Batesville Tool & Die President and CEO Jody Fledderman Elected PMA Chairman of the Board
Fledderman announced that his theme of his one-year term as PMA chairman is Investing in the Future to Strengthen the Industry.
Posted: March 15, 2014
The Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) announced that Jody Fledderman, president and CEO of Batesville Tool & Die (BTD) (Batesville, IN) was elected 2014 chairman of the PMA Board of Directors. PMA also announced that Bill Smith, president of Termax Corporation in Lake Zurich, IL, will serve as PMA Board first vice chair, and Ron Lowry, CEO and owner of Dayton Rogers in Minneapolis, MN, will serve as Board treasurer.
“I’m honored to be elected Board Chairman and thank 2013 PMA Chairman Bill Adler for his great leadership and all that he accomplished over the past year,” said Fledderman.
Fledderman announced that his theme of his one-year term as PMA chairman is Investing in the Future to Strengthen the Industry.
“PMA members are investing in new technologies such as new presses to replace older equipment not only for added capacity but to invest in the future,” Fledderman said. “We also are reaching out to the workforce of the future—our local high-school students—to show them the career opportunities manufacturing offers. Even if a company doesn’t need new technology or a fresh pool of labor today, they will most likely need both soon, to fortify their companies. You have to look ahead.”
Fledderman’s efforts to attract and develop the next-generation workforce have led to the creation of a new program for Batesville High School students that also encompasses the newly expanded local arm of Ivy Tech Community College. Ivy Tech, with the generous financial support of the Batesville Community School Corp., BTD and other local businesses, moved into a new facility early in 2013.
“Ivy Tech has become a place where parents can be proud to send their kids,” says Fledderman. “I believe kids need options other than a four-year college to further their education and career opportunities outside of high school, and the technical programs offered at Ivy Tech fit that bill. Along with their high-school curriculum, our new co-op program becomes the proverbial third leg to the stool to provide support to kids as they look to begin careers in manufacturing.”
Fledderman seeks to spread the word about this program during his term as PMA chairman.
“I’ll work with PMA nationally to develop a template, conduct webinars and in other ways to help guide other companies should they wish to launch a similar co-op program in their community. Such an orientation program from PMA will help companies recruit and develop the talent needed to provide for their future success.”
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