The truth is, that today, manufacturers and suppliers are facing challenges inside their companies that are completely controlled by outside forces. The idea that you cannot forecast or plan for part of your business because of the choices of people you have never met, is not only scary but frustrating on a daily basis.
For good or bad, the trade and tariff issues that have appeared since the Trump administration was sworn in earlier this year have caused a great deal of disruption. From an association standpoint, the Motion + Power Manufacturers Alliance (MPMA) has witnessed members struggle to find their footing. The daily changes to policy and legal responsibilities have made even basic business impossible. You can quote a project in the morning and, by the afternoon, the entire deal has to be redone to account for the price of goods, shipping, and tariffs.
Christ Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence explained that the heightened uncertainty to the changes in policy have caused delayed spending and even customer cancellations from rising costs and holes in the supply chain (Manufacturing economy stalls amid tariff confusion: PMI | Manufacturing Dive). Not only is it impossible to forecast from quarter to quarter, but now manufacturers are forced to pick and choose the customers’ priority and what they can and cannot fulfill due to lack of materials.
MPMA has been working with K&L Gates LLP, a law firm based out of the U.S., for many years on policy, trade, and tariffs in relation to the gear and bearing industries. It started off by hosting webinars to convey key information to members about changes that might affect their businesses. Earlier this year, however, the need to share the industries’ stories was too important and a proper “DC Fly-In” was scheduled.
Leaders from large and small gear and bearing manufacturing companies gathered in Washington, D.C., and met with state senators, representatives, and federal agencies. The meetings enabled members to share the important work they are doing and to tell their story about how the changes in trade are affecting their bottom line. The constituents from each of the states took the lead to share the impact and effects of the tariffs, not just regarding their businesses, but the community where their voters are from.
“We provided our members a chance to meet their senator or representative directly so that they could share how the decisions made by policy makers are having a deeper consequence than they might realize,” said Matthew E. Croson, president, MPMA. “As an association, we took the D.C. Fly-in as a great opportunity to share our members’ stories – we were a conduit, and had very constructive conversations about ripple effects and unintended consequences of current trade strategies.”
Members explained the inconsistency of the tariffs was the most challenging to navigate. Industry will adjust to whatever it needs to, but when the line moves every day, there is no time to catch up and pivot. It leads to a lot of time and therefore, money, lost. Entire departments have been put at a standstill until there are reliable numbers. Some employees at these companies have had to create task forces to handle the tariffs with attorneys, which keeps them from doing their regular jobs.
“Whether you were for or against the tariffs, it didn’t matter,” Croson said. “The beautiful thing was that all our Fly-In member attendees agreed that consistency was the most important thing needed to ensure a strong manufacturing posture in the United States. We will take the lessons learned from our first Fly-In, work with the Board of Directors, and continue to support our members – and share their needs with leaders at the federal, state, and local levels.”
Attendees of the event were able to meet with the following offices:
U.S. Commerce Department International Trade Administration
- Office of Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
- Office of Sen. Todd Young (R-IN).
- Office of Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).
- Office of Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Trade Intellectual Property Rights
- Office of Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI-04).
- Office of Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01).
- Office of Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN).
- Office of Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI).
- Office of Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN).
To learn more about how you can be involved, contact croson@agma.org or blackford@abma.org. If you are looking to connect with a member directly about their experience, the attendees included:
- David Baur, Chief Financial Officer, Schafer Industries.
- Nestor Belsol, Global Supply Chain Manager, Atlantic Bearing Services.
- Anant Bhat, Director – Strategy & Portfolio Management, Schaeffler Group USA Inc.
- James, Bregi, President, Doppler Gear Company.
- Michael Cinquemani, CEO, Master Power Transmission, Inc.
- John Cross, CEO, ASI Drives.
- Robert Komasara, Consultant, Nachi America Inc.
- Thomas Montgomery, Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary, Gleason Corporation.
- Anthony, Richey, General Manager, Specialty Steel Treating, Inc.
- Jennifer Blackford, President, ABMA.
- Rebecca Brinkley, Senior Director, Membership Engagement, AGMA.
- Matthew Croson, President, American Gear Manufacturers AGMA.
If you would like to see past webinars on trade and tariffs, go to: www.agma.org/events-education/on-demand-webinars.
Upcoming Courses
Basic Training for Gear Manufacturing
September 8-12 | Chicago, Illinois
Learn the fundamentals of gear manufacturing in this hands-on course. Gain an understanding of gearing and nomenclature, principles of inspection, gear manufacturing methods, and hobbing and shaping. Using manual machines, develop a deeper breadth of perspective and understanding of the process and physics of making a gear as well as the ability to apply this knowledge in working with CNC equipment commonly in use.
Detailed Gear Design
September 16-25 | Live Online
There is a distinct difference between “designing” a gear and “optimizing” a gear design. In this course, we will address the optimization process via an understanding of those factors beyond basic banding and pitting ratings. Optimization may focus on load capacity, economy of production, or minimization of overall gear system envelope. In this course, we will learn how to improve gear designs via optimization and gain new insight into concepts presented through illustrations and demonstrations. Explore all factors that go into good gear design from life cycle, load, torque, tooth, optimization, and evaluating consequences.
Operator Gear Grinding
September 17 | Live Online
Explore precision gear grinding processes, machine input variables, kinematics, machine alignment, setup errors, pitfalls, common gear fatigue failures, and expectations related to finish ground gearing. Learn definitions of gearing component features, application loads, and process steps from blanking through heat treatment to finished part ready to ship. Study aspects of quality assurance, inspection documentation and corrective actions for measured non-conformances. Understand pre-heat treat, heat-treatment distortion, and post heat treatment operations including the hows and whys to produce finished gears that conform and perform to end user expectations. Calculate gear form grinding cycle times for real-life examples for various accuracy levels on commercially available software.
Involute Spline Design and Rating
October 7-8 | Live Online
This course will address both geometry and rating of involute splines of various types. The types of spline joints and their applications will be discussed. Spline configuration variations, including half depth, full depth, and special function designs, will be addressed. Both fixed and flexible spline configurations will be examined in terms of usage and design. Lubrication methods, including grease, oil bath, and flowing oil, as well as coatings appropriate for various spline applications, are examined. Shear and compressive stress rating methods are discussed with analyses methodology presented in both equation and graphical methodology via various rating charts.
Upcoming Meetings & Events
Motion + Power Technology Expo
October 21-23 | Detroit, Michigan
Registration is now open.
Innovation Accelerated – It’s your three-day pass to transformation: learn, network, and discover at the Motion + Power Technology Expo.
- Explore the latest advancements in gearing and power transmission technologies.
- Expand your skills with educational sessions led by industry experts.
- Connect with key decision-makers and expand your professional network.
- Compare products and services side by side from more than 300 exhibitors.
Fall Technical Meeting
October 22-24 | Detroit, Michigan
Technology is fundamentally changing the way manufacturing is done. The gear industry is faced with emerging trends and innovation that is challenging engineers to stay in course with cutting-edge technology to keep design, quality, materials and analysis efficient. It is imperative that researchers and gear engineers communicate ideas with fellow experts in the field. AGMA’s annual Fall Technical Meeting (FTM) is the perfect forum in which to share research and to disperse knowledge for the benefit of the industry at a global level.
