Can you help the FMA?

The FMA board of directors gathers for another meeting.

Do you know what the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association (FMA) is? It’s the association that is the parent organization for The FABRICATOR and its sister publications and North America’s leading fabricating technology trade show. It’s also has 2,500 members from the metal fabricating community that take advantage of FMA’s membership benefits and many educational opportunities, such certificate programs and conferences.

Why the quiz? FMA is about to embark on a reshaping of its strategic plan. With a growing publication portfolio (i.e. the purchase of Canadian Metalworking/Canadian Fabricating & Welding in 2016); expanding tradeshows in not only the U.S., but also Canada and Mexico; and a new headquarters in Elgin, Ill., FMA wants to put itself in a better position to serve the metal fabricating industry and its constituents, which include job shops, OEMs, machine tool builders, software developers, and service providers.

To do that, FMA is seeking input from those involved in metal fabricating. Some of the questions the FMA board of directors wishes to ask include:

• What do you think will be the single most significant issue affecting your business in the next 5 to 10 years?
• What one or two occurrences that you may not be able to control, could harm your business in the next 5 to 10 years?
• What one or two occurrences that you may not be able to control, could help to grow your business in the next 5 to 10 years?
• What has been the most significant change to manufacturing during the last 5 years?
• What has had the greatest impact on your business during the last 5 years?

If you’d like to help drive the direction of FMA, please fill out the survey here. It won’t take more than 10 minutes of your time, and the information will have a lasting impact on FMA and its members. As an added bonus, 10 respondents will be randomly selected to receive $25 gift cards for use at popular restaurants, retail outlets, and online stores.

In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about FMA or just check out the new building in Elgin, swing by FMA’s open house on May 18. We’d love the chance to meet and chat with you about metal fabricating.