amerimold Will Present the Outlook for Moldmakers

During this year's new show floor Knowledge Center presentations, Mountaintop Economics and Research and R&D/Leverage will present two outlooks for the mold manufacturing industry: 2013 MoldMaking Business Index and Made In The USA – Supporting The Plastics Industry – The Timing is Right!

June 12, 2013 at 2pm: 2013 MoldMaking Business Index: Outlook for Moldmakers, Bill Wood, Mountaintop Economics & Research
As always, the future will present a multitude of challenges to North American moldmakers and their suppliers. These include, but are not limited to: materials costs, energy prices, end-market trends, rapidly changing technologies, consumer trends, government policies, geo-political tensions, economic fundamentals, the skills gap etc. As always, the outcome is uncertain, and the choices we as citizens, consumers, and business leaders make today will go a long way towards determining our future. The U.S. economy is a large and complex system. We all depend upon this “eco-system” for our livelihoods, but recent events have diminished our capacity to compete successfully in the global marketplace. The manufacturing sector is a “keystone” component in our economy’s competitive success. If we are to retain our position as a competitive leader in the global marketplace, and ensure the continued prosperity for our citizens, then we must regain our position as the world’s dominant manufacturing power. We can only achieve this with strategies, policies, and programs that promote productivity. All other objectives will be rendered superfluous if we do not continue to enhance and nurture our national and regional productivity. This presentation will be another chapter in our ongoing dialogue about how to address this issue, and how our failures and successes will affect our industry.

Presenter:
Bill Wood is a writer/industrial markets economist/consultant at Mountaintop Economics & Research, Inc. Bill Wood is an economic analyst specializing in the plastics industry, and he is the founder of Mountaintop Economics & Research, Inc., (ME&R). He combines a detailed knowledge of the data on the plastics industry and U.S. economy with 20 years of experience in economics analysis and forecasting.

June 13, 2013, 11am: Made In The USA: Supporting The Plastics Industry – The Timing Is Right!, R&D Leverage
How R&D/Leverage- uses American pride to support our industry while getting young adults to look at manufacturing as a career. As an industry, we know the struggles and fight to keep America at work while still staying competitive in a global environment and we are proud of the multitude of organizations pushing the Made In America movement, but it’s all very fractured. A collective voice is needed. This presentation will shed light on efforts to do more than just “buy” American. It will demonstrate how increased collaboration among the product supply chain on innovation and technology can create a meaningful movement toward Design, Engineer and Manufacture in America. We are not competitors when it comes to this movement. The main purpose is to take the opportunity with the key personnel in this room to find a way to work together and bring the message of Made In America back.

Presenter:
Robert Schiavone is Global Marketing Director for R&D/Leverage. Schiavone joined R&D in 2008,