Knowledge Empowers, Energizes, and Drives Growth and Innovation

In short, and as the saying goes, knowledge is king. And in the manufacturing world, knowledge is becoming a rare commodity, as so many knowledgeable employees begin to age out of the workforce.

The management team at automotive metal former PTM Corp. knows this all too well and has taken steps to avoid brain drain. The firm touts on its website its corporate Code of Honor, which lists 10 core values, one being:

Share your knowledge and don’t be afraid to ask for help. 

When it comes to sharing knowledge, no one has shared more metal forming process knowledge to our industry than our own Pete Ulintz, who has served as the technical director of the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) since 2015. Equally if not more importantly—to me and to the readers of MetalForming magazine—Pete has served as our Tooling by Design columnist since 2006, having written more than 200 columns!

Well, as of June 1, Pete officially has retired as PMA technical director. Thankfully, he pledges to continue to work with PMA as a consultant, present at PMA seminars and conduct in-plant training on his topics of expertise. And, I’m pleased to add, he also will continue authoring Tooling by Design. For that, I, on behalf of our thousands of readers, am grateful.

Pete’s vast metal forming knowledge, transferred through our pages, empowers those in our industry to make informed decisions; analyze problems and develop effective solutions; think critically; and, most importantly, continue to thirst for knowledge. As PTM CEO and co-owner Donna Kuhr preaches to her team, “Don’t be afraid to ask questions.” And, I believe that perhaps the most impactful result of reading Pete’s columns each month is that he encourages readers to ask questions and to continue learning.