Road Trips

As I write this, we are officially in the dog days of summer, yet it is an unexpectedly b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l August summer afternoon—abundant sunshine, 77 degrees,  not a cloud in the sky or an ounce of humidity in the air, and a gentle cool breeze to boot. All I can think is: what a perfect day for a road trip (or at least a cruise around town with the top down on our Jeep ... which my nine-year old loves to do, as long as we're playing the right tunes as we go).

Road trips.

Now those are times you hit the road to experience new things, new places, new people. It got me thinking how that's exactly the way I feel when taking MMT on the road. This year so far has been full of travel for the magazine staff—from trade shows and conferences to  press events and shop tours to sales meetings and conventions.

As a matter of fact, as you read this our Fall travel season kicks in. I’ll be heading to EMO in Hannover, Germany in a couple weeks, and the MMT team will be attending several open houses at various technology supplier facilities—from which we’ll be sure to bring you any news and applications stories through MMT, its enewsletter and our daily blog.
 
These road trips are all in an effort to see the technology that helps create the magic of moldmaking. However, often the more interesting aspect of these trips is meeting the people behind the madness that is moldmaking!

And people seems to be what this industry is all about.  I hear it over and over again from those we visit to those we interview for stories: “You can have all the technology, equipment and strategies in place, but if you don’t have the people—the right people—it is all for naught.”

This thinking ties in directly with our immense need to find, train and retain a future skilled workforce in moldmaking.  We hope in some way—through MMT’s content and events—that we’ve connected you and your shops with organizations that can help to grow that next generation of eager and skilled workers. We do need to work together.

In this month’s issue alone, you can read about several shops that are doing just that. Page 24 features a moldmaker who sees its “highly skilled and qualified shop employees as its greatest asset” and reviews ways to maintain an engaged workforce; page 36 talks about focusing on the “intangibles” when hiring new employees; and our 2013 Leadtime Leaders share details on their specific educational programs and apprenticeship training on page 42.

These stories—your stories—are the kind that help to connect the moldmaking community, so as to make things happen for the betterment of this industry’s future. So, if you have a story to share, reach out to me so we can help you tell it. Hey, maybe it’ll entail a road trip!