May 1-3, 2022     
The Pfister Hotel | Milwaukee, WI

Get Your Tech Conference Hotel Reservations!

Make sure you have a room at the beautiful Pfister Hotel for the info-packed National Technical Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, May 1-3, 2022. 

Deadline for reservations is April 12th, so don’t delay!

Thank You NTC Sponsors!

Our thanks to the following sponsors to the 2022 National Technical Conference

EXCLUSIVE SPONSORS
Peterson Tool Company – Backpack
INDEX Corporation – Welcome Reception

PREMIER SPONSORS
Global Shop Solutions
iSwiss Tools Corporation
Wieland Chase
 

Registration is Now Open for
PMPA Chapter Events!!

Be sure to register….PMPA social events are coming to a local Chapter near you!   Watch your emails for all the details and registration information in the next few weeks.

NORTHERN OHIO CHAPTER
March 22 – 5:30 pm
Cleveland, OH
REGISTER NOW

ILLINOIS CHAPTER
March 23 – 5:30 pm 
Bolingbrook, IL
REGISTER NOW

WISCONSIN CHAPTER
March 24 – 5:00 pm
Waukesha, WI
REGISTER NOW

WESTERN MICHIGAN CHAPTER
March 29 – 5:30 pm
Grand Rapids, MI
REGISTER NOW

SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN CHAPTER
March 30 – 5:30 pm
Ferndale, MI
REGISTER NOW

 Business Trends Report – January 2022

January 2022 continues the positivity, as our PMPA Business Trends Sales Index out performs the FED’s Industrial Production and Manufacturing Indexes, as well as the five year average for the January Index – up seven and a quarter percent (7.25%) from December 2021’s remarkably high close.

Lead times are as high in this report as they were last January in 2021- you know how that turned out. There are plenty of issues in the larger world to give us pause, but the consensus of your peers (71 respondents), as given by their data, is one of continued positivity and performance for our precision machining shops in the quarter ahead.

Business Trends Report – January 2022

ITR Economics Forecast Report
January 2022

Now is when your efforts at managing can really make a difference!

Despite all of the angst and nail biting issues in the press these days, the US economy is strong and will continue to be strong in the coming years. Continued (but SLOWER!) growth is likely for the next couple of YEARS.  Fears of an impending recession are misplaced, but slowing growth provides us with opportunities to reflect, reconfigure, and rebuild for a successful and sustainable longer timeline.

Automation, workforce retention, upskilling, and talent acquisition should be our top management priorities going into this slower growth phase of the business cycle. Inflation is here as well –  raw material prices up by high double digit percentages – demand that you re-examine your new AND EXISTING contracts to make sure that you are not including fifty dollar bills of excess unrecovered costs in every box of parts you ship.

Most of the markets that we serve remain in accelerating growth, but a couple have moved into a slower growth phase. None of our bellwether markets are in recession.

ITR Economics – January 2022 Economic Forecast Report
(This report is password-protected – you will need your PMPA passwords to access.  If you’ve forgotten those, click here to reset your password.)

Production Machining – March Issue

The PMPA pages in the March issue of Production Machining cover:

• Workforce is Still the Most Important Challenge by Miles Free
• What’s in a Name?  Pride. by Carli Kistler-Miller
• Market Insight – Construction Machining by Joe Jackson
• Craftsman’s Cribsheet – Common Applications of CNC Machining
• Also, one last shout out to the Sponsors of the Management Update Conference!

Production Machining
Emerging Leaders Award

Production Machining is is seeking nominations for its 2022 Emerging Leaders awards.

Do you know someone under the age of 40 who is making a difference in the precision machined parts industry at large? The emphasis of the award is on leadership and potential leadership, whether it is in the nominee’s company or their involvement in the industry.

It only takes a few minutes to fill out the form here.

Nominations are due April 1, so act now! 

PMPA Final Cut of the Week

Be sure to check out PMPA’s new Final Cut of the Week video clip, where you will get a snippet of this week’s manufacturing news that you might have missed while you were busy making essential parts!

Find us on Twitter and LinkedIn, and catch archived clips on the website.