ACMA: Driving Innovative Platforms for Composites Industry Engagement

As I begin my service as ACMA Board Chair, receiving the baton from my friend and colleague Megan Multanen, I naturally reflect on the privilege and responsibility to continue a long tradition of ACMA to engage and inspire our members. I have been actively engaged in ACMA, or its predecessor the Composites Fabricators Association, since 1997. Countless executive leaders, colleagues and ACMA staff have inspired and supported me and my peers through those years. In fact, Megan’s father Gary Multanen was an early inspiration to me and our industry, modeling the management courage to proactively and transparently engage our neighbors and communities. Other ACMA leaders, whether in a family business or a multi-national corporation, have modeled purposeful engagement with their workforce through the Certified Composites Technician Program  or through youth development like Scouting or STEM.

The recent celebration of the ten-year anniversary of IACMI and the sustained growth of our CAMX partnership with SAMPE speaks to the power of engagement across our composites industry organizations. As we approach CAMX, I welcome and encourage all our members and industry colleagues to take full advantage of this exciting commercial and technology transfer platform to connect, collaborate and grow.

ACMA demonstrates its very special value through the creative ways it continues to build and sustain new and vital platforms for engagement of members of all sizes and positions in the value chain. Programs such as the Composites Growth Initiative, ACMA Fly-In, Family Business Network,  the LCA + EPD Generator and Emerging Leaders Program offer open and welcoming platforms for all members and prospective members, and most importantly open markets for all those that engage. And ACMA board members participate in and support advocacy groups like Women in the Composites Industry and others. 

ACMA recently launched a new program and event centered called Composites Evolution. The intersection of AI, digital twin technology, additive manufacturing, machine-driven processes, robotics and other Industry 4.0 breakthroughs will continue to present both opportunities and challenges for our industry, depending largely on how we engage them. Constraints with labor, technical talent, material or regulation will be a shared experience for all manufacturers to rise above to sustain growth. In recent remarks to our industry, Marcio Sandri of Owens Corning offered a compelling vision of four pillars critical to the growth of composites: Scalable Innovation, Standardization, Strong and Stable Supply Chains, and Sustainability and Circularity. These pillars demand engagement and shared lifting. As a member-driven organization, the ACMA is well positioned to lead in shaping the evolution of our industry, as the marketplace for innovative solutions and capabilities.

Sincerely,

Mike Gromacki