For the especially adventurous, why not take a spin on our MetalForming LIVE summer webcast series July 10 and 24, and August 6, on end-of-line automation, forming high-strength materials and press brake forming-process optimization. Because the webcasts are live, you can join in real time, and get your questions answered.

I’ll be leading the Aug. 6 press brake webcast with sherpas from the press brake arena who can lead you up the path to better bending. Paul LeTang, aka “Doctor Bender,” will focus on press brake wrecks, and how you can avoid them; Justin Talianek, lead press brake operator for Keystone Fabricating, will share some creative approaches he’s picked up along the way; and Wilson Tool’s John Waller will point the path toward tooling optimization.

It may seem a long way off, and we’re still in the process of fine-tuning our itinerary, but please mark September 11-12 on your “def-destination” list for our annual Automotive Parts Suppliers Conference (APSC) in Pontiac, MI. Adventurers from previous APSCs describe it as “one of the most exciting and informative events,” and “a roadmap that shows you where the potholes and speed traps are.” 

Maybe Go Further

Here at MetalForming and PMA, a few of us are endeavoring to learn Spanish together, belayed by our illustrious foreign language tour guide and director of exhibitions Doug Trout. He has set up formal coursework with instructors for our troupe, and already has embarked on the path to multiculturalism himself.

“When in Monterrey for FABTECH Mexico, I was ready to see how far I had come, only to find that I still have a great distance to travel,” Trout relays. “Learning a foreign language is difficult; however, I am grateful that I have treated myself to this journey.” 

Then, he laments, “though disappointed that I am unable to speak like Antonio Banderas, that’s okay. Soon I will be able to order a beer and find the bathroom in Mexico,” prodding me with “don’t be scared. Jump in.”

Go. Do. Jump Into It

Explore, wander and even get a little lost this summer so you can find your way back—or forward. In the words of French novelist Marcel Proust, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”  

Or, in the words of Trout: “I have discovered new things about my old self and new things about the world and people in it. It truly has been fascinating and rewarding beyond anything I expected.”

Got thoughts? I’d love to hear from you. MF

Technologies: Management

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