Metalforming Matters

CLEVELAND, OH—July 29, 2015—According to the July 2015 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report, metalforming companies anticipate steady business conditions during the next three months. Prepared monthly, the report is an economic indicator for manufacturing, sampling 114 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada. The July report shows that 65% of participants expect that economic activity will remain unchanged during the next three months (up from 60% in June), 18% predict that activity will improve (down from 23% in June) and 17% believe that economic activity will decline (the same percentage reported in June). Metalforming companies forecast a slight improvement in incoming orders during the next three months, with 36% predicting an increase in orders (up from 33% in June), 45% anticipating no change (compared to 48% in June) and 19% expecting a decrease in orders (the same percentage reported last month). Current average daily shippi...

In 2010 an initiative with the goal of bringing good, well-paying manufacturing jobs back to the United States by assisting companies to more accurately assess their total cost of offshoring, was started by Harry Moser, founder of Reshoring Initiative . Moser will speak at Sourcing Solutions ™ powered by the Precision Metalforming Association on September 30 – October 1, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. Sourcing Solutions is a powerful procurement program that brings together buyers and suppliers of fabrications, metal stampings, components, special tooling and dies, assemblies and more. The program is designed to introduce buyers to top-quality suppliers in a single location who have been pre-screened based on buyer specifications.  Last week, we had the opportunity to speak to Harry and to ask him a few questions about the mission of the Reshoring Initiative and about his personal connection to this mission.  Harry Moser, Founder, Reshoring Initiative Q: What dro...

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 Beth Weissenrieder-Bennis, director of strategic planning and marketing for Weiss-Aug Company, Inc., East Hanover, NJ. Weiss-Aug provides custom insert molding, precision medical and automotive metal stamping , and assembly solutions. With more than 40 years of experience serving the automotive, medical, electronic and semiconductor industries, the company's experts in design, engineering, tooling and manufacturing excel at providing precision manufacturing through innovative design. Hear Beth's thoughts about technology challenges facing metalformers, finding skilled workers, how social media works within her company's marketing strategy and more! Beth Weissenrieder-Bennis,  Director of Strategic Planning and Marketing,  Weiss-Aug Company, Inc. Q:  Which job classifications are the most chall...

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...