which is then sold to steel mills and plastic manufacturers worldwide. CEO Lou Plucinski attributes their success to a limited loss of business, which is unique in the industry today. He also credits the company’s exponent...

CLEVELAND, OH—May 13, 2015—According to the May 2015 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report, metalforming companies expect softening business conditions during the next three months. Prepared monthly, the report is an economic indicator for manufacturing, sampling 126 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada. The May report shows that 24% of participants predict that economic activity will improve during the next three months (down from 33% in April), 60% expect that activity will remain unchanged (compared to 58% last month) and 16% believe that economic activity will decline (up from 9% in April). Metalforming companies also forecast a decline in incoming orders during the next three months, with 35% predicting an increase in orders (down from 41% in April), 50% anticipating no change (compared to 47% in April) and 15% expecting a decrease in orders (up from 12% last month). Current average daily shipping levels also dipped in May. T...

PMA’s Awards of Excellence in Metalforming recognizes the high standards of achievement set by the metalforming industry in the areas of design, quality, safety, training and education, process control, product development and productivity. Winning companies benefit from:  company acknowledgement at the FABTECH tradeshow. recognition in a video presentation highlighting the winning companies' accomplishments prominent coverage in MetalForming magazine reaching more than 55,000 readers in the metalforming industry. customized announcements to send to your key customers, suppliers and prospects. key presence on PMA's website, visited by nearly 100,000 people annually. induction into the prestigious winners circle This sounds great, doesn't it? So what’s stopping you from applying?  “I don’t have time to fill out an awards application—I’m too busy developing innovative training and safety programs, evaluating suggestions for improving productivity, and pr...

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 highlight Karla Aaron, president of Hialeah Metal Spinning, Inc. (HMS), Hialeah, FL. Established in 1957, HMS is a woman-owned company specializing in metal spinning and deep drawing. The company has distinguished itself from other metalformers by combining the benefits of spinning and deep drawing to create a competitive advantage for its customers. This combination allows HMS to offer the most cost-effective solution for each application, while ensuring superior quality. Read about Karla’s thoughts on technology challenges facing metalformers, finding skilled workers, what’s on her wish list for her facility this year and more! Karla Aaron, President, Hialeah Metal Spinning, Inc.  Q: Which job classifications are the most challenging to find skilled workers? A: Finding what I call “talent” is always a ch...

CLEVELAND, OH—April 17, 2015—According to the April 2015 Precision Metalforming Association  (PMA) Business Conditions Report, metalforming companies expect little change in business conditions during the next three months. Prepared monthly, the report is an economic indicator for manufacturing, sampling 120 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada. The April report shows that 33% of participants predict that economic activity will improve during the next three months (down from 35% in March), 58% expect that activity will remain unchanged (the same percentage reported last month) and 9% believe that economic activity will decline (up from 7% in March). Metalforming companies also forecast that incoming orders will remain steady during the next three months, with 41% predicting an increase in orders (down from 43% in March), 47% anticipating no change (the same percentage reported in March) and 12% expecting a decrease in orders (up from 10% last month). Current...