Page 20 - MetalForming July 2013

25 Years of MetalForming
The magazine came of age with the June 1988 issue. Our new name and iden- tity came in response to changes in the metal- forming industry,
which had begun to blend various types of operations and technologies that traditionally were separate.
scene as well as shifting market forces brought angst and opportunity.
After a shaky start, the U.S. economy roared through the 1990s, with metal- formers reaping rewards in some mar- ket sectors and adjusting to major shifts in others. On top of that, a whole new world was opening up, bringing new global markets and fierce worldwide competition. Though extremely suc- cessful from a general business point of view, the decade saw the American economy accelerate its orientation from manufacturing-based to service- based. That meant consolidation among metalforming companies and along the whole manufacturing supply chain. Passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement opened up Mex- ico as a prime part-supply and assem- bly option.
A Japanese Wakeup Call for the Big Three
Our article, “Observations on Auto- motive Stamping Developments,” from the April 1990 issue of MetalForming, benchmarked automotive stamping plants in Japan and stamping opera- tions of Japanese automotive compa- nies located in the United States. Here we reported on how the Big Three stamping operations fared.
The results were not pretty. Big Three stampers lagged in areas such as die-change time, and were at a signif- icant disadvantage in percentage of uptime, operations required to pro- duce each part, die cost and press throughput. The era also offered oppor-
tunities for U.S. suppliers to contract with new automotive OEM transplants. A survey at the time showed that 85 percent of these companies were seek- ing involvement of U.S. suppliers, and expected to significantly increase the number of U.S.-supplied components. Deemed critical to good relationships between domestic stampers and trans- plant companies: quality and price.
New Technology Demanded Better Training
Pressroom technology continued its inexorable trek forward throughout the 1990s, with automation coming of age to help the industry better cope with competition worldwide. Metal- Forming in the 1990s detailed advances in robotics, part-transfer systems, presses, die-sensor technology, con-
trols and in-die value-added capabilities.
We also tackled a host of other metalforming and value- added processes as the indus- try outfitted itself to do more and more for its customers. In our February 1997 issue, for example, we described the then- current state of pressroom tech- nology, markets and manage- ment, but also noted that success boils down to the quality of workers. “Looking at the industry as a whole, a barrier to utilization of modern process control technology in metalforming is not its complexity, not its cost, not user unfriendliness of soft- ware, nor its suitability for the metal- forming industry,” opined Michael O’Brien, president of Signature Tech- nologies. “On the contrary, it is the inability of industry to properly under- stand how to digest new technology and properly train employees—training not being limited to how to use it but
more importantly why to use it.
“We can’t compete with emerging competitors on labor cost,” O’Brien warned. “Shortly, we will not be able to compete on education. Our only real area of strategic opportunity is one uti- lizing technology in order to overcome our competitive weaknesses and main- tain a leadership position by being bet- ter at producing formed metal parts for technically demanding products. In order to accomplish this we need to have an education system that pro- duces a workforce that is technologi- cally ahead of the work environment
they are about to enter.”
In our February 1997 issue, we described the then-current state of pressroom technology, markets and management. “We can’t compete with emerging com- petitors on labor cost,” said Michael O’Brien, president of Signature Technolo- gies. “Shortly, we will not be able to com- pete on education. Our only real area of strategic opportunity is one utilizing tech- nology in order to overcome our compet- itive weaknesses and maintain a leader- ship position by being better at producing formed metal parts for technically demanding products.”
18 MetalForming/July 2013
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