Page 47 - MetalForming July 2017

Bill Gaskin, with AMSA and PMA since 1977, retired this past May after 17 years as presi- dent of PMA.
manufacturing, and have had a huge impact on retaining R&D tax credits and lowering tax rates.” Training is another area where PMA flexes its
muscle.
“We conduct 25 to 30 technical seminars
each year,” Gaskin explains. “Attendees receive
targeted information on specific topics and the ability to interact with speakers and other participants is very valuable.”
The Industry’s Voice
“With today’s smart technologies and machines, we as an industry have greater sta- bility, but continual loss of jobs,” Gaskin says. “Manufacturers have the opportunity to take advantage of the technology and become more efficient and compete globally, thus retaining and creating jobs. PMA assists through all of our programs and services. In addition, our leaders in Washington, D.C., must decide to create a climate that allows us to compete with the rest of the world. Through our advocacy and government-relations efforts, PMA is very active in fostering such a climate.”
After 40 years, Gaskin gets a well-deserved break owing to his tireless service, and he’s grateful for the opportunity he’s had. He does plan to stay active in the industry by assisting the PMA Educational Foundation in its current capital compaign.
“I’ve been blessed to be here,” he concludes. “I’ve been blessed with a phenomenal team, the PMA staff, and an active membership that has given time and money to see our industry succeed.”
1977, of the AMSA political-action com- mittee, primarily to support challengers and congressional races with open seats. The philosophy was to focus on change in order to elect a pro-business and pro-manufacturing Congress. The AMSAPAC became the Precision Met- alforming Association Political Action Committee (PMAPAC) in 1987, before becoming PMAVIC (PMA Voice of the Industry Committee) in 1995.
“I was amazed to see how the federal government was impacting our indus- try,” says Gaskin, referring to his first days on the job in 1977 traveling to Washington, D.C., with the association’s Government Relations committee. “OSHA was a huge issue at the time because it had made the voluntary ANSI B11 machine-safety standards the law of the land. Within five years our membership had increased from 400 to about 800 companies as we tried to educate the industry on the new regulations. Today, the result of the
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