Page 30 - MetalForming July 2012

PMI held its first National Technical Meeting in Cleveland, OH, on March 16-17, 1950. Another first that year: PMI pub- lished its Blue Book of Stamping Manufacturers, which listed all member companies and was distributed to some 15,000 pur- chasers of metal stampings. The book later became known as the Annual Stamping Buyer’s Guide.
In 1951, PMI issued its first Industry
Mobilization Survey, as well as its first
Wage and Hour Survey. Another empha-
sis that year was on international trade,
as PMI officials visited England under
the sponsorship of the Economic Cooperation Adminis- tration. Later that year, American stamping plants were vis- ited by the Belgian Forging and Stamping Team. And, at PMI’s Annual Meeting that year, held at the Drake Hotel in Chicago, board members were treated to a presentation on the English government’s regulations on safety. As a result, PMI agreed to launch its own safety committee.
In 1955, PMI terminated its arrangement with the Nation- al Screw Machine Products Association. Industry awards became a focus for the association that year, as its Spring
March 1967 marked the birth of AMSA’s industry publication, Metal Stamping magazine. On the cover (shown) of that inaugural issue: equipment employed for pilot forming of metals under high
pressure at Northeastern University, Boston, MA. Metal Stamping went all-color exactly 5 years later, with its March 1972 issue—shown at left is an Atwood plant engineer pointing out the control installed on a produc- tion press. The magazine became MetalForming with its June 1988 issue, whose cover showcased a servo- driven roll feed and 400-ton Minster press operating at Pax Machine Works in Celina, OH.
Technical Meeting featured the first-ever presentation of the John Woodman Higgins Redesign Award. The $500 cash award was presented by the Worcester Pressed Steel Company, Worcester, MA, in memory of its founder, to rec- ognize a metal stamper for excellence in product design. The award, which lives on
today as the Higgins-Caditz Design Award, went to engineers from General Electric’s appliance group in Louisville, KY, for redesign of integral back plates and a drain trough for GE’s combination refrigerator-freezer.
GR Spring & Stamping, Inc. | Advertorial
Congratulations to PMA celebrating their 70th Anniversary
Bill and Liz Adler are also celebrating a milestone! 2012 marks their 20th year as owners of Stripmatic Products, Inc. Stripmatic is a provider of stamped metal tubular shapes. SPI continues to develop the capabili- ties of a unique die process that wraps a blank into a precision tube which saves money if the application can be converted from the tradi- tional but more expensive cut off pipe or machined tube processes. SPI’s tubular die system can eliminate many secondary operations such as pierced holes, chamfered ends, weld projections, notches, embossed
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GR Spring & Stamping, Inc.
GR Spring &
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GR Spring & Stamping, Inc.
706 Bond Ave. Grand Rapids, MI www.grs-s.com
28 MetalForming/July 2012
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