The MFG Meeting takes over Orlando Re-Tool your HR Toolbox

February 2015
/AMTnews
/AMTonline
India Report: Aerospace Trade Mission;
IMTEX 2015 & ToolTech 2015
January was a busy month for the U.S.-India relationship. Sixteen individual AMT members signed up for the Aerospace Trade Mission that
was held just prior to the IMTEX show. Twenty AMT member companies signed up to participate in the USA Pavilion at IMTEX/ToolTech,
See Page 5 India’s biggest machine tool, workholding and cutting tool show.
AMTonline.org
/AMTinsight
Global Services
Farewells and organizational changes
Two stalwarts of our Global Services team, AMT and our industry, Knox Johnstone
and Mario Winterstein, say farewell. Their impact on our association and our industry can be
seen by the continued success of our Technical Centers in China, India, Mexico and Brazil.
What happens now? We have created a new organization structure for the Global Services
department to serve the countries Knox and Mario covered.
See Page 7
A monthly report to members from AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology
The MFG Meeting
takes over Orlando
The MFG Meeting on March 4-7, 2015, at
the Orlando World Marriott Resort, will
focus on the power of manufacturing and
feature presentations from industry leaders
on creative ways to strengthen your
business. Speakers will also help you plan
for the future with economic outlooks. A
highly anticipated speaker, Eli Lustgarten,
the President of ESL Consulting, an industrial consulting firm focused on helping
businesses understand economic outlooks,
will provide an overview of the current
economic landscape and the outlook for the
future, domestically and worldwide.
A hot topic in the media lately is additive
manufacturing. A panel of experts will help
you to explore the opportunities with additive
manufacturing, focusing on emerging
technologies and new business models. The
panel consists of: Dr. Lonnie Love, Group
Leader Automation, Robotics, and Manufacturing at Oak Ridge National Laboratory;
Michael Siemer, Founder of Mydea Technologies; and Rob Mudge, CEO of RPM.
The meeting will also have plenty of
opportunities for networking with your
peers. Don’t miss the Welcome Reception &
PRESORTED
FIRST CLASS MAIL
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT #163
DULLES, VA
The MFG Meeting
See Page 4
To begin recruiting interns at your
company, visit www.MTCareers.org
to post your open Internships
and entry-level positions at the
only job board specifically for
Employers made
full-time offers
to their interns
AMT members, marketed only to
Employees who participated in Internship Program
students at community colleges
and university or college Average retention
engineering programs.
For more information on starting a
Competency-Based Apprenticeship
Interns accepted
full-time offers
made by employers
rate after 5 years
Employees who did not participate
Retention rate for the investment:
Apprentices who become
full-time employees
Program at your company, visit
www.NIMSready.org.
Amount of additional investment in
apprentices by the Administration
through the Dept. of Labor
Sources: BLS.org and National Coalition of
Colleges and Employers (NACE) Internship &
Co-op Survey
Address Service Requested
AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology
7901 Westpark Drive
McLean, VA 22102
Re-Tool your HR Toolbox
As I write this, I have just
companies in attendance for
returned from the American
speaking engagements were the
Association of Community
companies that I normally see at
Colleges’ (AACC) annual conferevents like this one because they
ence on Workforce Development.
are making significant investments
This conference brings together
in terms of the tools that they use in
around seven hundred community
solving the skills gaps at their
college presidents, deans, directors
respective companies. They
of workforce development, the
included: Siemens, Lincoln Electric,
occasional lobbyist and executives
Northrup Grumman, Snap-on and
Greg Jones
from industry.
Trane.
V.P. - Smartforce Development
This year’s conference theme
The AACC’s use of the word
was “Workforce Remix.” Many of the large
“Remix” as their theme got me thinking
about the word that we, or at least I, probably
over-use when referring to finding new ways
to improve business processes, “Re-tool.”
How did the presentations focus on the
remixing theme at the AACC conference? For
starters, there is still a heavy emphasis on
education, degrees and certifications in
manufacturing as an industry, and, of
course, on green energy, bio-science and
cyber-security as areas of significant growth
for schools.
HR Toolbox
See Page 8
Page 2
AMT NEWS/February 2015
Republicans hit the
ground running on
Capitol Hill
MFG Advocate …
The new and
requires a more costly
reinvigorated Republican
requirement); give
majorities in the 114th
interested parties the
Congress wasted no time
opportunity to hold
getting started on Capitol
agencies accountable
Hill. Soon after swearing
for their compliance
in ceremonies, they got
with the Information
down to business by
Quality Act; provide for
introducing, considering
on-the-record adminisAmber Thomas
and passing legislation to
trative hearings for the
V.P. - Advocacy
make good on campaign
most costly regulations
pledges to rein in regulations,
to ensure that agency data is well
weaken Obamacare and enact
tested and reviewed; restrict
meaningful immigration reform.
agencies’ use of interim final
Below is a snapshot of January
regulations where no comments
action on measures important to
are taken before a regulation takes
manufacturers.
effect; and provide for expedited
judicial review of whether that
House approves Regulatory
approach is justified.
Reform Bill
AMT supports this bipartisan
The House passed the Regulaapproach as a step in the right
tory Accountability Act (RAA) by a direction toward addressing the
vote of 250-175. H.R. 185, introproblem of overreaching, illduced by House Judiciary Commit- considered and excessively costly
tee Chair Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
federal regulation. RAA would give
and Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN),
those who will actually feel the
would make the regulatory process impact of proposed regulations a
more transparent, agencies more
larger voice in the process. Contact
accountable and regulations more
your Senators in support.
cost effective. Specifically, the bill
House defeats ACA 30-hour
would increase public participawork week
tion in shaping the most costly
The House also passed a bill
regulations before they are
that would change the definition of
proposed; mandate that agencies
full-time work under the Affordchoose the least costly option
able Care Act (ACA).
(unless they can demonstrate that
Beginning in 2015, the ACA
public health, safety, or welfare
requires businesses with 100 or
more full-time equivalent (FTE)
employees to offer affordable health
Published monthly by the
insurance to full-time employees or
Communications Department
©2015 AMT
potentially pay significant penalThe Association For Manufacturing Technology
ties. Businesses with 50 or more
7901 Westpark Drive
McLean, Virginia 22102
FTEs must offer affordable health
703-827-5234
insurance to full-time employees
E-mail: rsharpe@AMTonline.org
and their dependents or potentially
Ruth Sharpe . . . . . . Editor & Designer
Bonnie Gurney. . . . Director - Communications
pay penalties beginning in 2016. The
www.AMTonline.org
ACA defines a full-time employee as
Contact AMT
one who averages 30 hours of
AMT NEWS
service per week, or 130 hours of
Ruth Sharpe . . . . 703-827-5234 . . rsharpe@AMTonline.org
service per month. That’s counter to
AMTonline
Diyana Hrzic . . . . 703-827-5260 . . dhrzic@AMTonline.org
the traditional 40 hours of service
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . amtwebmaster@AMTonline.org
threshold that most U.S. businesses
Submit company news articles . . . . www.AMTonline.org/membercms
use to define full time for benefits
Advocacy
Amber Thomas . 703-827-5230 . . athomas@AMTonline.org
and other purposes. Implementing
Asset Management & Operations
this new definition amounts to
Jeffery Traver . . . 703-827-5251 . . jtraver@AMTonline.org
another costly regulation that will
Exhibitions - Apply for space at IMTS 2016
Tom Snyder . . . . 703-827-5235 . . tsnyder@AMTonline.org
require businesses to change both
Mark Kennedy . . 703-827-5220 . . mkennedy@AMTonline.org
their policies and their practices.
Global Services
The Save American Workers
Steve Lesnewich . 703-827-5227 . . slesnewich@AMTonline.org
Act would define a full-time work
Manufacturing Technology
Tim Shinbara . . . 703-827-5243 . . tshinbara@AMTonline.org
week as 40 hours, up from the
Meetings . . . . 888-379-4659 . . . www.AMTonline.org/meetings
current 30 hours. Despite the bill
Membership
passing the House by a 252 to 172
Melissa Williamson . . 703-827-5272 . . mwilliamson@AMTonline.org
vote, President Obama has
MTConnect® . . Paul Warndorf . . 703-827-5291
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pwarndorf@MTConnect.Hyperoffice.com
threatened a veto. Urge your
MTInsight
Senators to support this bill.
AMT NEWS
Ian Stringer . . . . . 703-827-5209 . . istringer@AMTonline.org
Smartforce Development
Greg Jones . . . . . 703-827-5203 . . gjones@AMTonline.org
Strategic Analytics
Pat McGibbon . . 703-827-5255 . . pmcgibbon@AMTonline.org
Strategic Planning
Paul Warndorf . . 703-827-5291 . . pwarndorf@AMTonline.org
Bipartisan group of Senators
introduce H-1B Visa Bill
Not to be outdone by their
House colleagues, Senators Orrin
Hatch (R-UT), Amy Klobuchar
(D-MN), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chris
Coons (D-DE), Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
introduced legislation that would
reform the nation’s immigration
laws for high-skilled workers. The
Immigration Innovation Act
(I-Squared) would increase the
quantity of employment-based
nonimmigrant visas (H-1B visas)
granted each year from 65,000 to
115,000 and allow the cap to go up
depending on the demands of the
economy. In addition, it increases
access to green cards for highskilled workers and reforms the
fees on H-1B and green cards, so
those fees can be used to promote
American worker retraining and
education. The bill was first
introduced in the 113th Congress. AMT sent letters of support
to the bill’s sponsors.
President Obama floats tax
reform proposal
In the meantime on Pennsylvania Avenue, President Obama
laid out a tax proposal that would
raise $320 billion in new revenue
over the next 10 years by increasing taxes on capital gains and
dividends to pay for more than
$200 billion in new government
programs aimed at the middle
class, including education and
child care tax credits. This
proposal is a non-starter in the
current Congress, which is loath
to raise new revenue at a time
when receipts are high and the
deficit is decreasing, especially in
order to pay for additional
government spending. Let your
members of Congress know that
manufacturers want and expect
action on real tax reform in this
Congress.
athomas@AMTonline.org
It’s February; are you
showing the love?
By Penny Brown
MTAdvocacy Manager
If you’re in a cold-weather
climate region (like those of us here
at AMT), you’re probably not feeling
a whole lot of affection for February.
It seems to be endlessly cold, grey,
slushy ... the joy of the holidays a
distant memory, the hope of spring
still seeming far away.
But fear not! There are two
February holidays that can be a
great reminder to turn our thoughts
away from snow boots and ice
scrapers and instead toward doing
our part to support the manufacturing industry: Valentine’s Day and
President’s Day.
Let’s start with Valentine’s Day.
Sure, it can be sappy, and your florist
probably loves it a whole lot more
than you do. So instead, let’s just
think about love – love for manufacturing, but also love for your
community.
The Advocacy team at AMT is
always on the lookout for great
stories that show big things
happening in our industry – new
and exciting technologies, ways that
our members are engaging and
collaborating with government and
academia, great news about our
industry, and so on. We’re also
looking for ways that we can give
back to our community – aka,
showing the love! Are you doing the
same? It makes for a great photo op,
sure, but more importantly it can
give your company a good name as a
local citizen.
It’s also important to share
what you love about manufacturing,
especially with students (aka maybe
your future employees) and also
with your elected officials. Getting
the word out about why the industry
is great – and why it’s important
– are great things to do with both of
these audiences. One means
inspiring a future generation, and
the other means making sure the
people who represent you understand just how important our
industry is to the community – its
economic impact, the ways it’s
connected to other businesses and
the supply chain, and so on.
But what about President’s Day?
I might be speaking out of turn here,
but I’m pretty sure our Founding
Fathers would’ve found it important
for the United States to have a
thriving manufacturing industry!
Great manufacturing ensures that
we stay the most innovative country
in the world. It creates good jobs and
a strong middle class. It also
supports our defense efforts and
ensures our military has the
equipment and supplies it needs,
when it needs them.
So while February might not be
the most popular month on the
calendar, it’s still full of great
reminders of ways we can take
action to do our best by the industry
we love.
Find us at The MFG Meeting:
Stay tuned to your inbox for details
on Advocacy activities at the
upcoming MFG Meeting, March 4-7
in Orlando, Fla. We’ll be looking to
connect with AMT members to find
ways we can better target our efforts
to be most helpful and effective for
your businesses. But even if you
don’t make it to Orlando, please feel
free to reach out and make a
connection – we need to hear from
you!
Contact me at pbrown@AMTonline.org, and don’t forget our great
Advocacy blog, MFGAdvocate.com.
Page 3
February 2015/AMT NEWS
Lower costs and increase sales with MTInsight
By Ian Stringer
Director, MTInsight
If you are part of a company
that is not looking to close anytime
soon, you are probably concerned
with two fundamental concepts
that will keep your doors open, if
not continue to grow your company. If you think about it, what you
are concerned with most is either
increasing your sales or decreasing
your costs. At AMT, we are continuously striving to deliver innovative
products to the membership that
support these two basic, but
meaningful, goals. The intersection of sales up
and costs down is the reason for
creating the MTInsight platform.
Using the industry knowledge and
experience that is concentrated
within the walls of AMT, MTInsight
brings together a number of key
information management functions that drive up the core value of
the platform. One of the most important
functions of the platform really has
little to do with information
technology at all. In fact, MTInsight
relies heavily on the expert
knowledge and industry insight
that professionals at AMT contribute. Your AMT staff curates the
most relevant data that is meaningful to your business from a vast
sea of possibilities. They ask the
right questions in an effort to
collect data that builds proprietary
AMT data sources you can rely on.
Last but not least, MTInsight leans
on knowledgeable people who
know how to work with the data to
design products that make
accessing the information easier
and provide the insights you need
to increase your sales or lower your
costs.
In terms of technology, there
are, of course, a whole host of
functions carried out by MTInsight.
Many of the most valuable features
of the platform most of us don’t see.
For example, there are hundreds of
database routines that run,
continuously updating, twisting,
turning and preparing the data for
storage, so that it can be accessed
and used by applications. In
addition, the MTInsight database
engine carries out lines upon lines
of code that govern the business
rules and security checks that keep
your data secure and accessible by
only the appropriate individuals. Of
course, the end user applications
are beautifully rendered and
efficiently distributed to your device
through the MTInsight platform,
but they represent the tip of the
iceberg in terms of value to
members. AMT made the commitment and invested in this technology so you don’t have to. MTInsight currently has
several apps that are already
helping members increase sales
and decrease costs. MTProspects
and the IMTS Exhibitor Passport
are extremely cost effective and
efficient ways to acquire new
customer information that will get
your next sales campaign off to a
quick start. You can keep abreast
of expertly curated and relevant
industry news and new plant and
planned capital equipment
announcements by way of MTNews and Sell Your Products.
Finally, the USMTO app reduces
the time it would normally take to
monitor market orders and your
market share for manufacturing
technology – a perfect example of
how MTInsight drives down costs,
as a savings in time equals a
savings in money. There are more apps planned for
MTInsight, but if you have any suggestions concerning what you would
like to see in the next release, please
feel free to contact me at istringer@
AMTonline.org or 703-827-5209. Global Marketing & Sales Committee – Lessons Learned
Your most difficult customer just
might be your most valuable one
• We learned about our
product’s use in the marketplace. As it turns out, the
features that were demanded by
this difficult client were later
deemed important to other
customers and have been
incorporated into our standard
product offering. This customer
demand pushed us to further
develop our product line.
By Matthew C. Ricotta
Director of Product Marketing
Parlec, Inc.
It’s never easy to deal with
difficult customers. They demand
far more time, energy and
resources than the easy-going
ones. But often, these challenging
situations lead to valuable
realizations about internal
processes, customer service, and
the product itself.
Early on, I faced a notably
tough customer. The long sales
process, grueling negotiations
and an impossible timeline made
for a painful experience. Worst of
all, after working tirelessly to
satisfy their every need, they were
dissatisfied with the end result.
The product did not do what they
needed it to do.
Because of unclear project
specifications and unvoiced
customer expectations, we
produced an inadequate product. Facing an unhappy customer
and an unusable deliverable, there
was nothing we could do but
correct the issue. It was two years of redesign
and re-engineering before we got
the product to a point where the
client’s needs were fully satisfied.
Not a fun experience, but it was
sure worthwhile. Here’s why:
• We learned a valuable lesson
about project scoping. In fact,
we now have a thorough,
standardized qualification
process that allows us to
pinpoint features and requirements, identify areas for product
enhancement and expedite the
process from start to finish.
• We learned the value of
customer satisfaction. In the
end, we satisfied a difficult
customer who now trusts Parlec
and our ability to meet their
aggressive demands. Through
this process, we have earned a
long-term customer, and we
gained an advocate who can
speak of our ability to deliver.
There were moments when this
business did not seem worth the
effort. But looking back at all that
the experience provided, it was
clearly worth our trouble. So, next
time you are dealing with a difficult
customer, just think about all the
valuable things you can learn.
matric@Parlec.com
Market
Data
Review
Strategic Analytics – your
answer machine
Strategic Analytics (SA) has changed its name three
times in the past 14 months, but with the name
changes, comes a growth in the breadth and value of
products and services the department can provide
members. You, however, are the key to unlocking the
treasure chest of data, analysis, research and assistance that SA can provide. You have to explore how
we can help you; you have to ask questions, and let us
meet your challenges.
Pat McGibbon
V.P. - Strategic Analytics
As an example, SA received a request for assistance in developing estimates
for the number of machine tools that existed in the U.S. that met a company’s criteria as a prime target for recently developed services. The request
involved talking to numerous members about how they responded to
changes in software support, working with government analysts to develop
an installed base number, and translating both into an estimate with simple
but reasonable assumptions. SA spoke to the member’s sales force about the
outlook for their specific customer base, how it fit into the forecasts they had
purchased and externalities that could play havoc with the forecasts.
Another member preparing for a strategic meeting of their board requested
a mountain of information on key customers, forecasts on those customers’
end markets and potential new players investing from overseas. We are
really good at dumping tons of data on an issue. Still we also have the chops
to slice and dice that information into something more manageable as well.
Our goal is to help you understand – not bury you with facts – and we delivered a successful complete answer!
In fact, “helping” is one of our most difficult services to market because we
will try to help with any issue. Another member checked in with our Manufacturing Technology department on how to bid on a government project. SA
was able to provide them with a step-by-step process to get registered with
the right agencies, as well as identify the product codes and ID numbers necessary to register. We are here to try to help you with any question either by
providing a solution, analysis, information or direction. Best of all, 95 percent of the time, there is no cost involved.
As we move into 2015, SA is looking at conducting surveys with partners to
help you understand your customers better. We are also planning to work
with our vendors to help develop sales tools that will be specific to your company and your needs. While we concentrate on these exciting projects, some
of the “help” we have provided in the past will shift into our amazing business intelligence tool – MTInsight.
You are certainly snoozing if you haven’t been using MTInsight. AMT’s
business intelligence tool provides visualizations of complex concepts,
the ability to filter information to your specific needs, and access to key
data sources on a 24/7 basis. Every member company has access to the tool.
If you don’t have your credentials, call us and we will get you online quickly.
The additional human resources that MTInsight frees up at AMT will be
focused on providing you more in-depth analysis and innovative new tools,
which can be customized to your specific needs.
We look forward to hearing from you in 2015; don’t be a stranger. If you have any
questions about the information, products or services noted above don’t hesitate
to contact Pat McGibbon, Ian Stringer or Kim Brown at 800-544-3597.
Foreign Trade Report - November
U.S. machine tool exports valued $218.61 million in November, down 5.8 percent from October’s total of $231.96 million. Exports for year-to-date 2014
totaled $2,285.17 million, a decrease of 5.7 percent when compared with the
same period of 2013. Monthly machine tool imports valued $444.77 million
in November, down 16.5 percent from October’s total of $532.71 million.
Imports for year-to-date 2014 totaled $5,099.45 million, a decrease of 0.5 percent when compared with the same period for 2013.
China was the leading destination for U.S. machine tool exports in November with $42.79 million, a 24.9 percent decrease from October. The second
Market Data Review
See page 4
Page 4
AMT NEWS/February 2015
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largest destination for U.S. machine tool exports was Mexico, with $31.43
million, a 19.7 percent decrease from October. Completing the top five destinations for U.S. machine tool exports were Canada ($18.71 million), Germany ($16.01 million) and Belgium ($10.63 million).
Japan ($153.92 million) and Germany ($67.10 million) were the top suppliers
of U.S. machine tool imports for November 2014. Compared with October’s
figures, Japanese imports decreased by 25.3 percent and German imports
decreased by 20.5 percent. Completing the top five sources of U.S. machine
tool imports in November were Italy ($44.29 million), Taiwan ($34.39 million) and South Korea ($27.50 million).
For more information about any aspect of this report or to make a specific data
request, contact Juan Guerra at jguerra@AMTonline.org or 703-827-5278.
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Global Marketing & Sales
Committee
®
Schaumburg, Ill.
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The MFG Meeting
7
Orlando World Center Marriott Resort
Orlando, Fla.
March
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Certification
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IMTS Webinar
The NEW Marketing
Funnel
11 am ET
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April 1
MT Sales Fundamentals Workshop
MILES FOR MANUFACTURING
BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling, Inc.
Chicago, Ill.
at The MFG Meeting - Thursday, March 5 at 6:30 am
5K
Future Activities – 2015
APRIL 20 - 25 – AMT/USA Pavilion at CIMT 2015, China International Exhibition Center,
Beijing, China
APRIL 24 – Deadline to register for summer CMTSE exam
APRIL 28 - 30 – [MC]2 Conference, McCormick Place Conference Center, Chicago, Ill.
MAY 18 - 23 – AMT/USA Pavilion at FEIMAFE 2015, São Paulo, Brazil
JUNE 4 – AIM 2015 Automation in Manufacturing Conference, MGM Grand, Detroit, Mich.
JUNE 10 – CMTSE online exam
SEPTEMBER 23 - 24 – Distribution Group Summit 2015, Hyatt Regency, Columbus, Ohio
OCTOBER 13 - 15 – Global Forecasting & Marketing Conference, InterContinental Cleveland,
Cleveland, Ohio
Please call 888-379-4659 for meetings information. Call 800-524-0475 for information on international events.
The Mfg Meeting
Cont’d from page 1
Dinner, where MFG will take over
Universal Studios Florida! Enjoy
dinner and the park’s amazing
re-creations of classic cinematic
locations. Get moving for a good
cause at the Miles for Manufacturing 5K Run/Walk, or participate in
the annual golf outing at the Hawk’s
Landing Golf Club, located at the
Orlando World Marriott Resort. The
MFG Meeting is a great trip to bring
the family along, with its proximity
to area attractions such as Sea
World, Universal Studios and Disney
World. You can also access discounted tickets to Disney on the
MFG website.
Registration for the MFG
Meeting is now open, so don’t wait
– register today!
Update
By Hilena Hailu
MTConnect Project Manager
hhailu@AMTonline.org
@mtconnect
San Antonio, Texas
15
Cont’d from page 3
Be one of the first 100 to
register for the [MC]2 Conference
Registration for the fourth
annual [MC]2 Conference being
held April 28-30, 2015, is now open.
This annual conference will be
packed with insights from thought
leaders and practitioners about the
latest trends in digital manufacturing. Don’t miss this opportunity
to learn what’s hot and meet
people who may be the missing
link to taking your business to the
next level. Conference topics
include:
• Industrial Internet of Things and
Industry 4.0
• Smart manufacturing
• Industrial cybersecurity
Register now! The first 100 industry
professionals will receive a $100 discount on conference registration, so
don’t delay! Extend your stay in Chicago and attend the MTConnect User
Group Meeting and the MTConnect
Technical Workshop. Visit www.
mc2conference.com to register.
Register now for the
MTConnect Technical Workshop
The MTConnect Institute will
host a series of workshops on April
30, 2015, in Chicago, Ill., which will
be co-located with the [MC]2
Conference. The workshops will
teach attendees about data
acquisition and management for
production monitoring and
analysis purposes. The topics
included are:
• How to acquire manufacturing
data using MTConnect
• Ways to eliminate barriers to data
integration
• Strategies for data management
and security
• Doing data analytics that drive
actions
Receive a deep discount on this workshop when you register for the [MC]2
Conference at the same time. Visit
http://mc2conference.com.
MTConnect Technical Advisory
Group Meeting held January 21-22
The first MTConnect Technical Advisory Group (TAG) meeting
of 2015 was held January 21-22, at
Hilton Garden Inn Tampa Airport
in Tampa, Fla. The meeting, hosted
by Southern Manufacturing
Technologies, included discussions
about: 1) documentation enhancements that will be part of the
upcoming MTConnect standard’s
version 1.3.1 release; 2) the status
of new features for the version 1.4.0
release; 3) updates from the
working group that is developing
functionality ratings for MTConnect compatible products; and 4)
output of the MTConnect End User
Group meeting. The meeting was
well attended with 27 companies
represented.
For information about becoming a
TAG member, visit the “Members”
section of MTConnect.org.
MTConnect
See Page 6
Welcome New Members
H & S Machinery, Harvey, La. (Primary Product: Distributor/Sales)
www.hsmachinery.com
KOSMEK USA LTD., Downers Grove, Ill. (Primary Product: Workholding/Tooling) www.kosmek.com
Weber Screwdriving Systems Inc., Mooresville, N.C. (Primary
Product: Automation/Integration/Robotics/Custom Systems)
www.weberusa.com
www.mfgmeeting.com
Scottrade Bank Equipment Finance (Commercial Affiliate),
St. Louis, Mo. www.scottradebank.com
Page 5
February 2015/AMT NEWS
India Report: Aerospace Trade Mission;
IMTEX 2015 & ToolTech 2015
January was a busy month for
the U.S.-India relationship. Sixteen
individual AMT members signed up
for the Aerospace Trade Mission that
was held just prior to the IMTEX
show. Twenty AMT member
companies signed up to participate in
the USA Pavilion at IMTEX/ToolTech,
India’s biggest machine tool,
workholding and cutting tool show.
Also, President Obama came to India
as the guest of honor at the annual
January 26 celebration of Republic
Day – commemorating the establishment of modern India in 1947.
Frankly, the country is awash in
optimism now. The new Modi
government has been instituting
many new laws and programs
designed to facilitate major manufacturing growth and ease the difficulties of doing business here. All of the
six aerospace companies that we
visited were working three shifts and
expecting year-on-year growth of 20
- 40 percent. Their customers are the
world’s big engine and airframe
manufacturers – Boeing, Airbus,
GE, Rolls Royce, Pratt & Whitney
and Hindustan Aeronautics, Ltd.
(HAL) – and most of what they
make is exported. The quality of the
work done is, by definition, world
class. Trade Mission participants
made connections with top
management of each company, and
there is no doubt many new sales
will result from these visits.
During the Trade Mission,
the Indo-American Chamber of
Commerce and AMT co-hosted
an Aerospace Forum to acquaint
Trade Mission participants with a
good overview of the current
players and opportunities in this
sector and to provide the chance to
network with industry executives.
We learned that the Modi government intends to take India from
#142 on the Ease of Doing Business
list down to #50 or better as fast as
possible. Their goal is to join the
world supply chain, and their
vehicle is the new “Make In India”
BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling is proud to celebrate 25 years of North American operations in 2015. Incorporated in the spring of 1990 under the name
Kaiser Precision Tooling (KPT), the subsidiary of Switzerland-based Heinz
Kaiser AG provided the North American market better access to products and
more complete engineering solutions in development and manufacturing of
precision boring tools and modular boring systems. In 2003 KPT formed an
alliance with BIG Daishowa Seiki, a Japanese manufacturer of tool holders,
cutting tools and measuring accessories. Acknowledging the importance of
the alliance, KPT changed its name to BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling Inc.
Crowds filled the aisles of the USA
Pavilion at IMTEX/ToolTech.
campaign. The Indian aerospace
business leaders who attended the
conference all agreed that Aerospace & Defence (as it is spelled
here) were key focus areas for major
manufacturing capacity expansion.
India
See Page 8
November U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $378.06 million,
down 15.5% from October and down
14.5% when compared with the total
of $442.01 million reported for November 2013. With a year-to-date total of
$4,556.60 million, 2014 was up 2.6%
compared with 2013.
$ Thousands
U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders – November 2014
Total order value
3-month moving average
12-month moving average
Van Crotts, CMTSE, former chairman of AMTDA, passes away
Van Jackson Crotts, 56, of
Winston-Salem, N.C., died
Sunday evening, January 25,
2015. He was the son of
Marcus Bowman Crotts and
Margo Jackson Crotts.
He received a BS degree
in Engineering Operations
from North Carolina State University in
May 1980, graduating with honors.
After receiving a Masters of Business
Administration from Wake Forest
University in 1982, he began employment as a sales engineer with Crotts
and Saunders Engineering, Inc., a
business his father started in 1956. His
lengthy career in the machine tool
industry, from 1982 to 2013, allowed
him to gain great knowledge of
manufacturing processes and the
metal working industry in the
Carolinas and Virginia. He became a
Certified Manufacturing Technology
Sales Engineer (CMTSE) in 1993. In
2010, he was elected chairman of the
American Machine Tool Distributors’
Association. He retired as president
of Crotts and Saunders Engineering
in August 2013.
Van Crotts was highly regarded in
the machine tool industry. Association
members remember him
fondly:
On Sunday January 25 our
industry lost one of its best
and brightest in Van Crotts.
The impact Van had on the
industry and in our lives was
evident by the number of people that
traveled to Winston-Salem on
Thursday January 29 to be a part of his
wonderful Celebration of Life service.
Van achieved everything imaginable
related to machine tool sales in his 33
years with Crotts & Saunders
Engineering, but those privileged
enough to have known Van outside
of work know the thing he valued
most was his family and the Lord.
Van’s unwavering faith and strength
in difficult times was an inspiration to
all and he will be missed by many. RIP
Willie Eichele
President
Crotts and Saunders, LLC
We lost a true friend, a great father,
husband and man of faith when we lost
Van Crotts. He remained dedicated to
those most important values as he
fought his cancer with bravery and full
confidence of his final destination. It
was an honor to serve with him on the
board and to know and love him as a
friend.
Thank you, Jerry Rex, CMTSE
It’s always sad when someone in our
industry passes on, but especially so,
when that person is still in the prime of
their life and their career. Van Crotts was
a leader in our industry and his passing
has been felt throughout the machine
tool and manufacturing industries. I
have known Van for 30 years. He, his
family, and their business all have a
stellar reputation, both for their
expertise in machine tool technology
and design, as well as for their high
standards and integrity. I had the
good fortune to visit my friend, and
his wife Sally, last June. They both
displayed the courage to face Van’s
cancer together and with grace and
dignity (and even with a bit of humor).
I came away stronger after my visit, and
I trust that Van’s legacy, in our industry
and beyond, will be to make us all
better at how we choose to live, to work
and to meet even our small daily
challenges. May grace and dignity fill all
our lives, just as they have with Van.
Clark Smith, CMTSE
Smith Machine Tool Company, Inc.
Cleaning Technologies Group, LLC has promoted Jeff
Mills to Ransohoff National Sales Manager effective
December 2014. In his new role, he will assume responsibility for Ransohoff new machine and rebuild sales along
with coaching and mentoring the team to not only
expand on their successes in the automotive market but
also to penetrate other growing industrial markets
throughout the U.S.
Jeff Mills
Gardner Business Media has announced the acquisition of the AutoBeat Group from founder-publisher Bill Hampton, who will
continue working as publisher of the AutoBeat properties. Gardner Business
Media publishes Automotive Design & Production magazine and autofieldguide.com. That media and AutoBeat properties will form a new Automotive Group within the publishing company.
Koepfer America sponsored a
group of North American gear
manufacturers on a technologyfocused “Italian Gear Tech Tour.”
The November trip covered the
latest Italian gear products to be
introduced to the North American market. The group consisted
of select representatives from the
The 2014 Koepfer America Gear Technology
industry’s leading gear manufacTour visits Rettifiche Resca, S.R.L.
turers who received a personal
look into these companies, as well as tours of several gear manufacturers.
The tour took place in the northern region of Italy where the country’s manufacturing is concentrated. The tour also included cultural visits to the Lamborghini and Ferrari museums, a castle tour, and choice culinary
experiences.
SigmaTEK has announced dates for SigmaTEK Academy Productivity
Workshop 2015. The annual event will be held May 5-6, 2015, at the company’s global headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. SigmaTEK Academy is held
every year during the first week in May and includes sessions and presentations on a variety of fabrication topics. For more information visit www.
sigmanest.com.
Star SU LLC has formed an
alliance with Profilator to
manufacture Scudding® tools
for the global market and in
North America in cooperation with GMTA in Ann
Arbor, Mich. Scudding® is the
radical improvement on traditional power skiving technology for gear production,
long proven in the market to Profilator CEO Thomas Buchholtz with SAMP
be faster, more accurate and S.p.A president Antonio Maccafferi, Star SU
versatile in use.
LLC president David Goodfellow, and Star
David Goodfellow, president Cutter Company president Brad Lawton.
of Star SU LLC is very pleased
with the new partnership. “Star SU is using its vast experience of gear cutting tool technology for new tool development, as well as its tool service centers to support Profilator on this new technology process. We are looking
forward to working with Profilator and GMTA and see this as mutually beneficial for each company.”
We want to hear from you! What’s happening at your company? When you
send out a press release (or just have some interesting news), please e-mail
information to media@AMTonline.org. To add your news to AMTonline
go to www.AMTonline.org/membercms.
Page 6
AMT NEWS/February 2015
Tech Time…
DMDII announces project calls
DMDII announces project
calls for: Cyberphysical
Systems Security, Advanced
Manufacturing Enterprise
(AME), Intelligent Machines
(IM) and Advanced
Analysis (AA)
Assessment: Develop
tools for assessing the
cybersecurity
vulnerability of small
manufacturing
businesses.
• DMDII-15-02 Smart
As AMT’s TechnolFactory Visibility
ogy Department continand Real-Time
ues to research, partner
Optimization
Tim Shinbara
and better position
(AME): Demonstrate
V.P. - Manufacturing
ourselves to serve
technologies that can
Technology
members in the area of
provide real-time
raising manufacturing technology
visibility into the operations of a
awareness, we are pleased to
smart factory, and demonstrate
announce opportunities to drive
factory controls based on
the future of digital manufacturreal-time feedback loops.
ing and design. The Digital
• DMDII-15-03 Communication
Manufacturing and Design
Standards for Intelligent
Innovation Institute (DMDII) was
Machines (IM): Provide an
one of the first four institutes
initial framework and set of
launched by the White House
standards for communication for
(America Makes[https://www.
Intelligent Machines (IMs) (e.g.,
americamakes.us/], Power
legacy and modern production
America [http://www.ncsu.edu/
machines, robotic devices,
power/] and LIFT [http://lift.
manufacturing cells and other
technology/] are the others). All
smart manufacturing systems).
are elements of a broader National
• DMDII-15-04 Shop Floor
Network for Manufacturing
Augmented Reality and
Innovation, or NNMI (http://
Wearable Computing (AA):
manufacturing.gov/nnmi.html).
Demonstrate technologies that
The What: The DMDII,
integrate the shop floor workmanaged by Chicago-based UI
force into the digital thread,
Labs, has released the latest
using wearable computing,
round of project calls for memmobile computing and
bers of the public-private partneradvanced data visualization.
ship. (NOTE: For membership in
• DMDII-15-05 Systems Design
DMDII, please visit: http://www.
Using the Digital Thread
dmdii.uilabs.org/). To facilitate
(AME): Demonstrate technolothe formation of project teams,
gies that can use data from
DMDII encourages manufacturacross the product lifecycle and
ing businesses, manufacturing
from across the value chain to
service providers and academic
improve product design and
institutions to register their
manufacturing.
capabilities and interests in an
online survey at https://www.
surveymonkey.com/s/
CBCMVTY.
List of Project Call Titles
Project calls are listed under
the following categories: Cyberphysical Systems Security,
Advanced Manufacturing
Enterprise (AME), Intelligent
Machines (IM) and Advanced
Analysis (AA).
• DMDII-15-01 Factory Cybersecurity Infrastructure
• DMDII-15-06 Operating
System for Cyberphysical
Manufacturing (IM): Develop
an operating system for
manufacturing that provides
both horizontal and vertical
resource management from the
lowest hardware to the highest
enterprise level.
data analysis to significantly
reduce the time and cost of
certifying a material, manufacturing process or design.
The How: DMDII will host a
Project Call workshop for projects
DMDII-15-02 to DMDII-15-07 at
the Atlanta Airport Marriott. This
event starts at 12:00 p.m. EST on
Wednesday, February 25 and ends
at 1:00 p.m. EST on Thursday,
February 26. (NOTE: No workshop
for DMDII-15-01).
Workshop attendees will
hear from the DMDII leadership
about the mission, vision and
goals, as well as how to do
business with the Institute.
Attendees also will have the
opportunity to participate in
several networking events to
encourage teambuilding for
responses to the project calls, as
well as an evening social event.
Workshop attendees from each
organization should have the
technical background and
managerial authority to engage
in these activities productively.
Registration for this event is
$100/person. The room block rate
at the Atlanta Airport Marriott is
$135/night. The last day to reserve
a room at the room block rate is
February 13, 2015. For more
registration information go to
www.AMTonline.org/DMDII.
Please contact Elizabeth
Barton (843-760-3301; elizabeth.
barton@scra.org) if you have any
questions about the room block or
registration process.
For more information about this
article, please contact Tim Shinbara at tshinbara@AMTonline.
org or 703-827-5243. For information about the DMDII or UI Labs,
please visit their website: http://
www.dmdii.uilabs.org/.
Cont’d from page 4
MTConnect session at the
NTMA Plant Managers Meeting
in Cincinnati
The National Tooling and
Machining Association (NTMA)
invited MTConnect Institute to its
Plant Managers Roundtable to
give a talk about MTConnect. The
topic was chosen by Plant
Managers at NTMA’s member
companies as one of their top
areas of interest.
Hilena Hailu of the MTConnect Institute gave an overview of
the MTConnect standard. It was
then followed by real-world
examples in the form of case
studies presented by three
MTConnect-enabled solution
providers: Dave Edstrom of
Memex Automation, Mohamed
Abuali of FORCAM and Ron
Pieper of TechSolve. The session
ended with a panel discussion,
where the audience asked
questions. Russell Waddell of the
MTConnect Institute was also in
attendance.
For information about other NTMA
events, visit www.ntma.org.
NUM announces MTConnect
Interface
NUM announced in January
that the company is now offering
an MTConnect-compliant
communications interface option
called NUMConnect for new or
existing NUM CNC systems.
NUMConnect is fully compliant
with MTConnect v1.3.0 and the
interface can read anything that
is capable of being displayed on
CNC system’s HMI, whether it is
analog or digital.
For more information, visit http://
bit.ly/1BLpAZa.
www.mc2conference.com
For upcoming ANSI B11 and ISO machinery safety
meetings, go to www.b11standards.org
Contact Dave Felinski, B11 Standards, Inc., at dfelinski@b11standards.org for updated information.
• DMDII-15-07 Virtually
Guided Certification (AA):
Demonstrate technologies that
use advanced computing;
modeling and simulation; and
• Large Company
Automation Case Study
• Small Company
Automation Case Study
• Automation Forecast
• Access over 59,000 potential leads from IMTS 2014
• Pinpoint focus and email your best prospects
• Learn more at IMTS.com/passport
Page 7
February 2015/AMT NEWS
International Report…
Groundhog Day Swan Song
“Okay, campers, rise
succeeding globally.
In closing, let me say to all you
and shine!” Like Bill
Since a swan song
members and my AMT friends at
Murray in the movie
should be short and
home and around the world that
Groundhog Day, no
sweet, here are three
it’s been a great personal experidoubt these are the
points to summarize
ence to work with you over these
words I will hear from
further:
many years. There are waaaay too
my radio at 6 am on
many of you to write individually!
1.Perseverance Always
February 3, since I will
Together, I believe we have climbed
Furthers.
have just retired from
some challenging mountains and
2.Everything is PosAMT, and there will be
achieved many good business
Knox Johnstone
sible, but Nothing is
no more TGIFs for me and
results that otherwise might not
Easy.
each morning will now begin the
have happened. Our house in
3. Go Meet Your Customers! (to
same way. But the good news is
Maine has comfortable furniture
build rapport & learn how they
every day will be Saturday.
and extra bedrooms if any of you
do business)
I started work at sixteen,
make it to the Portland area and
To simplify even more by
working after school for the
want to stop by to commiserate.
borrowing a handy bit of business You know how to reach me…
Portman Equipment Company in
and life advice: Keep Calm and
Cincinnati. My first position was
Let us now close this swan
Carry On, and be sure to reserve
steam cleaning lift truck engines.
song with a thought from a guy
Since then, it’s been a fun career ride your seat on the bus for the next
who knew as much about human
AMT Trade Mission!
by planes, trains, automobiles and
reality as the Buddha himself:
canoe around the world (though
‘Our revels now are ended’
perhaps becoming a “Million Miler”
on United was a dubious distincOur revels now are ended. These our actors,
tion). When I turn seventy this year,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
it will be great to finally start
Are melted into air, into thin air:
receiving Social Security payments
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
in Falmouth, Maine – imagine the
The cloud-capp’d towers, the gorgeous palaces,
wonder of receiving a check each
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
month for merely having a pulse.
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve
Lub dub rules!
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
A year ago, I wrote a January
AMT News article entitled “Get
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
Ready for Groundhog Day!” which
As dreams are made on, and our little life
summarized in some detail the
Is rounded with a sleep.
best advice I could give AMT
William Shakespeare
member companies about
From The Tempest, Act 4 Scene 1
Organizational changes in the Global Services department
By Steve Lesnewich
V.P. - Global Services
promoted to International Director, General Manager of the Sorocaba
Technical Center. Carlos and
Latin America.
As you can see from the
Achilles will work together and
Xingbin’s territory now
articles above, two stalwarts of our
continue to facilitate AMT
includes the Asia/Pacific region,
Global Services team,
member participation throughout
including AMT’s two
AMT and our industry,
the Latin American region. Carlos
Technical Centers in
Knox Johnstone and
will also oversee the development
Shanghai, China and
Mario Winterstein, have
of a new AMT member demonstraChennai, India. Xingbin
retired, effective February
tion area at FACENS, an Engineerwill be working closely
2, 2015. Their impact on
ing University that is also located
with Arun Mahajan,
our association and our
in Sorocaba, to help
General
industry can be seen by
increase focus on the
Manager of the
the continued success of
Brazilian market.
Chennai
our Technical Centers in
The combined AMT
Technical
Xingbin Li
China, India, Mexico and
experience of Xingbin
Center, and
Brazil, and by their stellar reputawith 20 years and Carlos
together they will be
tions within the AMT membership. responsible for engaging
with 12 years, along with
Clearly Knox and Mario will be
their highly regarded
AMT members in the
missed, but their decision to retire
reputations with our AMT
United States and guiding
Carlos Mortera
after so many years in the industry
members, make these
them through the process
is completely understood. I’m sure
of evaluating and planning the best changes to the structure of the
many of you are asking,” So what
Global Services department not only
market approach within the Asia/
happens now”?
Pacific region, as well as facilitating easy but also of immense benefit to
The answer: We have created a market entry and participation
our members. Both Xingbin and
new organization structure for the
Carlos will report directly to me
through a variety of channels.
Global Services department to serve
and, together with everyone in the
Carlos’ territory now includes
the countries Knox and Mario
Global Services department, we will
all of Latin America, including
covered. Effective February 1, Mr.
provide AMT members with the
AMT’s two Technical Centers in
Xingbin Li has been promoted to
products they need to grow their
Monterrey, Mexico and Sorocaba,
International Director, Asia/Pacific Brazil. Carlos will be working
businesses globally.
and Mr. Carlos Mortera has been
slesnewich@AMTonline.org
closely with Achilles Arbex,
A job made in heaven
Now that I am
heaven to me.
retiring from AMT, I
In addition to the
can confirm that
technical and cultural
working at AMT was
aspects of the industry, I
the best thing that
was also fascinated by
could have happened to
other areas: export
me. It was the natural
trade finance and
progression of my
technical services. AMT
life-long involvement
yet again gave me the
with the manufacturprivilege of working in
Mario Winterstein
ing industry. Before I
those areas. I immersed
came to AMT, I had worked with
myself in the resources to finance
several manufacturing compasales to customers abroad through
nies, including machine tool
instruments provided by the Ex-Im
builders and industrial automaBank of the United States and
tion integrators.
other trade organizations. In that
During those years, I worked
capacity, I was honored with an
at one company at a time, maxiaward from the Ex-im Bank a few
mizing the growth of each
years ago. My involvement with
individual business, its revenue
service, including after-sales
and profitability. When I went to
service and customer support, was
AMT, all of a sudden I was working primarily as the staff liaison of the
with hundreds of manufacturing
Global Service Committee and as
technology companies all at the
the organizer of the Annual
same time, making recommendaService Conference sponsored by
tions on how to better access
AMT. I always considered service
markets for their products,
to be the true creator of value to
increase sales and lower overall
any customer and, increasingly,
costs. These are small, medium or
the big differentiator among
large corporations, with a wide
suppliers.
range of products, a wide range of
The passion I developed over
target-market segments and
all these years for this industry
geographic locations, and a wide
was due more than anything else
range of cultures and personalito the people that I met along the
ties. When the phone rings, no two way. I am gladdened to think that
calls are alike. There is never a dull there is hardly an industrialized
moment. For me, it is heaven.
country around the world in which
My career in manufacturing
I do not know someone who I can
started early. When I was 15 years call a friend, and who is in one way
old, and living in Brazil, I started
or another related to our industry.
spending summers as an apprenAnd that is heaven to me.
tice in various machining
During all these years, I have
contract-shops, foundries,
watched with fascination how
assembly lines, etc. After college, I manufacturing technology has
worked as a sales engineer for a
evolved. I was there at the beginning
distributor of precision machine
of numerical control applications
tools from Germany, Switzerland,
(and later computer numerical
Italy and the United States,
control), flexible automation, the
traveling to those countries for
use of lasers, robotics, and now 3D
extended periods of time. Eventuprinting. I cannot wait to see what
ally, I became a partner of a
the next big thing will be that will
machine tool distribution commake manufacturing more
pany and a few years later, while
competitive, accessible and exciting,
already living in the United States, creating wealth to benefit all people.
I went to work for a machine tool
That would be heaven to me.
company building precision
As I retire from AMT in early
turning and machining centers,
February, I take with me the great
high speed stamping presses and
feeling that there is still a lot to be
plastic injection molding
done. I will continue to dedicate
machines.
my time and efforts to create value
I had the opportunity to travel in our industry by facilitating
and do business in 58 countries
market access and promoting
around the world, and took
further development of manufacadvantage of my fluency in six
turing technology wherever and
languages to assimilate and relate
whenever I can. You will still be
to the ways different cultures do
able to reach me through AMT,
business. Due to this international where I will be taking on an
exposure and experience, I was
advisory role to benefit association
recently appointed to the District
members. I look forward to
Export Council by the Secretary of
keeping in touch with each one of
Commerce. The privilege of
you, because that is ultimately all
working with AMT members in
that matters to me.
many countries in recent years to
Mario Winterstein – January 2015
apply what I knew was always
Page 8
AMT NEWS/February 2015
Global Services
You think you’ve got it all
figured out, but do you really?
You can do great with “a Little Help from your Friends!”
You’re young, only
ship, Chairman of the
55 years old (Hey, that’s
AMTDA, and the
young if you’re 60!). You
Inaugural Chairman of
have your own business,
the Distributor Group
and you’ve got everywill help ensure that
thing planned for when
members of this forum
you retire and sell it off.
and future forums
Your company is
benefit from the
financially solid; you
experience. The
Steve
Lesnewich
have some really strong
commitment to the
V.P. - Global Services
lines that you represent;
member is three,
you even have a good legal
one-day meetings per year, for a
succession plan in place for your
two year period at a total cost of
son (or son-in-law, or nephew…).
$2,500. From a cost/benefit
Nicely done, and very well thought
perspective, being a member of a
out. You are certainly not in the
leadership forum is a “no brainer.”
majority. So you think you have it
The feedback of some past
all figured out—but maybe not.
graduates, who are now members
Besides your tutelage,
of the Distributor Group commitwouldn’t it be wise to have
tee speak for themselves:
another source where your
“The Forum is designed to
successor can go to
provide a place to gain
develop productive
insight, understanding
management skills? Learn
and solutions, and, most
best practices? Improve
importantly, to become a
problem solving and
better leader.” – Peter
leadership skills? And,
Klier, President of Brooks
most importantly, to learn to be a
Associates
better leader?
“It gave me the opportunity to get
Let’s say you own or have just
confidential feedback on both
started your own business; it’s a very
challenges and opportunities facbig step, a very bold and challenging
ing our business from some of the
one. As a new business owner in the
smartest people in the industry.”
machine tool industry, wouldn’t you
– Joe Braun, CMTSE, Former
really like to have a small group of
president of Braun Machinery.
business peers you can trust, people
Currently General Manager
you can rely on for shared experiHurco North America.
ences, throw ideas at, ask for advice
“I give this valuable tool my highfrom and problem solve with? It
certainly beats taking the hard road est recommendation for anyone in
line to transition into management
and learning from your mistakes?
and ownership.” – Peter Addy,
You know as well as I do that at
times you feel like you’re alone on an CMTSE, President of Addy
Machinery
island with no way to get off.
There is a solution: AMT,
through the Distributor Group
Committee, is bringing back the
Leadership Forum. This Forum is
dedicated to the continuous
improvement of each member’s
leadership skills, with a focus on
operating and perpetuating
businesses, exchanging situations
and experiences, providing good
council, and applying the best
business practices. Under a slightly
new format, the Leadership
Forums will be made up of 6-10
peers that are not in competitive
areas, but are also high potential
managers who are passionate
about growing their responsibilities, capabilities and businesses.
Ralph Hegman, of Hegman
Machinery, Minn., a Morris Group
company, will be the facilitator of
the first Forum and will guide the
program. Ralph’s vast experience
in the machine tool industry as a
salesman, owner of a distributor-
“The Leadership Forums also
showed how networking in AMT
can be a huge asset by introducing
you to the people and technologies
that will make your company
thrive.” – David Smith, CMTSE,
Vice President of C.J. Smith
Machinery
For those of you who are
wondering why I chose to write
about the Leadership Forum for
this Road Warrior article, The Road
Warrior articles are written about
products and services that I believe
can really help those in our industry
perform at higher levels. Clearly, the
Leadership Forum not only meets
but exceeds these criteria. Trust me,
you won’t be disappointed.
If you’re interested in either joining a
forum, recommending someone for
a forum, or just want to learn more
about the forums, please contact me
at slesnewich@AMTonline.org or
call me at 703-827-5227.
HR Toolbox
Cont’d from page 1
For manufacturing, one of the
key areas of discussion was 3D
Printing and Additive Manufacturing. It was very helpful that not only
did I have the opportunity to speak
and join on a panel discussion
which included Stratasys, America
Makes, NIST and the NCATC, but we
were also able to make the Strati,
the zero-emission vehicle that was
3D printed at IMTS 2014, a central
attraction at the conference. We
also presented a new time-lapse
video of the printing and assembly
of the Strati to the AACC conference
during the first day’s plenary session
to very enthusiastic applause from
the audience.
In the Q&A session after the 3D
Printing and Additive Manufacturing
panel discussion, many administrators had questions about curriculum,
industry standards and credentials in
India
Cont’d from page 5
Trade Mission participants
commented:
“The AMT sponsored India Trade
Mission offered a unique opportunity to
view both the state of the developing
market, as well as meet the manufacturers that are on the forefront of the Indian
aerospace industry.” – Bill Sepanic, Vice
President, Forkardt, Traverse City, Mich.
“I would highly recommend AMT
members taking advantage of market
knowledge and new business connection thru AMT. During our recent
Aerospace Trade mission in India, we
gained insight and knowledge of the
local aerospace market and secured
opportunities worth at least $100K.”
– Monte Dhatt, Director-Global Aerospace,
Master Chemical Corp., Perrysburg, Ohio
This same kind of optimism was
also evident at IMTEX/ToolTech, which
this year was focused on metal cutting.
(Next year it will be focused on forming.)
In all, there were 970 Indian and
International Exhibitors from 24
countries spread out over five exhibition
halls. There were international pavilions
from China, Czech Republic, Germany,
Italy, Japan, Spain, Taiwan and the USA.
the 3D Printing and Additive
Manufacturing field. As it happens,
Craig McAtee, the executive director
of NCATC, the National Coalition of
Advanced Technology Centers, was
on the panel and has just put a very
impressive 3D printing/additive
program in place adjacent to the
precision machining program at
Cuyahoga Community College in
Cleveland, Ohio, thanks to a grant
from the Department of Labor (DOL).
Many of the schools represented in the audience had 3D
printers in place that were being
used as part of their machining
program already, but curriculum,
industry standards and certifications are still a challenge. In the
coming months, we’ll be embarking on a project to develop a NIMS
standard for 3D Printing/Additive
Manufacturing, so stay tuned for
that 2015 initiative.
The other notable remix about
this conference was the high level of
interest among administrators in
strengthening their internship and
apprenticeship programs with
employers. Undoubtedly, this
interest is coming from the
increased availability of grant
money from the DOL for apprenticeship programs and because the
local industry partners of these
schools are asking about jumpstarting apprenticeship programs,
as well as offering internships again
(see the infographic on page 1 for
more reference).
If your company is ready to
remix your HR recruiting strategies to re-tool your workforce, you
should consider posting your
open internships on AMT’s
member-only job board at www.
MTCareers.org.
For more information about jumpstarting your apprenticeship program, visit www.NIMSready.org.
As always, for more frequent
updates about Smartforce Development efforts, follow me @GregoryAJones on Twitter.
All of the six aerospace companies
that the Trade
Mission visited
were working
three shifts and
expecting year-onyear growth of
20 - 40 percent.
More than 100,000 visitors were
expected this year. Many of the
machines in the USA Pavilion this year
were sent to Bangalore from the
Chennai Tech Centre demo floor, as
members have learned to take
advantage of the regulation that allows
equipment from CTC to be shipped to
exhibitions anywhere in India with no
surprise expense or inconvenience
beyond normal transportation costs.
Participating AMT members
were pleased:
“Even on Sunday and Republic Day
(national holiday in India), the number of people attending the IMTEX
show surpassed my wildest expectations. The AMT/USA Pavilion was in
a prime location in the first of six
buildings. With a new political
party in power now, India is a great
place to be for manufacturing.
Mastercam will be back with AMT
to exhibit at IMTEX in 2017.” – Gene
Welti, Director, Asia Pacific Sales,
CNC Software, Inc., Tolland, Conn.
“The AMT facilities at IMTEX 2015
allowed us to show case our company
and products at the heart of the show.
We have been able to use the strength
of the organization to reach into the
market and gain a significant benefit.
I would recommend this approach to
anyone contemplating entry to the
India Market.” – John McTernan,
Hardinge, Inc.
Next year, for the first time, the
World Bank projects that India’s rate
of GDP growth (>7%) will exceed
China’s (<7%). So this would be a very
good time to come to India to get your
company established for the next five
years. If you missed the ride up in
China, don’t also miss it here!
Congratulations to the AMT membership
drawing winner Toolmen Corporation. AMT
companies that renewed their membership
and paid by December 31, 2014, were entered
in a drawing to win TWO free registrations for
a 2015 AMT meeting of their choice. We hope
you enjoy it!
It is not too late to renew your membership.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Melissa Williamson at 703-827-5272
Visit www.AMTonline.org/Renewal
Visit AMTonline.org/renewal or contact
Melissa Williamson at mwilliamson@
AMTonline.org or 703-827-5272.