Amerimold 2018: Working Together

I believe by now most people know that I see mold manufacturing as a community more than an industry. A community of hardworking, passionate people who over the past 20 years have made tremendous strides in working together to solve problems, overcome challenges, develop new technologies and processes, and much more. Well, at Amerimold on June 13^th we will feature two panel presentations focused on how people within our moldmaking community are working together on filling the skills gap and supporting the supply chain.

Amerimold Tech Talks June 13, 2018

1 p.m. Best Practices in Closing the Skills Gap: Local Activism Moves the Dial

American Mold Builders Association moderates a panel of member shops.

Overwhelmingly identified as the most significant challenge faced by today’s mold manufacturers, attracting and retaining the next generation of skilled workers has escalated as a top priority throughout the industry. The good news is that shops are beginning to move the dial in the right direction! In this powerful panel packed with implementable take-aways, attendees will hear from AMBA member companies who are making an impact in the communities in which they operate and are actually starting to fill the skills gap. Whether partnering with schools, forming alliances with other manufacturers, participating on educational advisory boards or conducting wildly successful open houses, these companies are investing time, resources and the new AMBA AMMA Grant (American Mold Manufacturing Advancement Grant) to close the skills gap—one step at a time.

2 p.m. Supporting the Supply Chain: From the Custom Molder's Desk, Sussex IM and A1 Tool

John Berg, Director of Marketing, Sussex IM
Renee Nehls, Tooling Engineer, Sussex IM
Geoff Luther, President, A1 Tool

Managing the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), molder, moldmaker relationship is key to the success of every project. This talk will offer custom injection molders a strategy for investing in tooling personnel, in both moldmakers and mold designers, to support their OEM customers by taking the attendee through a development project of an “atypical” injection and blow molding manufacturing cell. This project, which could only be developed through a proactive approach with involvement from systems engineering and the supply chain, contains a multishot/injection/insert/IML/extrusion blow-molded sports bottle. The presentation also will present suggestions to the mold builder on how to best support, understand and manage the custom molder. Topics will include PPAP responsibility, speculative engineering, comprehensive costing models, timeline management tools, communications strategies and project management hierarchy.