Welcome to MetalForming Automotive, the latest enewsletter from MetalForming magazine and the Precision Metalforming Association. In each monthly MetalForming Automotive you’ll find a variety of news and information from this quickly evolving industry, including links to the latest information from our industry partners: AISI, Automation Alley, CAR and MEMA (formerly OESA).
Please share any questions or comments by emailing editorial director Brad Kuvin. |
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| General Motors Investing in ICE Platforms “Longer than Expected” |
| Reuters reports that General Motors appears poised to keep its most-profitable internal-combustion-engine (ICE) trucks and SUVs in production for another 10 to 12 yr., enabling it “to reap tens of billions of dollars in additional profit before it shifts completely to zero-emission electric vehicles in 2035.” This analysis comes on the heels of recent GM’s recently announced plans to spend nearly $3 billion to retool and upgrade five U.S. and Canadian plants building full-sized ICE vehicles. |
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| Register for FABTECH Chicago! |
FABTECH is back in the Windy City this September! FABTECH is North America’s largest metalforming, fabricating, welding and finishing event. Make sure to register by September 8 to receive free admission.
Don’t forget to stop by the Precision Metalforming Association and MetalForming magazine’s booth—D451560—during the show!
Register here |
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| Key Technologies Ushering in the Future of Automation |
A new report from McKinsey & Co.’s Automotive & Assembly group, “Is Industrial Automation Headed for a Tipping Point?,” discusses technology disruptions and macrotrends—reshoring, the skilled labor shortage and ESG efforts, to name a few—and how advanced manufacturing technologies such as digital twins and robots, and other devices that can teach and program themselves will enable a “software-defined” paradigm for industrial automation.
Included are insightful industry-survey results, such as:
“Ninety-four percent of the users participating in our survey said that digital solutions will be important to their automation efforts in the future. Users’ focus in the past few years has shifted away from self-developed digital solutions that often did not go beyond learning exercises. Fifty-four percent of manufacturing companies now use OEM partnerships in a bid to develop standardized industrial IoT platforms. That’s almost an eightfold increase since 2019.” |
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| PMA to Celebrate 30th Anniversary of Premier Automotive Parts Suppliers Conference in Greenville, SC |
Leaders
in the automotive supply industry will gather in Greenville, SC,
October 26-27, for the 30th annual Automotive Parts Suppliers Conference
(APSC), produced by the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) and MetalForming
magazine. The conference will highlight important topics in the
industry, including the current impact of EVs on metal formers, legal
and regulatory issues, and more.
“For 30 years, PMA’s automotive conference has been the premier event for suppliers, and we are excited to bring it to the southeast United States this year,” says Jeff Aznavorian, PMA 2023 chairman of the board and president of Clips & Clamps Industries. “More and more investment has taken place throughout the last decade to expand the automotive industry in the Carolinas, which makes it the perfect place to celebrate 30 years of APSC.”
APSC kicks off with a keynote presentation from Jeff Schuster, group
head and executive vice president, automotive for Global Data, parent of
LMC Automotive. And, the conference will include presentations
delivered by leaders from Volvo, Autotech Ventures, Ridge Creek Global,
UHY LLC, and Brooks Wilkins Sharkey and Turco. Always a highlight will
be a roundtable discussion featuring executives from tier suppliers. |
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| PMA Membership |
| Position your company as an industry leader when you utilize PMA resources—ITR Econ Trends reports, trade publications, One Voice and FABTECH trade shows. A PMA membership will provide your company and all of its employees with a range of valuable industry resources that are designed to help you become more connected, more informed, more efficient, more competitive and ultimately more profitable. |
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| WATCH: MetalForming Live on the Shop Floor 2023: Pressroom Automation |
| Back in April we collected a panel of experts on pressroom automation to discuss real-world applications of robotics and other automation technology, which we broadcast to the masses in a 90-min. webcast. Here’s the archive of that event, which included a case study from automotive-industry supplier Clips & Clamps Industries. Highlighted: An automated lean cell at Clips & Clamps that performs a series of value-added processes, including wire forming, cold heading, coining, piercing, stamping, resistance-spot welding and machine-vision inspection. |
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Cutting
Management