Welcome to the newest monthly newsletter offering from MetalForming magazine and PMA. We hope you find it useful and interesting; please feel free to share your thoughts with us. |
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This regular column from MetalForming magazine provides an inside look at the management styles and techniques of metal forming and fabricating company executives. We’ll share some of their philosophies, their daily challenges and how they face them, and offer additional insights. We hope that you find these interviews useful and can take away some ideas to use at your own company.
Want to be interviewed for this column? E-mail editorial director Brad Kuvin. |
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Perspectives on Business Management with Bill Adler, President and Owner, Stripmatic Products |
This
month we invite Bill Adler, president and owner of Stripmatic Products,
to share his insights. Stripmatic fabricates metal tubular shapes for
the automotive and heavy-truck markets. It employs a unique in-die
forming process, as well as laser welding and other added-value
processes.
“We constantly focus on identifying production and process constraints to help optimize throughput,” he says. “A significant example of this dates back a few years when we looked at reducing changeover time on one of our laser-welding cells…and managed to reduce cell setup time from 10 hr. down to 20 min.” |
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The right benefits can make a difference… |
Chances
are, you have key employees that play important roles in your
organization. Having the right tools to recruit, reward, retain and
retire your top talent can help them and your business. Contact us today
to get started. |
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Don’t Capsize in the Brewing Collision of Storms |
This month’s love letter warns of three storm fronts that, if they collide, could cause a once-in-lifetime perfect storm for manufacturers. The three fronts: - Long lead times, with raw-material shortages tying up cash.
- Delayed demand, leaving component manufacturers holding on to finished goods on top of slow-moving raw materials.
- Rising cost of capital.
How to avoid getting caught in the storm? Among the advice: Stop
over-stocking raw materials, and build and maintain a cash-flow forecast
to look ahead into accounts receivable, accounts payable and expected
payroll to see when cash is generated or used. |
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Comprehensive Lubrication Program to Improve Production Efficiencies |
AMSOIL
Industrial, launched in September 2021, is a division of AMSOIL Inc.,
which brings more than 50 years of lubrication formulation and was the
first lubricant company to bring API-certified synthetic lubricants to
market in 1972. AMSOIL Industrial consults with fabricators and metal
stamping operations to optimize production efficiency by employing a
comprehensive lubrication program that starts with a plant audit by
AMSOIL Industrial tribologists and lubrication experts. |
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Need Help Quantifying How Injuries and Illness Affect the Bottom Line? |
OSHA’s Safety Pays Program raises awareness of how occupational injuries and illnesses can impact a company's profitability. The program comprises two tools to help employers estimate costs from workplace injuries: - The Safety Pays Tool leverages data collected from thousands of
workplaces to allow businesses to compare their workplace-safety record
with their peers.
- The Individual Injury Estimator helps determine on how much a specific injury might cost a business.
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Sell to Someone You Can Trust AND Get a Great Price |
Founder
led and/or family run manufacturing companies want a buyer who will
respect their legacy yet grow the business, so the employees have future
opportunity. But they also want a great price. All of this is
achievable as well as maintaining confidentiality throughout the
process. |
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U.S. Economy on Track to Grow in Q3 |
From economist Brian Beaulieu’s latest blog post:
“The U.S. economy is on track to grow in the third quarter of the year. However, the growth is uneven. The industries and companies that excelled because of the stimulus and/or social restrictions stemming from COVID are doing poorly as demand wanes and inventories catch up with or exceed supply, and this is creating pockets of recession.”
The blog explores the economic timeline extending into the 2030s. |
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Plex Quality Management System (QMS) |
Gain repeatable, predictable, digital quality delivery—every time. Plex Quality Management System (QMS) helps process and discrete manufacturers meet strict industry and customer compliance with a closed-loop digital system of record. |
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Soaring Job Gains from Reshoring |
The Reshoring Initiative has issued its 1H 2022 Data Report, subtitled “Multiple Supply Chain Risks Accelerate Reshoring." According to the report, the current 2022 projection of reshoring and foreign direct investment jobs announcements “is around 350,000—another record, up from 260,000 in 2021.”
Also included in the report: a deep dive into the factors influencing reshoring decisions (skilled-workforce availability is called a “barrier” and an “enabler”), and a breakdown of reshoring activity by industry, country and U.S. states. |
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PMA Membership |
Position your company as an industry leader when you utilize PMA resources—ITR Econ Trends reports, trade publications, One Voice and FABTECH trade shows. A PMA membership will provide your company and all of its employees with a range of valuable industry resources that are designed to help you become more connected, more informed, more efficient, more competitive and ultimately more profitable. |
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Free Webinar: Family/Succession Planning |
Join Mitch McCuistian, attorney and partner with the law firm Evans & Davis, for this complimentary 1-hr. webinar on September 20, 2022, sponsored by Federated Insurance. McCuistian will share advice on how to properly draft business-succession plans and personal estate plans; liability and asset protection planning; business entity structure; and employee retention. And, he’ll cover how a business owner’s own personal estate plan can have a meaningful impact for generations to come. |
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Eight Reasons You’re Struggling with Your Workforce |
By way of the NIST Manufacturing Innovation Blog, the United Way of Cleveland created a simple infographic that captures what it professes are the eight primary social determinants of work. The blog notes that all of these factors are outside of an employee’s control, but they definitely impact an employer’s ability to recruit and retain talent. The eight factors discussed here: - Job flexibility
- Healthcare
- Childcare
- Transportation
- Sustained education—I particularly like this one. Notes the post: “Automation will affect workers of all types. So, let’s be more proactive. How about offering tuition advances rather than tuition reimbursements? How about offering a success coach for your workers who focuses on each worker’s long-term career advancement, including educational attainment?
- Broadband access
- Access to justice.
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