CLEVELAND—More than 150 industry leaders are expected to attend the Automotive Parts Suppliers Conference, the premier event for companies supplying to the automotive industry, when it convenes for the 24th time in Troy, Michigan, on April 25-26, 2017.

The annual event, hosted by the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA), follows recent reports of record U.S. auto sales in 2016. The 17.6 million cars and trucks sold in 2016 represent a slight uptick from the 17.5 million sold in 2015; 2016 marks the seventh year in a row of record sales.

“The longevity of this event speaks to its value,” said Gene Lambert, VP sales, Batesville Tool & Die, Inc., Batesville, IN. “We keep coming back to this conference to get the latest industry information and stay ahead of the curve. Attending this event makes our company feel better prepared to anticipate and handle future changes in the market.”

In addition to insider sales and production forecasts, this year’s conference will feature expert-level discussions on emerging trends and the innovative technologies that are shaping shop floors into the smart manufacturing facilities of tomorrow. Relatedly, attendees also will hear best practices for recruiting a new generation of skilled workers. Finally, this year’s conference is expanding the scope to include a timely and relevant discussion of the automotive business in our neighbor to the south, Mexico, and its implications for U.S. parts suppliers.

“The manufacturing and automotive industries are strong,” said PMA President Bill Gaskin. “Predictions for 2017 indicate that automotive-parts suppliers will continue to be busy in the coming months. We’re looking forward to this conference which will give attendees valuable insights into how to remain competitive as the industries evolve and grow.”

Visit www.pma.org/apsc for the program agenda, list of speakers and online registration. Please contact Rosemary David at 216-901-8800 or rdavid@pma.org with questions.

PMA is the full-service trade association representing the $137-billion metalforming industry of North America—the industry that creates precision metal products using stamping, fabricating, spinning, slide forming and roll forming technologies, and other value-added processes. Its nearly 900 member companies also include suppliers of equipment, materials and services to the industry. PMA leads innovative member companies toward superior competitiveness and profitability through advocacy, networking, statistics, the PMA Educational Foundation, FABTECH and METALFORM tradeshows, and MetalForming, Fabricating Product News and 3D Metal Printing magazines.

Contacts

Precision Metalforming Association (PMA)
Rosemary David, 216-901-8800
rdavid@pma.org