Elevate Your Travels from Routine to Extraordinary

The 2019 AMBA Leadership Summit, Feb. 27 through March 3 at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort & The Royal Beach Casino, provides the perfect opportunity for mold building executives to strengthen their leadership skills and build industry relationships while rejuvenating and recharging their mental mindset amidst the warm tropical breezes of the Caribbean.

All attendees will have the opportunity to join AMBA senior leaders for an engaging leadership workshop, hosted by Dr. Mark Brouker, on creating high-performing teams. The workshop, titled “A Skill-Building Workshop for Today’s Leaders,” will concentrate on helping participants identify and understand the traits of great leaders, build personal leadership skills and develop a plan for self-growth and team strength.

In conjunction with the workshops, attendees will have the opportunity to sail along the scenic southeastern coastline of St. Kitts during the AMBA Sail and Snorkel excursion and also to sample the heritage and culture of St. Kitts, where adventurers will explore the lush, picturesque island landscape and famed sites. To register for this members-only event, visit AMBA.org/summit.

Educational Outreach Award Winners

The AMBA recently honored three member champions with the AMBA 2018 Educational Outreach Awards. Coinciding with Manufacturing Day, these awards recognize those AMBA members who – through strategic partnerships with schools, programs and/or students – have made significant efforts to increase interest, raise awareness and build skills within the mold building industry.

Awards this year were distributed to three winners: 1st Place Winner – Charles Daniels, Wepco (Middlefield, Connecticut); 2nd Place Winner – Lou Romano, ROMOLD, Inc. (Rochester, New York); and 3rd Place Winner – Tim Myers, Century Die Co. (Fremont, Ohio). Scholarships were awarded in the amounts of $1,000, $750 and $500, respectively, which will go to the recipients’ educational institution or program of choice. The AMBA congratulates the 2018 Educational Outreach Champion Award winners and extends a special thanks to all who participated in this year’s award program. For more information, visit AMBA.org/resources/scholarship-opportunities.

AMBA Launches New Website

In fall 2018, the AMBA announced the official launch of AMBA.org, a website devoted to the AMBA mission of providing workforce development solutions, networking and benchmarking opportunities and industry promotion for members’ success.

Complete with refreshed branding, improved usability, clearer navigation and mobile-friendly features, the new AMBA website drastically improves ease-of-use for members, allowing better access to key industry resources. New to the site, Careers in Mold Manufacturing is a primary resource for students, parents and teachers looking for information on pursuing a career in the industry. Also new to the site are recruitment tools, where AMBA members can find materials, videos and “how to” playbooks and reports to assist in attracting youth to mold manufacturing.

“Launching this website reinforces the AMBA’s goals of serving the needs of our membership and addressing key industry challenges, particularly workforce development. It also allows our members to more easily access information and resources, which allows us to continue moving our association’s mission forward,” said Kym Conis, AMBA managing director.

For more information and to view the new site, visit AMBA.org.

Survey Opportunities

Managing the Sales Pipeline – Deadline Approaching
Don’t miss an opportunity to participate in AMBA’s current survey: Managing the Sales Pipeline. The survey asks respondents for data on best practices in tracking and viewing future jobs and quote trends; how current and future jobs impact manufacturing capacity; how to empower employees and improve business efficiency through automation; and the tools needed to train and empower sales staff. To participate today and receive a free copy of the final report, visit AMBA.org/events.

Annual Business Forecast – Soon to Launch
In early January, the AMBA will launch the AMBA 2018 Business Forecast Survey, which uses economic indicator questions to review 2018 performance, fourth quarter performance and forecasts and expectations for 2019. Specific topics to be covered will include company demographics, market outlook, current business conditions, quoting and backlog and more. Only participants will receive a free copy of the final report.

2nd Annual iWarriors/Alliance Golf Outing Breaks Records

In late September, Alliance Specialties and Laser Sales partnered with iWarriors to host the second annual iWarriors Golf Scramble at Countryside Golf Course in Mundelein, Illinois. This year, the event broke records by gathering 120 attendees from across the US to raise $27,400 in support of iWarriors, whose mission is to honor severely injured members of all branches of the Armed Forces by providing them with personalized iPads. To learn more about the iWarriors mission and to donate, visit www.iwarriors.org.

Save the Date for AMBA Conference 2019

Save the date for AMBA Conference 2019, May 8 through 10, at the Westin in Itasca, Illinois. During this annual conference, industry professionals come together to learn about best practices and industry trends, explore leading-edge benchmarks and engage in premiere networking opportunities. Conference attendees will come away with ideas from inspiring content, discover new technologies and trends from industry suppliers and connect with peers to discover tangible solutions and takeaways.

Visit AMBA.org for details and registration, coming soon.

New Members

Allegiance Mold
Ted Stender, President
269.443.2532
Allegiance Mold LLC builds and services quality plastic injection molds and provides laser welding services for the automotive, medical and consumer product industries. Expertise, combined with state-of-the-art machinery and technology, enables Allegiance Mold to produce prototype and production molds with some of the shortest lead times in the industry.

Sioux Chief Mfg.
Jeremiah Winnat, Tooling Manager
816.425.9900 www.siouxchief.com
Founded in 1957, Sioux Chief is an American manufacturing company that develops and produces a wide range of unique products for the rough plumbing industry. Sioux Chief creates and markets products for wholesale and retail distribution under the supply, drainage, support and specialties product groups.

SMC Ltd.
Mike Hahn, Tool Room Manager
715.247.3500 www.smcltd.com
SMC Ltd. is a contract manufacturer that provides full service solutions for the medical device, diagnostics and pharmaceutical industries. With over 30 years of experience, SMC Ltd. creates complex products from concept to completion, including design development, tooling and molding through engineering and finished device assembly.

New Partners

Promac North America
Guila Carraro, Administrative Manager
248.817.2346 www.promac.eu
Promac North America is the service department of Promac s.r.l., designer and manufacturer of CNC machine tools established in Venice, Italy, in 1995. Its working centers, ranging from 3- to 6-axis, are capable of milling 100% of the mold from start to finish (deep drilling included) and are completely customizable to customer needs.