History of MetalForming Magazine

• 1942

  PMA Ancestor Pressed Metal Institute Forms in Cleveland, OH

  Late in 1942, a series of letters and unofficial meetings launched the Pressed Metal Institute (PMI), the direct ancestor of today’s Precision Metalforming Association (PMA). Organized officially in Cleveland, OH, with 42 charter member companies, PMI and the industry it represented—the metal-stamping industry—faced a sizable public-image problem. That image problem is best summed up in the following excerpt from a letter delivered early in 1943 to a steel-industry executive by PMI member C. C. Caditz, Northern Metal Products Company, Franklin Park, IL:

  “Our conversation last Monday was brutal. You said that you regard contract metal stampers as a bad bet to become long-range mill customers…What hurts is that everything I have tried to do—every course I have followed in my whole business life—has been discounted by that general ‘job stamper’ evaluation. I believe our American economy has progressed to the point where there is room for a basic, sound, businesslike, well-managed contract fabricating service, one that will also need dependable sources of steel…In The Pressed Metal Institute I see a means of building industry standards-for fostering technical advances, encouraging research and educational progress, and cooperating with and helping our whole economy as a member of our industrial team.”

• 1957

  PMI Launches Stamper’s Digest

  In an effort to improve communication and technology transfer among members, PMI launched Stamper’s Digest, a collection of articles and papers of interest to metal stampers.

• 1961

  PMI Becomes American Metal Stamping Association

  PMI formally became the American Metal Stamping Association (AMSA), so that its name would more accurately describe the industry it served. PMI’s logo at the time was an octagonal shield representing its eight major services—management, technical and research programs, education and training, safety, meetings, public relations, statistics and government liaison. In 1961 a new logo took hold, this one a circle representing a more flexible overall program.

• 1966

  AMSA Publication Evolves Into Semi-Monthly Newspaper

  AMSA and its forerunner, PMI, had been publishing a collection of stamping-related papers since 1957. In 1966, the AMSA publication Metal Stamper evolved into a semi-monthly newspaper, Metal Stamping Highlights, and work began on a new monthly magazine for publication early in 1967.

• 1967

  AMSA Debuts Metal Stamping Magazine

  Metal Stamping magazine published its first issue in March 1967.

  “(Metal Stampers and their suppliers,) in the race to stay ahead also need a medium providing a direct contact with their customers…a publication that takes their story only to people who influence the selection and purchase of material and equipment,” wrote Jefferson D. Keith, managing editor, in that first issue’s Editor’s Note. “We hope Metal Stamping succeeds in filling the void that’s existed for so long.”

• 1972

  Metal Stamping Adds Color

  Exactly five years after its founding, Metal Stamping incorporated color into the publication, including a full-color cover for the March 1972 issue.

• 1981

  AMSA Launches METALFORM Tradeshow

  AMSA launched its first METALFORM tradeshow for the metalforming industry in 1981 as a tabletop exhibition in Cleveland, OH. In 2008 METALFORM merged with FABTECH and the AWS Welding Show, rebranded as FABTECH in 2010. MetalForming magazine, an Official Publication of FABTECH, produces its special FABTECH issue, the magazine’s largest issue each year, prior to the annual event.

• 1987

  AMSA Becomes PMA

  AMSA became the Precision Metalforming Association, with the announcement made at the 1987 METALFORM event in Chicago, IL. Jon Jenson, who took the reigns as AMSA president in 1975 and also served as Metal Stamping’s publisher, explained the name change in the March 1987 issue:

  “It was necessary to redefine the industry to be served by the association—to recognize and adapt to the obvious technical and business trends sweeping the industry…as companies seek to become more flexible and provide more value-added operations…This trend is already reflected in the association’s membership, where some 20 percent of the manufacturing members are primarily metal fabricators and metal spinners, rather than stampers.”

• 1988

  Metal Stamping Becomes MetalForming Magazine

  With the June 1988 issue, PMA changed the publication’s name to MetalForming. This was “in response to the changes in the metal forming industry,” wrote Jon Jenson. “The industry has begun to blend various types of operations, and technologies that were traditionally separate are being merged. The metal forming industry includes contract metal stampers; end-product or captive metal stampers; perforators; precision sheet metal fabricators; metal spinners; four-slide users; rollformers; tool and die shops with production presses; and suppliers of equipment, materials and services. These fields have common customers, common suppliers and similar legislative and regulatory concerns. They shape the same type of materials by similar and related methods.”

• 2004

  MetalForming Spanish Edition Debuts

  Recognizing the significant metal forming and fabricating activity in Mexico, MetalForming debuted a Spanish edition, which continues to publish quarterly, along with a monthly e-newsletter.

• 2008

  Webinar Capability Added

  MetalForming introduced its webinar hosting program—live, interactive events that enable equipment and technology providers to reach the magazine’s readers. These webinars continue to provide value for our forming and fabricating community.

• 2009

  MetalForming Joins Twitter, Signaling Social Media Entry

  With its Twitter account going live in May 2009, MetalForming entered the social media arena. Today, the magazine boasts 14,000 Twitter followers and 3500 more on Facebook. And, the latest news and industry developments are available through the MetalForming Everywhere app.

• 2011

  The Manufacturing ERP Experience—MetalForming’s First Conference

  MetalForming’s first live event, the Manufacturing ERP Experience, held August 23-24, 2011, in Chicago, IL, provided a platform where metalforming company executives and their IT leaders could evaluate ERP solutions from several suppliers, efficiently and in one setting.

  Since then, MetalForming has developed events that span the metal forming and fabricating lineup. Current magazine-developed and –sponsored conferences include Lubrication Technology for Metal Formers and Die Shops; Internet of Things for Manufacturers—Software, Sensors and Controls; The Hot Stamping Experience; Mexico Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Conference; 3D Metal Printing Experience and Tech Tour; and Mexico Metal Forming Technology Conference.

  “Conferences such as these,” says Brad Kuvin, publisher/editorial director, “provide perfect opportunities for MetalForming magazine to connect suppliers of technology and products with users in the metal forming and fabricating industries, enabling metal forming and fabricating companies to continue to have access to the latest-greatest innovative technologies needed to optimize their productivity and quality.”

• 2016

  Sister Publication, 3D Metal Printing, Launched

  Gauging interest in the industry regarding the possibilities surrounding additive manufacturing (AM) of metal parts, 3D Metal Printing magazine, with the Spring 2016 issue, was launched, along with its companion website, www.3dmpmag.com. Published quarterly, 3DMP provides the latest news and technology related to metal AM, as does a twice-monthly newsletter.

• 2016

  MetalForming Recognizes Women of Excellence

  Recognizing the vital importance of a diverse and dedicated workforce, MetalForming debuted a new award program, Women of Excellence in Metal Forming and Fabricating. From scores of nominations, MetalForming’s editors selected 30 Winners and 19 Honorable Mention recipients. With this annual program, MetalForming now teams with the Women in Manufacturing Association to select honorees.

• 2017

  MetalForming publishes Special Issue celebrating PMA’s 75th Anniversary

  Organized in Cleveland, OH, in 1942, the Pressed Metal Institute (PMI) comprised 42 charter member companies. In 1961, PMI evolved to become the American Metal Stamping Association, and then became the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) in 1987.

• 2018

  MetalForming launches the Internet of Things Experience—Software, Sensors and Controls

  A conference offering engineers, managers and other team members working at metal stamping and fabricating companies to learn about IOT and plant-flor connectivity, and engage with providers of ERP/MRP software, sensors and controls.

• 2019

  MetalForming launches the Hot Stamping Experience and Tech Tour

  A conference providing the unique opportunity to dive deeply into hot stamping and to get close to the action. Attendees enjoyed technical presentation, and then toured Urgent Design & Manufacturing (UDM) to view the hot stamping process in action, as well as see five-axis laser trimming of hot-stamped parts, robotic resistance-spot welding of hot-stamped parts, and much more.

• 2020

  New Website

  MetalForming launches an entirely new website, featuring exciting and state-of-the-art functionality and an unprecedented amount of technical information related to metal forming and fabricating processes, as articles, white papers, videos, podcasts and more.