INDUSTRY NEWS
HMS Products joins AIDA family
AIDA-America, a specialist in mechanical and servo press / systems technology in Dayton, OH( USA), has welcomed HMS Products Co., a press automation manufacturer, to the AIDA Family.
“ AIDA and HMS have a long history of working together on turnkey solutions for their customers. AIDA’ s acquisition of HMS will act to further strengthen this partnership and benefit their mutual customers with the resulting integrated stamping press system solutions tailored to North American customers’ requirements. Both companies are excited about the added value, as well as the additional expertise and collaboration opportunities that this new alliance brings to our customers,” commented Kland Aida, President, AIDA-America.
HMS will continue to operate from its Troy, Michigan( USA) headquarters, with its 60 associate-strong team remaining in place. Kevin VanDenBrouck has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of HMS and will lead the company into this new chapter. Under his leadership, HMS will continue to build on its 47-year history of providing advanced press automation equipment. This includes through the window and front- and rear-mounted transfer systems, blank destackers, custom front- and end-of-line solutions, and transfer tooling.
AIDA servo and mechanical stamping presses are available in capacities from 35 to 4,000 tons and 1 to 800 strokes per minute. Single press, tandem line, highspeed, lamination and cold forging models for single stroke, transfer and progressive die applications provide a range of production capabilities. Additionally, AIDA offers material handling and automation systems for complete turnkey solutions. Sales, service, engineering and manufacturing locations in more than 40 cities across 20 countries support press installations exceeding 80,000 units in over 60 countries. n
www. aida-global. com
www
. aida-america. com
www. hmsproducts. com /
Stefan Zecha, Chairman of VDMA Precision Tools, gave a presentation at the ECTA conference.
Turin welcomes ECTA event
Over 100 operators took part in the ECTA CONFERENCE 2025, the annual conference of the European Cutting Tools Association( the association representing European manufacturers of processing tools for industrial use). The event returned to Italy after seven years and was held in Turin from 20-22 March 2025, supported by a social programme.
The initiative, organised by UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE( the Italian machine tools, robotics and automation systems manufacturers’ association) in cooperation with ECTA, was an opportunity to discuss and exchange views on technical and economic developments in the sector. It brought together the main players in the metalworking process including manufacturers of cutting tools, inserts, tool materials, tool grinding machines, machine tool components and representatives from the academic and research world. Countries such as Austria; Australia; Belgium; South Korea; France; Germany; Ireland; Italy; Luxemburg; Spain; the United States and Switzerland were represented by the attendees.
“ We are very pleased with the incredible attendance at the ECTA CONFERENCE 2025. The high turnout of operators at the event confirms its importance and the need for operators to meet and discuss the issues that are crucial for our industry, today and in the near future,” stated Federico Costa, President of ECTA.
The highlight of the three-day event was the conference on Friday 21 March 2025, held in the historic setting of Palazzo Costa Carrù della Trinità. To open the work sessions, a welcome address was given by Federico Costa, followed
Federico Costa, President, ECTA. by speeches from Stefan Zecha( CEO of Zecha Hartmetall Werkzeugfabrikation and Chairman of VDMA Precision Tools); Manfred Grimm, Market Data and Statistics Specialist, VDMA Precision Tools and Mike Stokey, senior VP of USCTI and Executive VP of Allied Machine & Engineering.
Presentations were also given by Melissa Albeck, Member of the Executive Board of Ceratizit; Emilio Franco, CFA – Chief Executive Officer of Mediobanca SGR and Giuliano Noci, full Professor of Strategy and Marketing and Vice-
Rector for China at the Polytechnic University of Milan( Politecnico di Milano). Guido Saracco, full Professor of Chemical Fundamentals of Technologies at the Polytechnic University of Turin and Jack Sintini, Head of Training Department and Regional Sales Manager of Randstad also gave speeches at the conference.
“ The valuable content presented during the conference offered an accurate economic and geopolitical picture, with up-to-date data and future prospects for the sector. Issues such as artificial intelligence and the digitalisation of production processes, together with more motivational insights, provided new food for thought for the business of operators in the sector,” explained Federico Costa, President of ECTA
The next ECTA CONFERENCE has been scheduled from 7-9 May 2026 and will be held in Graz, Austria. n
https:// ecta-tools. org /
www. ucimu. it
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