MILTON, Ont. — The 71st annual general meeting of the Canadian Machine Tool Dealers Association was held on December 5 at the Rattlesnake Point Golf Club in Milton, Ontario, just outside Toronto.
CMTDA president Frank Haydar of Elliott Matsuura outlined progress in the machine tool marketplace and warned of a steep decline in machinery investment in 2013 compared to the previous year.
Pessimists are afraid that 2013 will be another sub-par year for our industry, but the optimists, of whom I am a proud member, have enthusiastically jumped into the fourth quarter of 2013, encouraged by the excellent results of the CMTS 2013 show. Attendance was up 22 per cent over 2011, and I am looking forward to a repeat performance next year in Montreal.
Haydar encouraged members to participate in the confidential annual salary survey, noting that the survey is important for assessing salary levels. Amadas Luke Kerr joins the board of the CMTDA in 2014.
CMTDA executive director Peter Turton presented a membership report, and welcomed Kerr to the board, while also thanking resigning board member Daniel Medrea from DMG Canada for his service.
The SMEs Julie Pike and Janine Saperson reviewed show activities in 2013, and introduced the Montreal Manufacturing Technology Show which will take place in Montreals Place Bonaventure on May 12-14 2014.
Ellison Technologies Robert Dunbar proposed the 2014-2015 CMTDA board of directors, which was accepted by the membership.
Pat McGibbon, vice president of industry intelligence and engagement for the U.S. Association for Manufacturing Technology, gave a presentation on U.S. machine tool markets and trends over 2013.
The meeting was followed by a talk by NHL coaching legend Scotty Bowman and CBC Hockey Night in Canada analyst Elliotte Friedman.
Commenting to the highly partisan Toronto crowd, Bowman declared, The Leafs defence is in transition, also noting that injuries are a factor.
They have to shore up the defence.its so-so and thats not good enough in this league.
