PRESORTED FIRST CLASS MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #163 DULLES, VA AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology 7901 Westpark Drive McLean, VA 22102 Address Service Requested A monthly report to members from AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology July 2015 AMTonline.org I was asked recently, “Why all the fuss about Greece since its economy isn’t that large?” While it’s true that Greece’s GDP is modest in size – about the same as Connecticut or Louisiana – if either of those states were to suffer a financial crisis as significant as that which faces Greece, the U.S. government would surely step in to support the state. See Page 6 /AMTonline /AMTnews /AMTinsight See Page 3 Christopher See Page 7 Solid Con included a wide range of conference topics and exhibitors, including 3D printing shops, autonomous robots, data-driven manufacturing processing, individual innovators and predictive analytics. Many speakers and exhibitors illustrated how data and analytics are driving innovation, and the clearest display of this in the manufacturing technology space was MTConnect. AIM See Page 5 Edward Christopher has been named the Vice President – Global Services, overseeing AMT’s international offices, business development programs and services. Christopher’s previous experience includes 25 years developing new markets for manufacturers within the construction equipment industry, including 10 years as an executive in Asia. “With his extensive international, manufacturing and business development experience, Ed provides unique capabili- ties to support our members looking to expand their businesses internationally and domestically,” said Doug Woods, President, AMT. Prior to starting his own company, Constech Consulting, Christopher spent seven years as the Vice President of International Sales & Marketing for Stone Construction Equipment, Inc. Before that, he was the Vice President of Asia for Somero Enterprises, Inc. “I am very excited to be joining the team here at AMT,” Christopher said. “Having spent my entire career developing markets for manufacturers, I believe I AMT welcomes new Vice President – Global Services AIM Conference 2015 June 3-4, 2015 Detroit, Mich. Automation is on the cutting edge of technology and is leading companies to increased productivity and connectivity. Industry came together for the second annual Automation in Manufacturing (AIM) conference in the first week of June to see how automation is being integrated and to gain a better understanding of the chal- lenges ahead. Topics ranged from the rise of automa- tion and current applications in industry- leading facilities to workforce development, interconnectivity, the future of automation and more. Hal Sirkin of Boston Consulting Group opened his presentation describing the beginning of automation, starting with the invention of the steam engine and the impact of innovation in manufacturing to present day applications of automation. He focused on the economics of automation with a matter-of-fact analysis of the progression of manufacturing, labor and robotics. Donald Peters of Lincoln Electric echoed the lessons of the past and offered a fresh perspective on the flexibility of robotics in manufacturing. He focused on applicable solutions to today’s challenges of staying competitive in an ever-growing global market for companies of all sizes. Moving forward from history and analysis, Christian Müller of Grob Systems, Inc., gave an in-depth look at what top-of- the-line automation looks like and the challenges of integration. With examples AIM Conference 2015 covered wide range of topics Global challenges are important to U.S. manufacturing Tech Time… The digital factory … data analytics, individual innovators and increased automation Housing starts on upward trend, over 1 million units for the 3rd consecutive month (Census Bureau) Automotive Industrial Production is growing at a 10% rate compared to last year (Federal Reserve) Capital expenditures by the energy industry are 12% lower compared to 2013 (USEIA) Need more? Contact AMT’s Strategic Analytics department. [email protected]· Insightful industry forecasts · Networking opportunities · Sessions presented by industry experts Global Forecasting & Marketing Conference October 13 - 15, 2015 Cleveland Winter · Spring · Summer Webinars REGISTER
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A monthly report to members from AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology
July 2015 AMTonline.org
I was asked recently, “Why all the fuss about Greece since its economy isn’t that large?” While it’s true that Greece’s GDP is modest in size –
about the same as Connecticut or Louisiana – if either of those states were to suffer a financial crisis as significant as that which faces Greece, the U.S. government would surely step in to
support the state. See Page 6
/AMTonline/AMTnews /AMTinsight
See Page 3
Christopher See Page 7
Solid Con included a wide range of conference topics and exhibitors, including 3D printing shops, autonomous robots, data-driven manufacturing processing, individual innovators and predictive analytics. Many speakers and exhibitors illustrated how data and analytics are driving innovation, and the clearest display of this in the manufacturing technology space was MTConnect.
AIM See Page 5
Edward Christopher has been named the Vice President – Global Services, overseeing AMT’s international offices, business development programs and services. Christopher’s previous experience includes 25 years developing new markets for manufacturers within the construction equipment industry, including 10 years as an executive in Asia.
“With his extensive international, manufacturing and business development experience, Ed provides unique capabili-ties to support our members looking to expand their businesses internationally and domestically,” said Doug Woods, President, AMT.
Prior to starting his own company, Constech Consulting, Christopher spent seven years as the Vice President of International Sales & Marketing for Stone Construction Equipment, Inc. Before that, he was the Vice President of Asia for Somero Enterprises, Inc.
“I am very excited to be joining the team here at AMT,” Christopher said. “Having spent my entire career developing markets for manufacturers, I believe I
AMT welcomes new Vice President – Global Services
AIM Conference 2015June 3-4, 2015 Detroit, Mich.
Automation is on the cutting edge of technology and is leading companies to increased productivity and connectivity. Industry came together for the second annual Automation in Manufacturing (AIM) conference in the first week of June to see how automation is being integrated and to gain a better understanding of the chal-lenges ahead.
Topics ranged from the rise of automa-tion and current applications in industry-
leading facilities to workforce development, interconnectivity, the future of automation and more.
Hal Sirkin of Boston Consulting Group opened his presentation describing the beginning of automation, starting with the invention of the steam engine and the impact of innovation in manufacturing to present day applications of automation. He focused on the economics of automation with a matter-of-fact analysis of the progression of manufacturing, labor and robotics.
Donald Peters of Lincoln Electric
echoed the lessons of the past and offered a fresh perspective on the flexibility of robotics in manufacturing. He focused on applicable solutions to today’s challenges of staying competitive in an ever-growing global market for companies of all sizes.
Moving forward from history and analysis, Christian Müller of Grob Systems, Inc., gave an in-depth look at what top-of-the-line automation looks like and the challenges of integration. With examples
AIM Conference 2015 covered wide range of topics
Global challenges are important to U.S. manufacturing
Tech Time… The digital factory … data analytics, individual innovators and increased automation
Housing starts on upward trend,over 1 million units for the 3rdconsecutive month (Census Bureau)
Automotive Industrial Production is growing at a 10% rate compared to last year (Federal Reserve)
Capital expenditures by the energy industry are 12% lower compared to 2013 (USEIA)
Need more? Contact AMT’sStrategic Analytics department.
Global Marketing & Sales Committee – Lessons Learned
President signs trade bills
By Penny Brown MTAdvocacy Manager
MFG Advocate …
It was big news when ABB Robotics opened their latest major facility in Auburn Hills, Mich., last month. The most headline-grabbing element is its standing as one of the first plants in the United States to manufacture large industrial robots. It joins ABB’s other manu-facturing operations in Sweden and China, and the company (a member of AMT) says they plan to add 500 employees to the Auburn Hills facility over the next five years.
In an interview with The Detroit News, ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer said, “The U.S. is still the largest economy in the world. It is prosper-ing. It has a great phase ahead of it. The investment in robotics in the U.S. by ABB is a very conscious investment.”
This is one example of a major force in the U.S. economy: direct investment by foreign manufactur-ers. Much of it is driven by a desire to make products closer to the customer base, thereby mitigating supply chain risk. The United States also has the advantage of stable labor costs and low energy costs.
Another part of the story is the industry’s growing acceptance of robots working alongside humans on the factory floor, particularly in the Detroit area. The claim that automation threatens jobs simply isn’t supported by facts. Research has shown that countries with the most robot density also have the lowest unemployment rate, something Spiesshofer also mentioned in his interview. “We don’t offer robots to take away jobs; we offer robots to enhance competitiveness.”
Automation of all types is a
necessity as a means to increase productivity and compete in an ever-expanding global market. It also increases the pace of innova-tion as a driver behind many advanced processes within high-tech manufacturing.
For their opening ceremony on May 20, ABB hosted 1,600 guests. Company executives were joined by local and state government officials, as well as U.S. and Swiss ambassa-dors and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews.
In remarks from the ceremony posted online by the Commerce Department, Andrews said that there is no better time to invest in the United States. “Success in the U.S. market can help drive success globally; our nation is incredibly diverse ... we enjoy a thriving culture of innovation, a strong rule of law, extensive natural resources, and among the most productive workforces in the world.”
Weeks later, just before AMT’s Automation In Manufacturing conference in Detroit, I joined a group of AMT staffers headed out to ABB for a look. Company represen-tatives gave us a presentation of ABB’s business overview, then a facility tour. It was impressive. Presently, the company is bringing over employees from its headquar-ters in Switzerland to train its new U.S.-based workforce and will be scaling up its operations in Auburn Hills over the next few years.
It’s a good sign indicating that the U.S. manufacturing industry is very much open for business. Congratulations to ABB on your expansion, and congratulations to U.S. manufacturing for gaining a valuable win.
Any successful athlete, dancer or musician invests a significant amount of time practicing in order to realize his or her full potential. In a similar way, any successful property developer, litigator or Chief Executive Officer of a growing business invests a significant amount of time in planning to ensure that they achieve their goals.
What does your sales team do today to plan for a sales call, whether it’s a face-to-face proposal presentation, a first time meeting with executive management or a lead follow-up call over the phone? When is the last time that you worked with one of your sales
Planning & practice make perfect in salesBy Chris Whittaker VP Sales & Marketing, CTG, LLC
representatives to generate a pre-call plan?
Take a minute and think about everything that goes into executing
a successful sales call because it’s different depending on what stage of the sales process you are at with that prospect. Are you qualifying, reviewing a proposal, or trying to close the deal? Do you intend on having the prospect determine what is discussed at the meeting or would you prefer to have some level of control over what is discussed? The biggest mistake that most sales people make during a call is that they make assumptions, which often times end up being incorrect. Perhaps they assume the following: who will be attending the meeting, how long the meeting will last, that everyone invited will be available for the entire meeting, they know what the prospect wants to get out
of the meeting, and that they will figure out their desired outcome once they get fully immersed in the meeting. A pre-call plan is abso-lutely imperative for executing a successful sales call.
It is pretty obvious to most of us that to improve your shot from the free throw line or to perfect that impossible guitar riff, you must practice. But what about practicing your sales techniques? Since practicing in front of your prospect is not the best time or place to hone your selling skills, you must commit to setting time aside for your sales team to practice in house. Group work,
In a major victory for U.S. manufacturers, President Obama signed two trade bills into law late last month. The Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Account-ability Act grants the president trade promotion authority (TPA) to negotiate market-open-ing free trade agreements and allows for sending them to Congress for an up-or-down vote, without amendment and filibuster.
The new law applies to trade agreements reached before July 1, 2018, with a possible extension to July 1, 2022. TPA is considered crucial to finalizing the trade agreements currently being negotiated with the Asia Pacific (TPP) and the EU (TTIP).
The president also signed a bill that includes Trade Adjust-ment Assistance. This new law, opposed by many Republicans, was key to Congressional approval of the TPA bill. It provides $450 million for up to 130 weeks of training assistance
for manufacturing and other workers who have lost jobs as a result of trade, including those negatively impacted by unfair trade or import surges. Senate Demo-crats insisted this bill be considered alongside TPA as a condition of their support.
Much of the credit for these new laws goes to manufacturing advocates from across the country who stood strong throughout a frustrating process in support of fair trade. Your hard work led to this successful outcome.
Export-Import Bank charter expires
Unfortunately, legislation to extend the Ex-Im Bank’s Charter has not made it to the president’s desk, despite its June 30 expiration date. Republicans in Congress are split on the issue; and the debate within the party is intense, with opponents charging that the bank’s financing tools amount to “corporate welfare.” Supporters of the bank, led by Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), recently won a concession from Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), a vocal opponent, to bring an extension bill to the Senate floor for a vote. In exchange, the Majority Leader got enough GOP support to pass the TPA and TAA bills. House
Speaker John Boehner has promised the House will act on Ex-Im after the Senate vote. However, several prominent representatives, including House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), whose committee has jurisdiction over Ex-Im, are against reauthorization.
AMT, as a member of the Coalition for Employment through Exports and the Ex-Im Coalition, is a strong advocate of the Ex-Im Bank as an important tool for U.S. global competitiveness. Please join the Association and make your voice heard on this issue. Contact your members of Con-gress and urge them to support Ex-Im reauthorization.
August recess reminderAugust recess, the annual
month-long leave lawmakers take from Washington to visit with constituents back home, begins in a few weeks. Now is the time to look at your calendar and consider scheduling a visit or hosting a plant tour with your elected officials. It’s an opportunity to build important relationships that will give you more insight and input in the legislation process on the issues that ultimately affect your business.
Find information for contacting your members of Congress on the Advocacy page at AMTonline.org or contact me at [email protected].
July 2015/AMT NEWS Page 3
Market Data Review
Pat McGibbonV.P. - Strategic Analytics
Market Data Review See page 4
By Ian Stringer Director, MTInsight
Global challenges are important to U.S. manufacturingTwo weeks ago, Greece experienced a modest melt-down – a precursor to what is likely to occur in the next few weeks. I was asked “Why all the fuss about Greece since its economy isn’t that large?” While it’s true that Greece’s GDP is modest in size – about the same as Connecticut or Louisiana – if either of those states were to suffer a financial crisis as significant as that which faces Greece, the U.S. government would surely step in to support the state. The U.S. government stepped in to help Harley-David-son, the auto industry and, in 1975, bailed out New York City. However, as a result of Greece’s recent vote on whether to stay with the euro, any finan-cial assistance from the rest of the continent is at risk.
Regardless of the size of Greece’s economy, any component of the European Union threatening to jeopardize the union or its economic stability is certain to create shudders throughout the global financial system. The proof of this can clearly be seen in the impact on U.S. equity markets on June 29 caused by the queues at Greek banks and withdrawal limits instituted on the last week-end of June. We can certainly empathize with the concern of what would happen if Connecticut or Louisiana decided not to deal in dollars anymore. Not only would holders of debt for those states be concerned, but faith in the U.S. government to keep its financial situation in order would be called into question around the world. The dollar would likely weaken. Interest rates would likely rise as the Treasury sought funds to service our national debt. The situation would likely get worse before it would get better.
Greece’s turn away from the euro will clearly have a global economic impact. The question is how big. The good news is that expectations in the largest economies outside of the EU were strong for 2016. Economic growth in the U.S. is still positive for 2015, accelerating modestly to 2.8 per-cent in 2016. South Korea’s is expected to be 5.1 percent. India, after a strong showing in 2015 with more than 6 percent growth, is forecasted to top 7 percent growth in 2016. Even in the EU there are expected to be bright spots. The overall expectations are for a 1.1 percent growth in eco-nomic activity in the EU, but economic growth in Germany, the UK and Spain is expected to more than double the Union’s growth rate and exceed that of the United States. Investment forecasts are for growth rates of 3.5 to 5.7 percent for these three nations. Certainly, a “no” vote in Greece will impact some of these forecasts but primarily in the investment rate fore-casts for Germany, which holds a significant amount of Greek debt. These forecasts were already weighted heavily towards a “no” vote in Greece so shouldn’t be lowered much.
The mature economies have been in a growth mode for the past six years, which is a significant length of time for economic recoveries. This shock to the system, if it occurs, is likely to create concerns that become self-fulfill-ing. As a result, growth in manufacturing investment will likely take a pause as we go into the summer in part because of seasonality and in part to let the turmoil in the EU settle before moving ahead with expansion plans. In the end, 2015 is likely to see modest growth in the manufacturing technology market as Oxford had been forecasting since 2014. In the Sum-mer Economic Update Webinar on July 23, Oxford will provide additional insight to the impact that the changes occurring now will have on their expectations for 2016. In addition, Brian Beaulieu and Steve Kline will be in Cleveland in mid-October at the Global Forecasting & Marketing Con-ference to share their insights on what all this means to capital equipment expenditures in the U.S. and abroad. I urge you to sign up for both pro-grams. The greatest value you can get from data is when external changes and disruptions are clouding the picture of your company’s market and future.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact Pat McGibbon at [email protected] or by calling 703-827-5255.
Foreign Trade Report April 2015U.S. machine tool exports valued $200.87 million in April, down 15.5%
MTInsight’s release of the territory filter tool in the IMTS Exhibitor Passport adds a useful data layer for segmenting the IMTS registration and leads data. The tool is just one more example of how MTInsight is making the consump-tion of relevant business and prospective customer data easier.
A key innovation that shows up in this release is MTInsight’s seamless integration of the territory data layer from the USMTO database. The automatic integration of the territory data allows for fine-tuned analysis and saves time normally spent
transferring and manipulating data outside the program. For participants of the USMTO survey, the user has the option to load the zip code level territory definition data already defined in their USMTO accounts.
However, the tool was designed to serve the entire IMTS exhibitor population whether the user is a USMTO participant or not. Realizing that not all exhibitors are USMTO partici-pants, MTInsight has included an interface inside the application that allows the user to load non-USMTO related territory definitions.
The territory definition
Custom territory definitions now available in IMTS Exhibitor Passport
names will be available in a new parameter selector called “TERRITORY” in the registration and leads dashboards. Essentially, the application now provides another level of geographic filtering in addition to country and state. We expect this will be especially useful for assigning prospective customers to sales managers responsible for very specific geographic locations throughout North America. If you have any questions about the territory manager or require other application support, please feel free to call Aslan Moini, MTInsight Sales Specialist, [email protected], 703-827-5290.
April U .S . manufacturing technol-ogy orders totaled $384 .81 million, down 8 .1% from March and down 1 .0% when compared with the total of $388 .51 million reported for April 2014 . With a year-to-date total of $1,458 .90 million, 2015 was down 8 .5% when compared with 2014 .
U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders – April 2015
Total order value 3-month moving average 12-month moving average
SEPTEMBER 15 – Deadline to register for CMTSE online exam on November 10
SEPTEMBER 23 - 24 – 2015 Distribution Summit (D15), Hyatt Regency, Columbus, Ohio
OCTOBER 13 – GFMC 2015 Miles for Manufacturing (M4M) 5K Run/Walk
OCTOBER 13 - 15 – Global Forecasting & Marketing Conference, InterContinental Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio
NOVEMBER 1 – Deadline to recertify if earned CMTSE credential or last recertified in 2012
NOVEMBER 10 – CMTSE online exam
JANUARY 25 - 26 – IMTS Workshop 2016, Renaissance Hotel & Convention Center, Schaumburg, Ill.
MARCH 1 - 5 – The MFG Meeting, JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa, Palm Desert, Calif.
SEPTEMBER 12 - 17 – IMTS 2016, McCormick Place, Chicago, Ill.
Please call 888-379-4659 for meetings information. Call 800-524-0475 for information on international events.
Future Activities – 2015 - 2016
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Welcome New MemberWickman Machine Tool Inc., Lake In The Hills, Ill. (Primary Product: Sales and Service) www.wickman-usa.com
Market Data Review Cont’d from page 3
Summer Economic Update
Webinar11 am ET
IMTS Big Orange Balloon Farewell Tour
Stoweflake FestivalStowe, Vt.
July 10 - 12
IMTS Big Orange Balloon Farewell Tour
Quick Chek FestivalReadington, N.J.
July 24 - 26
IMTS Training CampSunnen
St. Louis, Mo.
IMTS Training Camp
HaasOxnard, Calif.
IMTS Training CampOkuma
Charlotte, N.C.
IMTS Big Orange Balloon Farewell Tour
Pro Balloon RaceOttumwa, IowaAugust 28 - 30
from March’s total of $237.84 million. Exports for year-to-date 2015 totaled $830.50 million, an increase of 8.6% when compared with the same period for 2014. Monthly machine tool imports valued $463.67 million in April, down 11.8% from March’s total of $525.68 million. Imports for year-to-date 2015 totaled $1,732.19 million, an increase of 1.4% when compared with the same period for 2014.
China was the leading destination for U.S. machine tool exports in April with $42.60 million, an 8.3% decrease from March. The second largest destination for U.S. machine tool exports was Mexico, with $32.88 mil-lion, a 19.4% decrease from March. Completing the top five destinations for U.S. machine tool exports were Canada ($15.34 million), Belgium ($14.28 million) and Japan ($8.32 million).
Japan ($174.24 million) and Germany ($57.96 million) were the top sup-pliers of U.S. machine tool imports for April 2015. Compared with March’s figures, Japanese imports decreased by 18.1% and German imports decreased by 21.2%. Completing the top five sources of U.S. machine tool imports in April were South Korea ($37.75 million), Tai-wan ($35.44 million) and Italy ($31.07 million).
For more information about any aspect of this report or to make a specific data request, contact Juan Guerra at [email protected] or 703-827-5278.
Steve Lesnewich takes on new role as Vice President - Membership Services
Steve Lesnewich will be taking on the new role of Vice President – Membership Services where he will be working closely with members to fully understand and utilize AMT’s full comple-ment of products and services, as well as working with the member-ship to develop new ones.
“With Steve’s vast knowledge of our industry, our members and our products, he is in the perfect position to help members identify and utilize the vast array of
products and services AMT offers to either help our members increase sales or decrease costs,” said AMT President Doug Woods.
Lesnewich added, “During the past three years that I spent overseeing MTInsight and Global Services, I have learned even more about AMT’s products and how they best benefit our members. I want each member company to be aware of and take advantage of the opportunities available to them.”
July 22 - St, Louis MO - SunnenAugust 13 - Oxnard, CA - HaasAugust 26 - Charlotte, NC - Okuma
Sign up at www.IMTS.com
Register Now
AMT Leadership ForumAMT Headquarters
McLean, Va.
July 2015/AMT NEWS Page 5
Gleason Corporation will host the GEAR SOLUTIONS FORUM (GSF) at its worldwide headquarters in Rochester, N.Y., Sept. 23 - 24, 2015. GSF will include more than 40 demonstrations of products and technologies, cover-ing all major gear production processes addressing a wide variety of indus-try needs. The last GSF, which took place in April 2014 at the Gleason-Pfauter facility in Ludwigsburg, Germany, attracted approximately 600 visitors from 30 countries over a three-day period. To register for the Gear Solutions Forum visit https://www.etouches.com/gleasongsf2015.
MC Machinery Systems Inc. has promoted Shane Herendeen to North American Sales Manager for Fabrication. Responsibili-ties will include working directly with the regional managers and dealers across North America, working
internally with product develop-ment, as well as marketing and sales to increase market share. Heren-deen has served as National Sales Manager, Fabrication since 2010.
MC Machinery also welcomes Jeb Howard to the role of Regional Sales Representative, Fabrication. His territory will include a large portion of Ohio, as well as Western Pennsylvania.
Methods Machine Tools, Inc. has appointed James Kucharski as National Sales Manager for Nakamura -Tome in the U.S. Kuchar-ski’s background in manufacturing is extensive. He has close to 25 years of experience and has held numerous product, engineering, sales and management positions in the Swiss turning industry.
Methods Machine Tools, Inc. also announces the appointment of Rob-ert Serrano to the position of South-ern California Sales Manager. Methods has recently expanded its
Southern California operation, increasing the number of sales/application engineering and service personnel by eight, and offering a full range of machine tool solutions from all Methods partner brands.
We want to hear from you! What’s happening at your company? When you send out a press release (or just have some interesting news), please e-mail information to [email protected]. To add your news to AMTonline go to www.AMTonline.org/membercms.
Shane Herendeen
Jeb Howard
James Kucharski
Robert Serrano
from industry leaders in automa-tion such as Ford, Volkswagen, and General Motors, his presentation dove into the advantages and disadvantages of different techniques of automation integra-tion, sparing no detail.
Increasing connectivity, productivity, and sustainability with automation were topics echoed by many speakers from different perspectives and back-grounds. Todd Montpas, Rockwell Automation, stressed the value of building a connected enterprise and the importance of understand-ing the Industrial Internet of Things to stay competitive.
Workforce development was a common theme highlighted by multiple speakers. A panel of experts from the industry and academia, moderated by Greg Jones, Vice President – Smartforce Development at AMT, engaged with the attendees on the impor-tance of investing in your work-force and closing the skills gap.
The conference covered all aspects of automation and robotics in the manufacturing industry, even looking forward to the future and other worlds. Speaker Berok Khoshnevis, Center for Rapid Automated Fabrication Technologies, USC, went as far as to speculate on possible applica-tion of automated 3D-printed construction on the Moon or Mars.
Attendees at AIM had the opportunity to learn from industry leaders on the past, present and future of automation. With plenty of time between sessions for
AIMCont’d from page 1
extended questions with speakers and networking, attendees walked away with a deeper understanding of integrating automation and made valuable connections.
Membership Services
Steve LesnewichV.P. - Membership Services
How often are you on the road, in a plane, or waiting in an office when you get the “10% power remaining” message on your smart phone? Are you one of those guys who is seen sitting on the floor in an airplane terminal trying to charge his phone in an outlet where people are tripping over you on their way to the moving walkway? For me, it’s Murphy’s Law: if I need the phone, I’ll be low on power, if I don’t need the phone, I have a “95% +” power symbol. It is what it is, but fear not because there is a solution called “Mophie.”
Typically, in the office, I can get through an entire work day on my iPhone 6 and end the day with around 20 percent of the battery remaining. On the really busy days, especially when I travel, I’ll
Mophie: The answer to the “We’re losing power, Captain!” problem on your Smartphone
use the phone for conference calls, reviewing emails, texting, navigation to destinations, listening to music (iHeart radio and Pandora) on the airplane or in the car. On days like that I’m low on power by late in the afternoon. If I’m in the car and I
remembered the car charger, I’ll be ok. But more often than not, the low battery warning occurs when I have no access to an outlet. One option is to carry around a battery pack but they can be cumbersome, heavy, and look a little foolish with your charging cord showing from one pocket to the other.
The other option is the “Mophie” Juice Pack, which is a
compact handset battery case that fits over your phone, just as any other smartphone case would. Mophie isn’t the only company in this market but it has become very popular as a way to both protect your phone and add extra battery capacity at the same time. For the iPhone 6 there are four models available, Juice Pack Air (100 percent extra battery power, $99.95), Juice Pack Plus (120
percent extra battery power, $119.95), Juice Pack Ultra (150 percent extra battery power, $149.95), and Juice Pack H2Pro (100 percent extra battery power and waterproof, $129.95). I used the Juice Pack Air to test because it
would be easy to figure out if I got twice the battery power and it was under $100.00.
Mophie See Page 6
Roger Hall Hayes 69, of Tega Cay, S.C., passed away unexpectedly July 1, 2015. He is survived by DeAndra (Vannest) Hayes, his wife of 34 years, his sons, James Oliver Hayes of Grover, N.C., and Reggie Van Hayes of Indian Land, S.C., his sister, Carolyn Pracon of Phoenix, Ariz., brother, Thomas Hayes of Stewart, Fla., and seven nieces and nephews.
Hayes was a member of the AMT Board of Directors from 1998-2003. He was Secretary of
the Board in 2001 and 2nd Vice Chairman in 2002.
His career began at Fafnir Bearing Co, New Britain, Conn., then moved on to New Hampshire Ball Bearing, Peterborough, N.H., SKF in Allen-town, Pa., Chicago Pneumatic, Utica, N.Y., and he retired as President, CEO of The Huffman Corp., Clover, S.C., after almost 20 years.
Hayes was a dedicated Christian and active at his church, singing in the choir. He went on mission trips to Panama and held several lead-ership rolls. After retirement and a visit to Israel, he began Biblical Studies and Theology at Knox Theological Seminary.
The family will receive friends at 1:00 followed by a memorial service celebrating his life at 2:00, July 13, 2015, at Grace Community Church 1190 Gold Hill Road, Fort Mill, S.C. 29708. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Building Fund of Grace Community Church.
For upcoming ANSI B11 and ISO machinery safety meetings, go to www.b11standards.org
Contact Dave Felinski, B11 Standards, Inc., at [email protected] for updated information.
MTConnect Technical Advisory Group meeting to be held at Georgia Tech
The third MTConnect Techni-cal Advisory Group (TAG) meeting of 2015 will be held at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga., in early September. Representatives from TAG member organizations will meet to address MTConnect standard’s enhance-ments for the version 1.4.0 release, as well as the status of active working groups that are starting work on enhancements for the 1.5.0 release.For information about becoming a TAG member, visit the “Join the Institute” section of www.MTCon-nect.org.
MTConnect Student Challenge submission period open
Calling all students, faculty, and education professionals: Are you looking for a challenge? Are you interested in creating the future of the Industrial Internet? How about a great thesis, intern-ship, or capstone project? The MTConnect Student Challenge is now open for submissions, and it is seeking innovative manufacturing intelligence ideas and applications that utilize the MTConnect standard. Open to U.S. community college and university students at the undergraduate and graduate level, the competitions may be of particular interest to students who are studying manufacturing-related fields; electrical, mechani-cal or industrial engineering; as well as software engineering and IT-related studies.
Full rules and submission details are available at www.challenge.gov/challenge/mtconnectstudentideas and www.challenge.gov/challenge/mtconnectstudentapps.
MTConnect was at NAMRC 43MTConnect Institute exhib-
ited at the 43rd North American Manufacturing Research Confer-ence (NAMRC), the premier international forum for applied research and industrial applica-tions in manufacturing and design. Held June 9-12 in Charlotte, N.C., the conference included technical presentations, expert
panels, student poster presenta-tions, industry exhibition, career forum, UNC Charlotte lab tours and an awards banquet. In addition to exhibiting, the institute launched the MTConnect Student Challenge at the confer-ence and held an MTConnect technical workshop, which was well attended. Other technical sessions also mentioned use of MTConnect for data acquisition, and the conference generated a lot of interest in the MTConnect Student Challenge.
The MTConnect Technical Work-shop’s recording can be found at http://www.mtconnect.org/resources/technical-workshop.
MTConnect made an impression at O’Reilly’s Solid Conference
MTConnect Institute, with help from System Insights and students from Georgia Tech and University of California, Berkeley, demonstrated the power of its open communication standard for manufacturing. The conference, held June 23-25 in San Francisco, Calif., brought together a multi-disciplinary community that has formed around the convergence of software and hardware as software increasingly interacts with the physical world – engi-neers, researchers, roboticists, artists, developers, designers, founders of startups and investors. AMT President Doug Woods gave a talk about how MTConnect is rapidly moving manufacturing to the digital age, entitled “Creating a Paradigm Shift in Manufacturing” (see Tech Time article).
For more information about the con-ference, visit www.SolidCon.com.
MTConnect exhibited at U.S. News STEM Solutions 2015
MTConnect Institute had a booth at the U.S. News STEM Solutions conference, which was held June 29 – July 1 in San Diego, Calif. Attended mostly by educa-tors, government officials and business people, the conference focused on creating a path toward new ways to teach, inspire and hire a workforce that includes women, minorities, disadvantaged youth, veterans and all of tomor-row’s aspiring professionals in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The conference generated a lot of interest in the MTConnect Student Challenge and seeded ideas for future student competitions.
Solid Con included a wide range of conference topics and exhibitors, including 3D printing shops, autonomous robots, data- driven manufacturing processing, individual innovators and predictive analytics.
There were several talks on the development of cornerstone hardware to drive individual innovators such as Photon development kit, DM’s printed “Node,” Fablabs and Arduino development tools. Fablab is a network of distributed fabrication centers open to the general public. DM’s printed “Node” is an element that is used repeatedly in their assemble-yourself supercar. Photons and Arduinos are open source electronic platforms based on easy-to-use hardware and software. These tools are being developed to increase the ease of implementation of sensors to the connected factory, which will further the understanding of machinery, tools and processes through deployable instrumentation.
In both the conference speeches and on the exhibit floor, it was clear that improvements in sensors and software are bringing equipment on and off the factory floor closer and closer to full autonomy. Several talks high-lighted data collection and continuous analysis of capital equipment to improve steady state operations and schedule mainte-
nance to prevent a failure of key components.
Many speakers and exhibitors illustrated how data and analytics are driving innovation, and the clearest display of this in the manufacturing technology space was MTConnect. The MTConnect Institute exhibited in a prime location, with a booth supported by AMT, MTConnect Institute, and students from Georgia Tech and UC Berkeley representing MTConnect’s student challenge. Interaction with the attendees brought awareness to the ability to connect to the manufacturing floor.
AMT and MTConnect Institute President Doug Woods spoke on ”Creating a Paradigm Shift in Manufacturing.” He spoke to a packed room of developers, manufacturers and suppliers on the value of interconnected manufacturing equipment – a concept made possible in part by the MTConnect standard. Part history lesson and part technical how-to, Doug’s speech addressed
the persistent and long-standing problem of interoperability on the factory floor. While the industry has come a long way from total vertical integration, equipment builders have not generally invested heavily in IT or programming talent. Dropping hardware costs for sensors, batteries, processing power, networking and computer control systems have recently brought a raft of new talent and new ideas into the manufacturing technology sector. Doug’s speech made it clear that some of the fundamental infrastructure and thought leadership required for the next industrial revolution are already in place, and encouraged the audience to continue to look to manufacturing with an eye toward an increasingly bright future – and to see manufacturing as the ultimate Maker Playground!For more information about this article, please contact Benjamin Moses ([email protected]) or Russell Waddell ([email protected]).
Data analytics, individual innovators, and increased automationBy Benjamin Moses Technical Director
MophieCont’d from page 5
The Mophie case recharges with a standard, included, micro USB cord. The Mophie case is thin, easy to hold, very solid and I believe it would protect my phone from damage if I dropped it. It has a rubberized feel, for a good grip and it covers all of the iPhone’s buttons. The back of the Mophie comes with a switch; slide it from red to green and the Mophie battery will charge your iPhone’s battery. Slide it back and you can save the extra juice for later. Or you can keep the switch in the green and use the phone as you normally would.
I tested my Mophie on a recent business trip to Cincinnati. I woke up Tuesday morning with a fully
charged phone and Mophie. I worked in my office until 11:00 a.m. talking on the phone and checking my flight status with United; drove to Newark airport, made a few calls and checked my email again. I listened to music on the flight over
to CVG, used the WAZE app to navigate to the hotel, talked on the phone several more times and did the usual smartphone stuff. I checked the battery
before bed on Tuesday night and it was still at 100 percent. The next morning and throughout the day I talked on the phone, checked email, answered texts, and used my WAZE app to navigate to my meeting and then return to the Cincinnati airport. On the flight home I used the phone to watch the movie “Pitch Perfect.” I drove home and used the phone for a few calls and to review my email. Going to bed Wednesday
night the battery was at 70 percent. Not Bad! Thursday, I used the phone for several calls, texted several people, and checked my email. When checked again at 3:30 p.m. Thursday my battery was at 35 percent. When you think about it, that’s pretty darn good, two and a half days of phone, email, texts, navigation, music and movies and I still have enough battery power to get to the end of the day.
Based on this test my Mophie Juice Pack Air did much better than expected. I would highly recom-mend the Mophie handset battery case to those Road Warriors who would rather be out selling than stopping somewhere to charge their smartphones.
As always all comments and suggestions are welcome. Let me know if there are any tools of the Road Warrior trade that you would like me to test and comment on.
bring with me an understanding of our members’ challenges and can help them as they work to expand their markets, increase their sales, and improve their bottom line.”
To that end, his new column will focus on topics to help you grow your business, such as:
• Merging your CRM and ERP systems to give your sales and service team the tools to thrive in the age of IoT;
• Using social media to grow your B2B sales;
• How Export Credit Insurance can be a valuable sales tool, in addition to mitigating risk, and;
• How to best utilize government
Ed Christopher
services, like Ex-Im, SBA, and USDOC.
You can read Ed’s first column in the August edition of AMT News.
Hubert Sawicki Consultant
C & E Europe
Traditionally, countries in Central and Eastern Europe host manufacturing technol-ogy shows in May and June. These shows tell us a lot about the state of the markets and, for the well-prepared attendees, could be a real source for business. AMT fielded its European representative to three of these shows in 2015.
Mach-TechMach-Tech, part of Industry Days
in Budapest, is the only specialized exhibition for mechanical engineering, automation and welding technology in Hungary. It can be recommended to AMT members as the annual opportunity to display the latest machines, materials and innovations. This year saw 385 exhibitors, 19 countries and 15,000 visitors. More than a dozen AMT members were represented at the show and declared it a success. The brand name for the Hungarian engineering manufactur-ing market is precision, so suppliers of measurement technology are doing especially well there. With the right local representation and perseverance, and in spite of its size, the market can contribute nicely to suppliers’ ability to increase their European business. The total annual machine tools import is estimated at US$ 100-120 million.
Mach ToolMach Tool, the largest part of
ITM Poland in Poznan (West), is the largest manufacturing technology show in Poland, professional but not overwhelming. It is one of four, among them the autumn Toolex in Sosnowiec (South) is another recommended show. This year Poznan recorded 950 exhibitors, 27 countries, and more than 20,000 visitors. Sixteen AMT members were represented; one of them tradition-ally dominated the whole show, while two companies were there for the first time. Poland is outstand-ingly strong in general engineering, also in aerospace and automotive components, so suppliers of metal cutting machinery are particularly successful. In recent years, Poland imported machine tools to the value of US$ 650-750 million per year. The Polish economy is a success story: no recession in the last 20 years and good macroeco-nomic indicators with an annual growth exceeding that of the European Union and the U.S.
MetalloobrabotkaProspects for Russia are
complicated as the Russian market has become a quagmire. The
combination of Western restrictions on technol-ogy transfer, an insuffi-cient money supply (especially to sectors of industry controlled by the government), a weak ruble, and the political stubbornness of the Russian administration, all make the lives of engineering suppliers
and Russian users very difficult. The 16th annual Metalloo-
brabotka, a five-day event held in May in Moscow, was a good illustra-tion of this. This year’s event, which showcases equipment, instruments and tools from the metalworking industry, had smaller stands, fewer machines from abroad on display, and less visitors in attendance. However, the effort that went into making the show a quality presenta-tion was obvious and not unsuccess-ful. Some stats from the show’s organizers include: 940 exhibitors, half foreign, 32 countries, 26,000+ visitors, respectable but somewhat less than in 2013. In 2014, Russia surprisingly remained fourth among the world importers of machine tools (valued at US$ 1,869 million) but, during the Moscow exhibition, stories were swirling about orders cancelled or delayed by Russian customers, virtual stagnation in new orders in 2015, and sanctions hitting not only the defense complex but also the oil and gas sectors. Russian users are torn between the official policy of
buying Russian and the official calls for not cutting off the inflow of high technology.
For these reasons, the Moscow show was a mixed bag for the 20 or so AMT members attending, this time exclusively through European or local representation. Not all potential users of machines were prepared to consider “Made in USA” products. Better news came from the distributors of U.S. tools, measuring equipment and software, with several of them doing very well and not feeling any squeeze because of the origin of their products.
There are better times ahead for Far East companies, particularly those pursuing the “Assembled in Russia” agreements which, rather misleadingly, allow Russian users to “substitute import.” This road is perhaps unavailable to U.S. manufacturers; however, those involved in machine tool equip-ment/accessories and tools might want to test the Russian market more, as there is less risk associated with export licensing and much less local competition.
The president of the Russian Association of Machine Tool Producers (Stankoinstrument) has said that the Russian industry is less capable of producing such products locally, and that their only hope is the small- and medium-sized businesses in Russia. Good point. Unfortunately, this sector is also rather underdeveloped.
Technology Shows in Central & Eastern Europe – good indicators of market potential
LessonsCont’d from page 2
Export Control Updates: The Materials Processing Equipment Technical Advisory Committee (MPETAC) will meet on Tuesday August 4, 2015, 9:00 a.m. (EDT), Room 3884, in the Herbert C. Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, N.W., Washington, D.C.
On June 10, four new sales professionals earned the Certified Manufacturing Technology Sales Engineers (CMTSE) credential, which is the only industry-supported certification of this kind.
We welcome these new CMTSEs as they are now part of the select group of individuals who have already earned this nationally recognized certification.
• Jonathan Hartner, Strategic Account Manager, Red Ball Oxygen, Texas
• Susumu Irie, Product and Marketing Manager, Lyndex-Nikken Inc., Ill.
• Matthew J. McMillian, Sales Engineer, DMG Mori Ellison Technolo-gies, Tenn.
The next exam will be held on November 10, 2015. The deadline to register for this session is September 15, 2015.
Attention current CMTSEs… Remember, if you earned your CMTSE credential or last recertified in 2012, you are due to renew your profes-sional designation by November 1, 2015.
Why wait? Recertification is easy! Make sure you have a current account with AMTonline; otherwise, create a free one. After your login information is confirmed,
1. Go to, www.CMTSE.org, and follow the link to “Recertification.”
2. Review the updated list of qualifying Professional Development Points (PDPs) so you know which professional activities you will report in your scorecard.
3. Follow the link to the Online Recertification form, complete and sub-mit it, and pay the related fee.
Questions? Please contact Clara Mora, Smartforce Development Adminis-trator at 703-827-5276 or by email at [email protected].
AMT recognizes and congratulates four new CMTSEs
including extensive role playing, has been extremely effective in our team’s development. Keep in mind it is critical that your sales management team is committed to participating in each and every training session. If management doesn’t play, this doesn’t work.
Role-plays should be well thought out and pre-planned. The idea is to put ourselves in real- world situations that we encounter everyday such as qualifying a “budget-conscious” prospect, identifying prospects that are merely looking for free consulta-tion, determining what criteria will drive a decision and who will ultimately be making that decision. Equally important is explaining and effectively selling your value proposition, or learning what issues the prospect has had with past suppliers and why they might seriously consider switching
and buying from your company. After completing a role-play, it
is helpful to debrief with all participants, then open the room up for questions and comments from the rest of the team. What went right and what went wrong? At first, the idea of role-playing in front of their peers can be some-what intimidating to your sales people, but once they get their feet wet and see the value, you will find that they are doing it on their own, outside of the office.
Every fall, we all gather with our management teams for two or three days to create our strategic plans for the coming year. Seri-ously consider challenging your sales leadership to make the necessary time commitment (investment) to train side by side with your sales teams. We need to learn to deal in advance with those real world scenarios that they struggle with day in and day out as our customers and our prospects push to commoditize what we sell.
By Willie Eichele President The Motch & Eichele Company, LLC
In June, the SkillsUSA National Competitions was held in Louisville, Ky., for the first time and the change of venue was not the only big change in the competition. For the first time, the manual machining competi-tions gave way to all CNC machining competitions and there was a noticeable improvement in the level of knowledge, skills and compe-tency among the competitors.
The SkillsUSA competitions traditionally bring the best-of-the-best of high school and community college competitors together. I had the honor to act as one of many volunteer judges from industry. My role included both interviewing candidates for one of the soft skill competitions, as well as entering the final grades for each competitor.
Most of the competitors who I had the opportunity to interview were from community college programs and were clearly at a higher level competency and skill than I’ve seen at this competition in recent years. Most of them were already in an internship program or had already been hired and many of them intend to continue their education to become mechanical engineers.
The increasing level of competency showed in the number of competitors’ parts that were machined as well. The competition includes a programming assign-ment. Competitors use Haas CNC simulators to complete the assignment and then judges review and grade the programming code to assure that the part can be machined on either a Haas HF2 or Haas Turning Center, depending on the competition.
NIMS manages our industry’s
part of the SkillsUSA competition and did a terrific job of bringing this new, revised competition, print and programming assign-ment for CNC Milling, CNC Turning and CNC Technician. This competition also requires volunteers and support from around
the industry including Haas Automation, Sandvik Coromant, Haas HTEC, Autodesk, Vincennes University, L.S. Starrett, CGTech, immerse2learn, Festo and Zeiss.
The Gene Haas Foundation provided more than $200K in grants for competitor travel and
It’s true the “extra mile” isn’t always a busy street, yet it’s the place where long-term successful relationships between builders and distributors are forged. Our industry is full of passion, desire and a relentless effort to succeed, which doesn’t always bring out the best in every-one and is all too often the reason for failing relationships. On the flip side, when two willing parties agree to go the “extra mile” with and for each other, it breeds success, eliminates wasted non-value-added time and frankly is a lot more fun.
As a distributor, when I started in the business I was taught three basic principles for creating and maintaining healthy relationships with our builders. I credit the use of these principles for the many multi-decade successful relationships that Motch & Eichele has enjoyed with our key builder partners. It isn’t always easy but if we are willing to go the “extra mile” in effort together, it’s well worth it.
Value each other If both parties do not value
each other’s role in the process equally, then success will be limited. The key word is “equally.” It’s critically important to understand and respect every-one’s role in the process of selling and satisfying customers from the beginning until the end. All aspects of the process including prospecting, selling, applications, design, service and customer relationship management are
equally important. Nobody can do it alone long-term and expect growth.
Trust each other Without trust no business
relationship will prosper. All too often we allow pride to get in the way, which normally creates mistrust between parties. If we trust each other’s role in the process, and that includes adapting to specific customer
related circumstances, the chances for mutual success increase. Once the trust factor is lost it usually means the begin-ning of the end is near. At times, trusting each other can be the most difficult portion of the “extra mile” road.
Think as WE, not ME Of course this may be the
oldest cliché in the book, but in our business it’s a real issue. It’s important that a builder and distributor present themselves internally and externally as one if they expect long term success together. This principal is relatively easy to follow when conditions are good but when the industry rears its ugly head and challenges arise, it’s amazing how quickly the game turns into a “ME” game instead of a “WE” game. This is another very tough stretch of the “extra mile” road that many refuse to travel, but we must be willing to share in the pain the same as we share in the glory if we expect successful partnerships.
The “extra mile” may take a little more effort but it’s a proven formula that works in business, as well as our personal lives!
Upskilling at SkillsUSAfor scholarship awards for the first, second and third place winners of each competition.
This year, Stratasys also managed an Additive Manufac-turing competition for the first time after a demo competition was held at SkillsUSA 2014.
For more information about the results of the SkillsUSA competitions or to inquire about volunteering and supporting the competitions in the future, visit www.NIMS-Skills.org or contact me directly at [email protected] or 703-827-5203.
For more frequent updates about Smartforce Development, follow me on Twitter: @GregoryAJones.
