The past and the present meet this month in IMM. It’s hard to believe, but 2003 marks our 10th year serving the injection molding industry. IMM was launched in September 1993 by three innovative, creative, and highly respected plastics industry publishing veterans: Pete Sullivan, publisher; Peter Zacher, chairman; and Suzy Witzler, the founding editor and my predecessor. With IMM they created the first “niche” magazine in the plastics industry and their venture marked a very bold—and ultimately successful—departure from the norm. To celebrate Pete, Peter, and Suzy’s perseverance, and to note our coming of age, in 2003 we’ll be taking a look at some of the molders and moldmakers who helped shape IMM in its early years. The first story in this series is a revisit to Precimold in Quebec, and an update on where the last 10 years have brought this moldmaker and molder.

Looking to the future, we start this month a year-long series that aims to tackle the most pressing and critical issue facing the molding industry: that of increasing and stiff competition from developing countries for North American manufacturing jobs. This is more than a trend. The manufacturing sector of the U.S. is in the midst of monumental and revolutionary change that affects everyone in the molding profession. With the Crossroads series we hope to help you understand the change, what it means to the manufacturing economy, and ultimately how you can orient your business to survive and thrive. Click here to get started.