The Cutting Edge^™ April 2005

Read the April issue of The Cutting Edge online, OR print the attached PDF and take it with you.
To read every article in this month's issue of The Cutting Edge on one HTML page, click here To PRINT the entire issue, click here, and then hit PRINT in your web browser. Or you can email jconey@fernley.com for a PDF of the newsletter.

Business Briefing

What's Happening in the Secondary Wood Products Industry?
By Art Raymond
This month, Business Briefing expands its usual sector situation report to headline status. Our purpose is to recap recent history and forecast the near future for the important secondary wood products sectors that comprise your largest customer base...

Public Policy

Domestic Manufacturers
By John Satagaj
WMMA has worked actively with the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) to identify a game plan to help domestic manufacturers survive and prosper. An important early step in that process was to identify why domestic manufacturers are having difficulty competing in the world marketplace. The NAM produced a study that demonstrated that external, non-production costs add approximately 22 percent to unit labor costs of U.S. manufacturers...

International Business Development

International Buyer Program: Reminder: 1st Deadline is April 19!
The AWFS®/WMMA® International Buyer Program, a great opportunity to bring your key international customers and dealers to the AWFS® Fair. You get the kudos, we get the bill!! AWFS® and WMMA® will be awarding $1,500 to each selected foreign representative and user of woodworking equipment and/or furnishings suppliers to visit the AWFS® Fair - Las Vegas Nevada, July 27-30 and meet with member firms...

2005 International Trade Opportunities
Review this table of exporting resources, events and guidelines to get your international trade program up and running! Links are shown to WMMA sites containing valuable information on exporting...

Manufacturing Strategies

May 2005 Continuous Improvement Workshops - Deadline April 20th!
Lean manufacturing is helping manufacturers survive. However, their continued survival may depend on their ability to extend their newfound competitiveness to the way they take their products to market, through the supply chain and ultimately to the customer. Often, this means an extension of CI initiatives. CI is now more than an initiative - it's a way of doing business. Bring your customers and seek means to not only survive but thrive in 2005!...

WMMA® Staff Information Peter Perez President Jim Laster Vice President / Treasurer Kenneth R. Hutton Executive Vice President Bill Norton Director of Marketing & Information Jean Coney Director of Committees & Editor, The Cutting Edge Karen Boyle Administrative Director Harold Zassenhaus Export Director G.A. Taylor Fernley Management Liaison John Satagaj Legislative Counsel 1010 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20001 (202) 639-8888 Joseph Mc Hale Legal Counsel © 2005 by Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America, Philadelphia, PA. All rights reserved. This publication or any parts of it may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. For permission to reprint articles or to send correspondence, write to: WMMA®, 100 North 20th Street, 4th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103-1443, Phone: (215) 564-3484. Fax: (215) 963-9785. E-mail: wmma@fernley.com. The opinion expressed in any articles by outside consultants are their own views and not necessarily those of the WMMA®.