Good Business Practices Put Technology to Better Use

Employing faster cutting/burning techniques, better cutting tools, better software in cutting path programming, better design and mold flow, and new materials is well and good, but if you don’t have a solid business strategy and a grasp of basic business principles, you will not reap the rewards of all that technology.

To continue to succeed, mold manufacturers need to focus on becoming better craftsmen and businessmen. In that vein we have dedicated a portion of our pages to business issues in addition to our technology issues for the past few years. This format also has been reflected in our annual MoldMaking Expo conference program, but this year we are going one step further with this mission by joining up with NPE 2006 to bring you a free (with exhibition registration) business development technical conference—a simple six-session program the morning of June 20th and repeated the morning of June 21st at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL.

Attendees of this triennial event also will discover a wide range of technology and solutions for their design and tooling challenges within a new North American Moldmakers Pavilion, which is jointly sponsored by SPI Moldmakers Division, AMBA and CAMM.

The educational portion of NPE 2006 is more diverse than before, and among the NPE “firsts” at this year’s show is an extensive program on moldmaking. Any registered show visitor may attend presentations offered as part of this conference, which has 72 free presentations, organized into sessions sponsored by SPI, the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA), the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), MoldMaking Technology magazine, Recycling Today magazine, Gabriel & Associates, and Avery Plastics Consulting.

MoldMaking Technology’s program, which we hope to see you attend, includes:

Economic and Industry Outlook for Moldmakers
Bill Wood, Mountaintop Economics and Research, Inc.
Strategic and Tactical Supply Chain Issues for the Toolmaker
Don Tijunelis, DKT Engineering, Ltd.
Richard W. Hammond, P.E., RWH Partners
Significant Cash for Your Shop through R&D Tax Credits
Royce Palazzo, Axiom
Using Staff Meetings to Improve Your Bottom Line
Jean Kroes, J H Kroes Consultants
The Growing Importance of Forensic Engineering in Product Litigation
Alex Sommers, University of New Haven
Management from the Heart
Craig Yarde, Yarde Metals, Inc.