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14 November 2006 GTMA Pushes Thermoforming Initiatives
Members of the Gauge and Tool Makers Association (GTMA), along with other participants in the EU-sponsored T-ForM thermoforming R&D project, recently attended a meeting hosted by JCB at the automotive engineering firm’s world headquarters in Staffordshire to discuss the progress and direction of the project. One outcome of the session was a decision to launch a new Thermoforming Forum, which the GTMA has agreed to sponsor and coordinate. T-ForM is being supported by the European FP6 Collective Research Programme with a budget of €4.8 million. The initiative will assist thermoforming companies, mould makers, and design agencies to improve competitiveness through the development of a predictive mould design and manufacturing system that can reduce throughput times and help ensure right-first-time production.
Paul Tulloch, business development manager for ABCD Plastics Ltd,, shared the enthusiasm. “It is not often you get the opportunity to sit down with your competitors to discuss genuine concerns within the sector,” he said. “This initiative gives us all the opportunity to push the design envelope of the thermoforming process, and therefore potentially increase the size of the thermoforming market—which is good for everyone in the industry.” The new UK Thermoforming Forum is expected to provide considerable opportunities and mutual benefits to companies throughout the thermoforming supply chain, and to improve communication and understanding between them. And, as GTMA CEO Julia Moore explained, “It made sense for the new forum to be created within the GTMA framework, as the thermoforming industry is so closely aligned with our own sector.” She urged companies interested in joining the T-ForM project and the Thermoforming Forum to contact Scott Phillips at the GTMA. At the T-ForM meeting, work being undertaken at the University of Stuttgart, including a survey of the SME thermoforming environment, and at the Dutch research establishment TNO, which has been developing prototype mould design software, also was reviewed. For further information: Gauge and Tool Makers Association
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