IMTS Spark: What’s New and What Works in Mold Manufacturing

For more than 20 years, MoldMaking Technology has been addressing the complete lifecycle of the manufacture and maintenance of a mold—from design to first shot—by providing solutions and strategies to moldmaking professionals charged with designing, building, maintaining, repairing and managing molds. MMT remains committed to bringing our audience what’s new and what works in mold manufacturing by focusing on the needs of today’s mold builders.

When asked what the MoldMaking Technology brand meant to her, Christina Fuges emphasized that it made her think of community and continual learning. “Back in the day the moldmaking industry was secretive. No one was comfortable showing or sharing what they were doing. If they had an idea, they kept it to themselves. The only way the industry could grow was if everyone helped each other. This became the inspiration for launching MoldMaking Technology magazine. MMT is that place. A place to share information. Today MMT is the media brand about what’s new and what works in mold manufacturing. It is a brand that I’ve been told over the years that has ‘legitimized’ this segment of manufacturing.”

Now, MMT hopes to continue this focus during its in-depth, MoldMaking Technology Industry Insights, a free educational series offered as a part of IMTS spark, a digital platform presented in conjunction with Gardner Business Media and AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. During this series, Publisher Ryan Delahanty and Editorial Director Christina Fuges will co-host, sitting down with several leading mold shop owners, tool and mold manufacturers, injection molders and OEMs to discuss some of the industry’s hot topics, trend and challenges offering successful business practices and manufacturing strategies.

A list of topics, dates and times is listed below. Next up is a live discussion between guest speakers from Edro Engineering and moderator Christina Fuges this Friday, December 11 at 12pm CST (1pm EST): 

Click “More” to view the full summary and speaker details, and use the “Add to MySpark Planner” button in the upper right of each session page to add sessions to your agenda and get access to the livestream. Be on the lookout for the rest, which will be provided on IMTS spark in 2021.

Upcoming Live MMT IMTS Spark Sessions:

Dec. 4, 2020 at 12 pm CST: Cross-Generational Mentorship (If you missed it, find this session On-Demand here)

• MoldMaking Technology sets out to take a broader look at the value proposition of mentoring by launching a pilot mentorship program. We invite you to take the journey with us during this special discussion with two participants who will share their experiences and discuss the value of mentorship (one of which is a frequent guest with MMT, Marion Wells, owner of Human Asset Management). 

• February 6, 2021 at 2:30 pm CST: Mold Design & Engineering and Virtual Learning

  • Teams, Zoom, Go To Meeting, Skype, Go To Webinar, virtual happy hour—you name it, everyone is doing something remote these days to stay connected, to continue communication and to learn. The latter is what we will focus on in this session since most of what we do here at MoldMaking Technology is focused on learning—by providing content on what’s new and what works in mold manufacturing. 

• February 22, 2021 at 2:30 pm CST: Leading Today with Precise Tooling Solutions, MoldMaking Technology’s 2020 Leadtime Leader Award Winner

  • Each year, the moldmaking industry recognizes excellence in mold manufacturing with MoldMaking Technology’s Leadtime Leader Award. It’s not just about being the shop with the shortest delivery times. It’s about what you do with what you have. And this year’s winner does a lot with what it has! 

• March 2, 2021 at 2:30 pm CST: Leading Mold Manufacturers Share Best Practices On Ways to Improve Efficiencies

  • MoldMaking Technology has always featured mold builders who are doing amazing things in customer satisfaction, workforce development, industry involvement, continual improvement, business growth, and technology deployment, so we thought why not bring a panel of exceptional mold builders together to share tips and ideas on ways to improve efficiencies with regards to technology, workforce development and business management? 

• March 8, 2021 at 9 am CST: Coffee Chat on Marketing, Social Media and Moldmaking

  • Mold manufacturers are skilled craftspeople, technicians and engineers, but many struggle with the business side of their operation, especially sales and marketing. Here we will chat with seasoned marketing professionals to break down this challenge and present some simple solutions and best practices for creating or strengthening your sales and marketing strategy to build brand and gain new business via print, digital and social media promotion. 

“The critical role manufacturing technology plays in growing businesses has never been more apparent than now,” says Rick Kline Jr., president of Gardner Business Media. “At a time when we need some happy coincidences, there are more new ways to improve operations than our industry ever imagined, notably with digital manufacturing. IMTS spark is the place to learn about the transformative technologies that are ready to implement now, as well as those that should be part of any five-year business plan.”