In today’s business environment, one of the biggest mistakes a leader can make is waiting until an economic shift shows up in their sales numbers before reacting. By then, the shift has already happened. That is why MTI’s Quarterly Economic Forecast Webcast with ITR Economics has... Continue Reading
The heat treating industry is changing quickly. Customers are demanding better performance, tighter specifications, greater consistency, lower costs, and more sustainable processes. Meeting those expectations isn't just about having better furnaces. It also requires understanding what is... Continue Reading
Artificial Intelligence is no longer something coming in the future. It is already changing how companies operate, make decisions, serve customers, develop employees, and compete. The challenge for business leaders isn’t deciding whether AI will impact their company. It’s... Continue Reading
The furnace is no longer just a piece of equipment that heats metal. It is becoming an intelligent production asset that consumes less energy, delivers tighter process control, predicts problems before they occur, and automates work that once depended on operator experience. That evolution will... Continue Reading
Every heat treat leader has experienced it. A question comes up during a production meeting. "What did ITR Economics say about aerospace demand over the next 12 months?" "What's the latest interpretation of this quality requirement?" "What should we inspect first when troubleshooting this... Continue Reading
Manufacturers can use mentorship as a workforce development strategy to address talent gaps. What do you get when you add a U.S. reshoring push to an ongoing industrial labor shortage? Answer: A rapidly growing need for more manufacturing workers. Women comprise more than half of the... Continue Reading
The Metal Treating Institute (MTI) announced last week at its Summer Board Meeting on July 21st the formation of its new ERP Task Force, a strategic initiative designed to help Member companies better understand their shop management system options and successfully navigate one of the most... Continue Reading
Today's heat treating industry is facing more change than at any point in recent memory. Economic uncertainty, workforce challenges, evolving customer expectations, new technical standards, cybersecurity requirements, and the rapid acceleration of artificial intelligence are forcing leaders to... Continue Reading
Every generation of business leaders faces defining moments. Moments when the companies that lean into change pull ahead...and those that hesitate spend years trying to catch up. This is one of those moments. The heat treating industry is entering a decade unlike any we've experienced before.... Continue Reading
The average manufacturer loses somewhere between five and twenty percent of productive capacity to unplanned downtime annually. That range varies by industry, asset intensity, and operational maturity, but across discrete manufacturing, process industries, and utilities, the cost runs into... Continue Reading
For decades, heat treating companies have managed risk through rigorous safety procedures, preventive maintenance, employee training, and continuous investments in fire suppression and quality systems. Yet despite these efforts, many companies are facing an increasingly difficult insurance... Continue Reading
One of the greatest challenges facing heat treat leaders today isn't equipment, technology, or even the economy…it's leading people effectively in an era where skilled employees are harder to find and even harder to keep. How do you correct poor performance without damaging... Continue Reading
