Page 18 - MetalForming March 2019

PMA: Industry Leaders in
Workforce Development
That’s the theme put forth by 2019 PMA Chairman Troy Roberts, who pledges to lead PMA’s efforts to define its role in the evolving workforce-development landscape, and then help shape the association’s array of services and advocacy efforts to support its workforce- development agenda.
BY BRAD F. KUVIN, PUBLISHER/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
When PMA launched its online learning-management sys- tem, METALFORM EDU, late in 2018, the initiative, one of the largest ever undertaken by the association, immediately became a key resource in addressing a critical and complex issue touching almost every facet of our soci- ety. Those sentiments, shared by 2019 PMA Chairman Troy Roberts, will help him and the PMA board of directors provide guidance to the association’s leadership and staff as they develop a new strategic plan in early fiscal 2019. The plan will support PMA’s defined and desired leadership role in tackling workforce development-related chal- lenges and opportunities faced by
Qualtek president Chris Fagnant (left) and CEO Troy Roberts take a close look at anodized aluminum rifle-scope components processed at the company.
16 MetalForming/March 2019
www.metalformingmagazine.com
membership. Then, the longer-term mission focuses, under the leadership of new PMA president David Klotz (see the accompanying sidebar), on evalu- ating the products and services PMA provides to its membership and to the industry, such as METALFORM EDU, as well as focus its advocacy efforts at the federal, state and local levels.
Roberts, who serves as CEO of metal forming company Qualtek Manufac- turing, Inc., Colorado Springs, CO, adds that, “every Qualtek employee will use METALFORM EDU’s online courses in 2019. We are a small company, and we find the curriculum to be tremendously useful, and affordable.”
Prior to joining Qualtek, Roberts
served as president/COO of press man- ufacturer Aida-America Corp., so his knowledge and perspectives on the industry are vast and well-rounded. And, he knows well the challenges manufacturers face in the coming years.
“For many of our member compa- nies,” he says, “automotive is king. Yet, consumer tastes (SUV vs. cars) and generational shifts (car-sharing, autonomous driving and electrifica- tion, for example) will impact OEM sales, production volumes and the manufacture of component parts. This paradigm shift will present significant challenges, and opportunities, to our association members and to the metal