MetalForming Continues to Move Forward

In 2019, for the first time ever the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) took over the Lakeside Center (East Building) of McCormick Place for the annual FABTECH exhibition and conference. This year PMA again takes over that same space, welcoming hundreds of exhibits and tens of thousands of attendees to share in the excitement of this annual extravaganza—the must-attend event of the year for metal forming and fabricating professionals. 

This year’s FABTECH event will have a particularly special vibe for PMA and MetalForming magazine, for a few reasons. For starters, we’ve recently acquired Stamping Journal magazine, allowing us to continue to evolve our readership and editorial coverage of the forming and fabricating markets. That includes adding Stamping Journal editor Kate Bachman to our content-production ranks, joining senior editor Lou Kren and me. We know you’ll appreciate seeing Kate’s words of wisdom in our editorial mix.

But that’s not all that’s new! With this issue we’re debuting a new look and feel for MetalForming, with graphic-design improvements carefully crafted by our outstanding creative team—outgoing graphic designer Nikki Formica, and the latest addition to our editorial team, designer Garret Horvath. Nikki and Garret have worked feverishly over the last several months, alongside editorial manager Marlene O’Brien, to spruce up our pages. We hope that you enjoy the new look.

Yes, MetalForming continues to move forward, evolving its audience and its content—and its means of delivering content as technology evolves. Last month, for example, we offered up the latest editions of our MetalForming LIVE series of webcasts to an audience of more than 400 attendees over the three-part series. Topics addressed included automation in the pressroom and optimizing revenue per employee; how metal formers can adopt strategies to take on short-run stamping and fabrication processes; and technology advancements to add increased precision to your operations.All of those events are archived on our website, so if you weren’t able to join us, I encourage you to take a look. And, if you did attend any or all of those events, feel free to review them and perhaps invite others from your company to do the same!