Thursday, July 11, 2019

PM Industry Conferences Provide Inspiration

Phoenix, Arizona, hosted the powder metallurgy (PM) industry June 23–26 for POWDERMET2019, International Conference on Powder Metallurgy and Particulate Materials, and AMPM2019, Additive Manufacturing with Powder Metallurgy. These co-located conferences brought together over 850 delegates from 22 countries for four days of the latest research and development in PM, particulate materials and metal additive manufacturing (AM), as well as annual industry awards presentations and networking.

The Opening General Session featured MPIF President John F. Sweet, PMT, FMS Corporation, who presented the annual State of the PM Industry in North America report. Despite some softening in the first quarter, PM continues to be an innovative and problem-solving solution.

Bill Stainton, Keynote Speaker

Opening General Session presentation by Bill Stainton "Connecting the Dots in the Metal Powder World." Click on the image to see more photos from POWDERMET2019/AMPM2019.

Next, keynote speaker Bill Stainton, one of the conference’s most motivational speakers to date, presented on Connecting the Dots in the Metal Powder World. Stainton’s energy set the tone for the rest of the week as industry colleagues explored the latest R&D and made connections between existing projects and new innovations.

This year notably featured 76 grant-winning engineering students. Grants were provided by the National Science Foundation, the Metal Powder Industries Federation, and through the CPMT/Axel Madsen Grant. Students were paired with mentors to ensure that they received a warm welcome to the industry. They were also required to prepare a poster and a 10-minute presentation. If your company is looking for new talent, explore the students’ resumes.

Monday’s Industry Awards Luncheon introduced this year’s winners of the PM Design Excellence Awards, and Tuesday’s Industry Luncheon presented 13 recipients of the Distinguished Service to PM Award as well as this year’s APMI International Fellows. Review the 2019 PM Design Excellence Award Winners.

Next year’s conference will be bigger and better than ever, because every six years POWDERMET transforms into the World Congress on PM and Particulate Materials. Mark your calendars for June 27–July 1, 2020, because next year’s global conference WorldPM2020 will feature an entire extra day of technical sessions and events, and includes the co-located conferences AMPM2020, Additive Manufacturing with Powder Metallurgy, and Tungsten2020, the 10th International Conference on Tungsten, Refractory & Hardmaterials. Three big conference for one global event!

Visit WorldPM2020.org, AMPM2020.org, or Tunsten2020.org for details.