Background

• The Fabricators and Manufacturers Association was founded in 1970 to advocate for the growth & sustainability of the metal processing, forming, and fabricating industries in North America.
• To achieve its purpose, the non-profit organizes technology councils, educational programs, networking events and a trade show known as Fabtech.
• The organization also publishes several industry publications such as The Fabricator, The Tube & Pipe Journal, Stamping Journal, The Welder, The Fabricator en Espanol, Canadian Metalworking, and Canadian Fabricating & Welding.
• Fabricators and Manufacturers Association has two technology affiliates named Tube & Pipe Association (TPA) and Association of Steel Distributors (ASD) and a charitable foundation named Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs.

Historical Growth

• The first board meeting of FMA was held in 1970 under the presidency of Milo J. Pitkin. Since then, the organization has worked under four presidents: Milo J. Pitkin (1970-1984), John Nandzik (1984-2002), Jerry Shankel (2002-2011) and Ed Youdell (2011-Present)
• The first member of FMA, Eaton Leonard, joined the association in 1975 and the first version of the trade show Fabtech International took place in 1981 in Cleveland.
• In 1991, the organization inaugurated its 40,000 sq. ft. corporate headquarters in Rockford, Illinois.
• In 2005, for the first time, FMA’s charitable foundation included funding for its summer manufacturing camps.
• FMA founded the National Manufacturing Day in 2012.
• FMA’s charitable foundation, Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs (NBT), has awarded manufacturing-related scholarships worth over US$ 1 million to summer manufacturing camps.
• Till date, FMA has also trained more than 50,000 people.

Financial Results

•  Nut, Bolts, and Thingamajigs (NBT), the foundation of the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, garnered a total of US$1,532,692 in donations in 2019.
• This was a significant increase from the foundation’s earning of US$990,760 in donations in 2018.
• The increase in net assets of the foundation in 2019 was US$692,791 compared to a decrease of US$80,391 in 2018.

Future Growth Plans

• The vision of FMA for its long-term future is to help manufacturing's next generation by assisting them to leverage revolutionary technologies in the days to come.
• To attract more members, the association offers three types of membership plans: individual, business and premier.
• The individual plan costs US$150 a year, business plan costs US$495 a year and the premier plan is priced at US$1,495 a year.
• The association also offers educational memberships for students and schools at annual costs of US$25 per student and US$150 per school.

Organizational Structure

•  Greg Simpson of Ohio Laser, LLC serves as the current chair of FMA.
• The directors on the board of FMA are: Philip Kooima, Scott Myran, Jay Phillips, Sarah Richards, Steve W Ford Sr, Lori Tapani and Lisa Wertzbaugher.
• As mentioned earlier, Ed Youndell serves as the current president and CEO of FMA.