The Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) reported a December PMI® of 60.7 percent for US manufacturing, up 3.2 percentage points from the November reading of 57.5 percent. That figure was the highest since August of 2018 and also indicates expansion in the overall economy for the eighth month in a row after contracting in March, April, and May.
The American Brush Manufacturers Association (ABMA) announces the next installment in our quarterly webinar series from the ABMA Educational Institute. The ABMA is offering A New Tool to Manufacture Brushes: Presented by Carbon 3d’s Jason Lopes on January 19, 2021, at 2 p.m. EST. Jason Lopes is an additive manufacturing specialist and has worked on 3d printed creations for Avatar, Avengers and Jurassic World.
3d printing is revolutionizing additive manufacturing. In this webinar you will learn an overview of 3d printing:
For 2021, we pivot due to the pandemic and look to virtually capture the key elements of an in-person ABMA Convention and share them with the Industry. Please join us for three days of networking, fellowship and important information sharing.
Without question, 2020 will be remembered as an unprecedented year that brought both challenges and opportunities. The pandemic forced people out of public spaces and into their homes, which certainly took some getting used to. But this challenge quickly presented an opportunity for our industry, with consumer spending on housewares products increasing dramatically.
COVID-19 caused the cancellation of The Inspired Home Show in 2020 and the postponement of the 2021 show from March to August. IHA reacted by recreating the physical displays and events into digital versions to continue to provide industry education and connections. These efforts will pay further dividends in the future as IHA’s digital services are expanded.
Brush industry manufacturers, suppliers, friends and family are mourning the loss of Nathan Thomas Zappola, Director of New Product Development for The Mill-Rose Company, who passed away on Wednesday morning, December 30, 2020. He was 74 years old.
The 2021 January/February eMag (digital edition) of Brushware magazine is now available. In this issue, Philip M. Perry provides his economic forecast for 2021 and highlights the opportunities ahead. Mark Battersby runs through M&A strategy during the pandemic and the third quarter US Import/Export results are published in their entirety.
As we wind down the year that was 2020 and look forward to celebrating the holidays, I want to thank all of the Brushware readers, advertisers and supporters and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. It was such a challenging and heartbreaking year for so many, we hope that the holidays and the year ahead will be much brighter for everyone.
But as a final look back to 2020, we present for the second year in a row the top-performing stories on www.brushwaremag.com for the year.
When the US Congress passed an emergency stimulus package of $900 billion for COVID-19 related relief to US citizens and businesses on Monday, it was widely accepted that US President Donald Trump would sign the bill into law. However, last night Trump put that into question with comments in a video posted to Twitter saying, “The bill they are now planning to send back to my desk is much different than anticipated. I’m also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation, and to send me a suitable bill.”
Although the President’s comments make the prospects for the bill unclear, here are some of the highlights from the ABMA’s summary of the legislation:
JAN/FEB 2021
-PMI Updates
