Page 34 - MetalForming July 2012

trols, Precision Steel Warehouse, Cooper Weymouth and Minster Machine Co. Also in 1967, AMSA began its 25th year, marking its Silver Anniversary Year by signing an On-the- Job Training Program contract with the U.S. Department of Labor.
In 1969, AMSA hosted the Third International Technical Conference of Sheet Metal Working, at the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago. This international technical meeting was spon- sored by AMSA as well as trade associations from England, France and Germany. More than 250 international dele- gates attended from 12 countries, in addition to a U.S. del- egation of more than 850. This meeting represented AMSA’s first attempt at multilingual, simultaneous translation as well as printing. Each program was presented simultaneously in French, English, German and Japanese.
In 1970 and 1971 the focus shifted notably to safety, as AMSA’s 22nd annual technical conference placed a heavy emphasis on complying with new government-mandated safety-code requirements (the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, and the establishment in 1971 of the Occu- pational Safety and Health Administration). In 1971 AMSA ini- tiated the Seastrom Safety Award, founded by the Seastrom Manufacturing Company of Glendale, CA, in memory of its founder W. H. Seastrom. The award lives on today, sponsored for PMA’s Awards of Excellence in Metalforming program by the Pitcher Insurance Agency as a way to recognize innova-
tive and effective safety programs.
Training in the metal stamping industry also was empha-
sized by AMSA in 1971. A series of two-day workshops was held for key employees responsible for their companies’ compliance with the new safety regulations. In conjunc- tion, AMSA compiled its first safety-compliance handbook.
In 1972, AMSA broke ground for a new headquarters’ building in Cleveland (Richmond Heights), and the associ- ation’s technical meeting moved out of the United States for the first time, as more than 900 stampers met in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Also in 1972, Metal Stamping magazine proudly pub- lished its first four-color cover.
A Major Rebirth
We hope you enjoyed reading this colorful timeline that traces the first 30 official years of AMSA—PMA’s roots. Mod- ern history for the association, “and a major rebirth,” says cur- rent PMA president Bill Gaskin, “occurred in 1975 when Jon Jenson took the reigns as AMSA president. AMSA had a staff of 14 at the time, and Jenson recommitted their time and energy toward a few key competencies that really drove the association’s growth for many years to come.”
Those three key areas receiving Jenson’s attention: Metal Stamping magazine, government affairs and indus- try statistics.
32 MetalForming/July 2012
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