Page 24 - MetalForming March 2017

Education, Re-engagement and Advocacy
sentations on big data, testing and inspection of stamped parts, and form- ing-process simulation.
“This is a great opportunity for PMA members to visit China and see what’s happening in its metalforming com- panies,” he says.
Advocacy: Let’s Engage on the Local Level
Arndt has been a strong advocate
for building strong ties between man- ufacturing and government, long before he went to work in the metal- forming industry. That advocacy has continued during his time with PMA, having participated in Washington, D.C., fly-ins with the association to lobby on Capitol Hill, and regularly hosting local politicians at his plants, all to voice our industry’s concerns regarding policies addressing health-
care, taxation, regulations and other critical issues.
“As an association, we have to become more active,” he stresses, “and I believe it all starts at the local level. Bring congresspeople into your plant, and make the effort to visit D.C. to talk to your representatives. Localization is the key, and I’d like to see PMA encourage, at the District level, our member companies to work with their mayors, state representatives and even their school administrators.
“I believe we need a volunteer leader within each PMA District to serve as an advocate for local government rela- tions,” Arndt continues. “It’s a missed opportunity—we have very vibrant and active District boards; they should serve as conduits to our local politicians. The impact of bringing these politicians into our plants and to our meetings can be significant—they can learn a lot from us, and we can learn from them how to better engage as compa- nies and as an association. I see this at Pentaflex, where our ownership (the McGregor family) is very active with our city and state politicians.”
A great place to start is by partici- pating in Manufacturing Day activities and inviting the community—includ- ing local politicians—to attend. PMA, which sponsors Manufacturing Day, recently launched, through its Edu- cational Foundation, a new website dedicated to helping manufacturers design Manufacturing Day activities. The site—the Center for Metalforming Careers (www.center4metalforming- careers.org) documents all member activity related to Manufacturing Day, and includes a toolkit that companies can use, including a video that can be shown to visitors explaining the career opportunities available to peo- ple working in the metalforming industry.
“The C4MC site will be enhanced over time,” Arndt says, “with new con- tent added to educate parents and stu- dents about metalforming as a reward- ing career. And, it will seek to assist educators and employers in recruiting and retaining talent.” MF
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