Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America.Philadelphia, PA www.woodweb.com The WMMA WMMA Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America WMMA Word of Mouth Marketing Association (also seen as WOMMA) WMMA Wisconsin Marketing and Management Association WMMA Western Montana Mycological Association has 210 regular and associate members Industry's Health "The health of the industry is great," said WMMA President Todd Herzog. "We are very optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op based on the record number of attendees and sales leads at IWF IWF Interworking Function IWF Internet Watch Foundation IWF Independent Women's Forum IWF International Weightlifting Federation IWF Internationaler Währungsfond (German; IMF) IWF Independent Wrestling Federation '98. We also do a monthly Owner's Index report in which roughly one-third of WMMA members provide sales information. The 1998 reports have been very positive regarding machinery sales." 1999 Outlook Herzog pointed to reported increased shipments of U.S. furniture as a positive sign for woodworking machinery manufacturers. "Across the board, in all categories of furniture, shipments are up substantially from 1997. The outlook for machinery sales for the year 1999 by all economic indicators Economic indicators The key statistics of the economy that reveal the direction the economy is heading in; for example, the unemployment rate and the inflation rate. looks good. The rate of growth may be slow compared with the rate for '98, but you have to keep in mind that this was a record-breaking year in the industry. We are extremely optimistic about 1999. It has the potential to be a record-setting year." Industry Issues "One of the plans of the WMMA is the sponsorship of coalition activities with other wood-based trade associations," said Herzog. "We are actively exploring ways to do joint projects because we believe it makes sense to share research and information that benefits our industry." For example, Herzog noted that the WMMA is a member of the Inter-Industry Wood Dust Coordinating Council, which has contracted Tulane University History Founding/early history The University dates from 1834 as the Medical College of Louisiana.<ref name="facts" /> With the addition of a law department, it became The University of Louisiana to conduct a six-year study on the effects of wood dust exposure to humans. "In addition, we plan to expand our efforts on the internet and maximize our Web presence. We acknowledge the global competitive factor and we realize the need to promote the global aspect of marketing. We want to help equip our members with the information that will allow them to keep pace and remain competitive as the pace of business goes faster." 1998 Accomplishments "One of our biggest accomplishments as an association is reaching our 100-year anniversary," Herzog said. "The WMMA plans to host a series of events over a 16-month period to commemorate its centennial in woodworking. Kickoff events began in Atlanta at the International Woodworking Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair. The WMMA cosponsors IWF with WMIA WMIA Woodworking Machinery Industry Association and AFMA AFMA Australian Fisheries Management Authority AFMA Australian Financial Markets Association AFMA American Film Marketing Association (now known simply as AFMA) AFMA American Furniture Manufacturers Association . This year's show broke records for attendance and exhibit space. We look forward to even bigger shows in the upcoming years as the Georgia World Congress Center The Georgia World Congress Center or GWCC is the major convention center in Atlanta. It is the fourth-largest convention center in the United States at 1.4 million ft2 (130,000 m2) and hosts more than a million visitors each year. expansion is finished by 2002." Other centennial plans include celebrations at the Woodworking Industry Conference in Maui next April and at the Woodworking, Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair in Anaheim, CA, next summer. "The centennial events will give us an opportunity to draw attention to this association's years of leadership in American woodworking," he said. "As an industry, I believe we have begun to work cooperatively on issues that affect all of us, such as the need for educational programs," Herzog continued. "The WMMA's Scholarship and Educational Committee now offers scholarships at North Carolina State University History
1999 Goals "In the area of legislative work, our number one agenda will be to continue work on product liability reform," said Herzog. "Product liability is a topic that has concerned us since 1973 and is a critical issue for our members. Congress has debated product liability reform for some 20 years and a reform bill was vetoed by President Clinton in 1997. We will work for a compromise product liability reform bill that can be passed soon. The current laws are unfair in our opinion and a threat to the welfare of businesses." On a related topic, Herzog said WMMA's Products and Engineering Standards Committee continues to routinely review and recommend amendments to existing ANSI (American National Standards Institute, New York, www.ansi.org) A membership organization founded in 1918 that coordinates the development of U.S. voluntary national standards in both the private and public sectors. It is the U.S. member body to ISO and IEC. machinery safety standards Safety standards are standards designed to ensure the safety of products, activities or processes, etc. They may be advisory or compulsory and are normally laid down by an advisory or regulatory body that may be either voluntary or statutory. . "The committee has been working on a program to standardize machinery labels that offer safety information," Herzog said. "It developed a recommended series of standardized icons and decals for safety labels. This information will be provided to members and non member companies as a way of promoting plant safety." |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion