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Mate is a little more than six months into the launch of our press brake tooling line and I’m pleased to say that customers have greeted us with excitement. We knew that entering the press brake tooling market would add a significant dimension to our punch press tooling and laser consumables businesses, which customers have been asking us about. But we haven’t stopped there. We are expanding our product lines with additional products and services, and see a lot of opportunities ahead.

Looking ahead at 2015 we see three key trends impacting the metal forming and manufacturing landscape:

1) There is Growing Optimism in the U.S. Metal Fabrication Market

These are slow moving trends, but we see growth in the manufacturing sector and in particular the sheet metal market. Compared to Europe, Asia and South America, the United States is seeing growth in metal fabrication. This is evidenced by projections that overall spending will grow 3.5% in 2015 over 2014 according to Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International. There has also been a record number of metalworking credentials awarded to those seeking to enter or advance in our industry.

2) Metal Forming is Returning to North America

North America is becoming an attractive location to manufacture as offshore labor costs continue to rise and transportation times and costs can be minimized. By reducing delivery time and logistic complications in their supply chain, North American manufacturers are realizing they can manufacture goods competitively .

3) There Will Continue to be Regional Shifts

The impact of oil producing regions on the total economy is significant. As we see oil prices decline, the areas where oil is the main economic driver are slowing down a bit. It’s not possible to predict with any certainty how it will look one or two years from now so it’s important to continue to monitor them.

We are excited for what’s on the horizon in 2015 and 2016. We are expanding our core product and extending into new areas of press brake tooling. Be sure to stay current with what’s happening at Mate by downloading our latest catalogs and to learn what’s next by subscribing to our blog. Thank you.