Minnesota moldmaker--and MMT advisory board member shop--VistaTek is excited about its future as it purchases a new headquarters facility to help with its expansion, bringing in more equipment and offering many job opportunities.

They officially closed their Stillwater site yesterday and plan to start the remodeling on Monday.  They signed on with J&J Remodelers for the build out.  They are scheduled to move in July and will not experience any downtime, according to VistaTek Managing Director Dan Mishek. They are hoping to host an open house in early October.

Currently they have the following job openings:

• Process Technician for Injection Molding
• CNC / Toolroom Machinist
• CNC Programmer
• Injection Moldmaker - Full Time
• Quality Assistant/Inspector - Knowledge of injection molding, ISO, UL & ITAR Requirements
• Tooling/Injection Molding Sales Representative
• Operations Manager
• Injection Molding Press Operator

Founded in 1996, VistaTek® is a second generation, family-owned manufacturing company. The company started off in rapid prototyping with one machine and zero customers. Since then, VistaTek evolved into a U.S. custom manufacturer with in-house capabilities including moldmaking, injection molding and secondary operations.

Come hear VistaTek speak on Putting Focus on Where Customers Are Creating Demand and Excelling in that Area at amerimold expo on June 12 for the Evolving from a Mold Shop to a Mold Manufacturer Panel at 3:15pm.

VistaTek is a U.S. custom manufacturer who does moldmaking and injection molding along with secondary operations (decorating, packaging, and assembly) all in-house. The benefit of having moldmaking and injection molding all in-house gives customers the advantage of getting their quality products to market fast, efficiently and inexpensively. Dan will share the secret to their growth from a moldmaker to a mold manufacturer—by embracing marketing, social media, tracking trends(e.g., reshoring, packaging and decorating) and fulfilling a needed gap of time.  

Register Today!

The AMBA Board has approved the development of a modern Apprenticeship template for CNC Machinists and Moldmakers.  The template will be developed in conjunction with standardized testing for CNC Machinists and Moldmakers.  The apprenticeship template and standardized tests will be invaluable tools that will be needed to safeguard the integrity of the knowledge and skills necessary to work in the moldmaking industry.  

To develop the template and tests, the AMBA has hired a consultant, Dr. Kitty Manley from Ferris State University in Big Rapids, MI, to perform a process called a DACUM.  This process requires six to 10 industry experts from each subject area (CNC & Moldmaking) to work with Dr. Manley in establishing the core knowledge and skills.  This will be a three-day process held during the week's listed below:
 

Week of June 24th - CNC Machinists

Week of July 8th - Moldmakers
 

The AMBA needs six to10 expert CNC Machinists and six to 10 expert Moldmakers from regionally and industrially diverse moldmaking companies to go to Grand Rapids, MI, during the week's listed above to contribute to the development of this standard. 

If you would like to send one of your top CNC Machinists or Moldmakers to contribute to setting the industry's new skill standard, please contact one of the people below.
 

Andy Baker
Byrne Tool & Design
bakera@byrne-tool.com
 

Robbie Earnhardt
Superior Tooling
rearnhardt@sti-nc.com

Ryan Pohl
Expert Tech
ryan.pohl@expert-technical.com

 

Since we've covered several moldmakers this year who have used of a variety of DMG/Mori Seiki machines within their shops for automated work cells for EDM, five axis machining, turning operations and hard milling, I was interested in learning more about where the company's machine technology was headed for mold & die during their Innovation Days event at the Chicago headquarters last week.

The showroom was impressive with with more than 40 machines on the floor demo'ing parts for mold & die, automotive, aerospace and gear production. Four machines were singled out specificially for mold & die: 

•    DMC 1035 V ECOLINE
•    DMU 125 monoBLOCK
•    DMU 150
•    HSC 75

The event also included a seminar program and concurrent specialty sessions in their dedicated University training facility.

DMG/Mori Seiki’s focus on mold & die continues to grow. They see a strong trend in five-axis machining as well as the use of their technology within automated EDM workcells to help ease the electrode production bottlenecks many moldmakers experience.  Moldmakers are also looking to fully realize the potential of their machines while looking at linear motor technology instead of ball screws; and the right control technology.  DMG / Mori Seiki is poised to help with all of these challenges.

This years Leadtime Leader Honorable mention--who will be announced next month-- is one such moldmaker who has who have invested in DMG/Mori Seiki machine technololgy. Look for their story in our June issue.

For more information on DMG/Mori Seiki click here.

Sponsored by MoldMaking Technology Magazine, amerimold Knowledge Centers are brief, interactive presentations held on the show floor. Intimate and limited in size and led by applications experts at leading equipment suppliers, amerimold Knowledge Centers offer opportunities for deeper learning about specific product and process technologies whether you ENGINEER, BUILD or MAINTAIN molds.

Early registration discounts are available through today, May 10th. Complete amerimold registration and event details can be found at www.amerimoldexpo.com.

Despite the distraction of the nice weather, gorgeous scenery and lovely hotel, here are some of the findings from the SPI's Equipment & Moldmakers Summit--Leading Through a Climate of Change I attended in Florida this week.

Healthcare Reform: How It Impacts Your Company: Organizational strategy and the entire employer value proposition for employees.

Recruiting and Retention for Long Term Engagement: Screening and selecting candidates,  best practices, compliance obligations.

Smartforce Development:: Strategies that AMT and its member companies use to improve the pipeline of the next generation of young people into careers in manufacturing.

America’s Workforce Imperative:  A Manufacturing Training Strategy: The impact the skills gap is having on companies and what some are proactively doing to solve the workforce development crisis.

A Primer on Growing Your Own: Requirements to implement an apprentice program.

Answers to the Chaos of Managing People: Research in adult learning, multimedia training, and knowledge management systems.

Superior Energy Management: Energy management resources for industry to assist them in continually improving their energy performance.

Superior Energy Management: Economic opportunities of strategic energy management developed and implemented by Harbec for the past 10 plus years.

Taxes 2013 and Beyond: Interplay between the budget battles in Washington and tax reform and the threats and opportunities of tax reform for business.