COVID-19 Impact on PM Manufacturing

WorldPM2020 Cancelled

The first case of coronavirus was first reported in the U.S. in Washington state on January 21, 2020. Since then state and federal governments have been placing restrictions on individuals and businesses resulting in the closure of manufacturing facilities across the country on a state-by-state basis. On March 18, the voluntary closure of North American automaker factories, including Ford, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Honda and Toyota, was announced through at least the end of March.

Manufacturing in Pennsylvania, a hub of PM plants, has been forced to temporarily shut down as of March 20, 2020, due to the interpretation of a State of Emergency issued by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolfe, which stated that only life-sustaining businesses can remain open.

The National Association of Manufacturers requested the creation a Manufacturing Resiliency Fund “which would include $1.4 trillion in loans to provide needed liquidity to manufacturers and small businesses” and has a “COVID-19 Policy Action Plan” calling on the U.S. government to recognize manufacturing as critical and reopen facilities. Some of these requests have reportedly been included in the $2 trillion stimulus bill. They are also organizing component parts to aid the nation’s COVID-19 response. Your company can participate on their website.

Meanwhile, multiple global PM and metal AM events have been cancelled, postponed or moved online.

MPIF’s leadership team has been closely monitoring the situation. MPIF Executive Director/CEO Jim Adams released the following message regarding the co-located conferences WorldPM2020, AMPM2020, and Tungsten2020:

Thank you for your patience and understanding as MPIF leadership has closely monitored the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic over the past several weeks. After thoughtful deliberation, it is with a sad and heavy heart that a decision has been made to cancel the WorldPM2020, AMPM2020, Tungsten2020 co-located conferences to have taken place June 27–July 1 in Montréal. The conferences will not be rescheduled.

Our technology’s advancement is greatly affected by the lost opportunity for our speakers to present the latest research and to collaborate with colleagues. Our suppliers and service providers are unable to present the cutting-edge advancements in materials, equipment, and services. Nevertheless, all speakers and exhibitors have been encouraged to share these technology advancements next year at PowderMet2021 and AMPM2021, June 20–23, 2021, in Orlando.

Unfortunately, the 10th Tungsten, Refractory and Hardmaterials conference will not be held in 2021.

We are grateful to everyone who has worked tirelessly with planning, promoting, and supporting the Montréal conferences, the Metal AM Tutorial, and all other conference activities. We ask for your patience as we work diligently to address questions and provide additional information to all who are impacted by this cancellation.

In the meantime, MPIF and IHS Markit have teamed up to provide a complimentary MPIF Members Only webinar to address the potential impact on the automotive industry and the outlook for light vehicle production. If you are an MPIF Official or Alternate Representative and did not yet receive an invitation for the April 1, 2020, webinar, please contact Stephanie Schember at sschember@mpif.org.

MPIF staff is working remotely due to the New Jersey statewide stay-at-home order. You can reach individual staff by email or by contacting info@mpif.org.