| Welcome to the newest monthly newsletter offering from MetalForming magazine and PMA. We hope that you find it useful and interesting; please feel free to share your thoughts with us. |
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This regular column from MetalForming magazine provides an inside look at the management styles and techniques of metal forming and fabricating company executives. We’ll share some of their philosophies, their daily challenges and how they face them, and offer additional insights. We hope that you find these interviews useful and can take away some ideas to use at your own company.
Want to be interviewed for this column? E-mail editorial director Brad Kuvin. |
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| Perspectives on Business Management with Brian Murphy, President, Eagle Metals |
In this issue of MetalForming Business Edge we invite newly appointed Eagle Metals president Brian Murphy to share some of his insights into managing a company in today’s challenging manufacturing environment. Eagle Metals is a specialty reroll mill that manufactures light-gauge, tight-tolerance copper-based alloys; stainless steels; nickel-based alloys; and carbon-steel strip, coil and sheet.
“Transitioning to my new role as president (from vice president of sales),” Murphy says, “I’m learning to work on the business instead of in the business. I need to be the vision that the rest of the team must execute.” |
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| Looking to Diversify into New Areas of Stamping, Such as EV Parts, High-Speed Stamping, or Forging? |
Stamtec builds presses specifically for these market segments, as well as traditional markets for stamping presses:
- Mechanical and servo presses from 35 tons to 3,300 tons.
- Built by our own employees in our own factories
- 72,000 sq. ft. facility in Manchester, TN (near Nashville)
- Complete press-line integration and project management
- Competitive pricing, quick delivery with over 60 machines in stock.
Contact us today at 931-393-5050, stamtecpresses@stamtec.com, or visit www.stamtec.com. |
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| Business-Assessment Basics for Gauging Company Flexibility |
“Grab a board member or colleague, or create an internal cross-functional team, take a step back from your day-to-day jobs and look at your business from a holistic approach. Question what you do and why you do it a certain way. This will force creative thinking about different solutions.”
Sound advice from Laurie Harbour, who has plenty to say about what parts of the business to assess—not just engineering or operations, but things like the work environment and its impact on employee engagement and retention. |
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| Safety Tip: Is Your Plant Ready for Summer? OSHA Program Seeks to Protect Workers From Heat Hazards |
In April 2022, OSHA launched a federal National Emphasis Program (NEP) designed to protect workers from heat illness and injuries. As part of the program, OSHA will perform inspections in what it deems “high-risk industries” in indoor and outdoor work settings when the National Weather Service has issued a heat warning or advisory for a local area.
As part of the program, if an OSHA certified safety and health official
observes hazardous heat conditions or relevant illnesses or injuries
recorded in the OSHA 300 logs or 301 Incident Reports, it must open a
separate heat-related workplace inspection.
Read on for some practical compliance advice. |
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| Leader in Prog. Die Stamping, Fourslide and Assembly |
| For
over half a century Marion Manufacturing Company has been a leader in
progressive die stamping components. Marion also has vast 4-sided
stamping, as well as assemblies and progressive eyelets. Marion designs
and builds all tooling in house. |
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| Special Report Addresses Supply-Chain Resilience |
Hubs
has published its newest Supply Chain Resilience Report, based on a
comprehensive review of industry news, and survey responses from
hundreds of manufacturing companies. The report analyzes existing
supply-chain issues, makes risk predictions and provides strategies for
mitigating disruptions.
Among the highlights:
- 44 percent of companies believe that local sourcing will help strengthen their supply chains in 2023.
- 77 percent of companies experienced externally caused disruptions
to their supply chains in 2022, with material shortages being the
biggest challenge.
The report also is loaded with technology-based strategies, including this:
“Automation across the supply chain enables businesses to break down silos and streamline the sharing and access of data between supply-chain links. Digital-process automation (DPA) creates greater efficiency by integrating various platforms used in the supply chain, effectively bridging processes and creating greater transparency and visibility.” |
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| Managing Pricing During Supply-Chain Uncertainty |
As
supply chains become more unpredictable, the more challenging it
becomes to manage pricing. No one understands this more than metal
formers and fabricators, who face unique challenges in managing
fast-rising raw-material costs and gaining enough visibility into future
orders to plan production.
All of this comes to light in this MetalForming magazine article by Louis Columbus,
principal, IQMS/DelmiaWorks, who discusses the decision to become
transparent with customers on their costs and pricing, and includes some
perspective from Jason Palmi, president and CEO of Ramcel Precision
Stamping & Manufacturing:
“The more transparency you have the easier the conversation becomes around pricing, because customers can wrap their head around the cost drivers,” shares Palmi. |
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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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| Best Practices for Financing and Leasing in 2023 |
| Interest rates, inflation and recession remain top of mind for business leaders as we head into 2023. Here we share some best practices for financing and leasing equipment in such a business climate. Among them: Don’t try to wait-out rates; choose the right loan or lease structure; and be aware of loan covenants and restrictions. |
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| 2023 Market Forecast: It’s Starting to Feel Like Spring Again |
At
the dawn of 2023, and for the first time since 2018, the sun is shining
on greater certainty in markets that matter to metal formers and
fabricators. Repercussions from the pandemic may echo for years, but
some of its most major effects, namely supply-chain issues and the
computer-chip shortage, are easing.
Here, MetalForming magazine takes a deep dive into several
critical markets and expectations for 2023 and beyond, including
automotive, aerospace and defense, appliance, construction/off-highway,
and electronics. |
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| Podcast: Defending Against Data Hacks, Ransomware and Other Assaults |
IT
innovation and growth strategist Kevin Dominik Korte shares, in this
23-min. podcast from Frost Brown Todd, how an automated approach to
login and other steps to connect to the internet and intranets can
reduce the ability of bad actors to succeed in their attacks on IT
systems, large and small.
“Traditional identity management is more costly and risk-prone than what can be designed into an automated IT system,” he says, “one that includes privacy and security by design.” |
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