Today, the 15th April 2019 holds a special place in the history of the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA), as it was on this date in 1919 that the Association was founded and the first meeting of its members held.
To mark the centenary, members past and present have been contributing to a book ‘At the Heart of Manufacturing’, which charts the history of the Association from inception to the present day.
Originally the Machine Tool Trade Association (MTTA), machine tool manufacturers from across the UK had come together to respond to the proliferation of trade shows featuring machine tools that were making demands on their time and resources.
Much has changed in those 100 years, notably the name, the Machine Tools Trade Association would later become the Manufacturing Technologies Association.
James Selka DL, MTA CEO said: “Throughout its history, technologies have changed, the companies have changed, the nature of the UK machine tool sector has changed and even the name of the association has changed, but one thing has remained constant – the association’s determination to represent its members best interests and help them do more business.”
He continued “To mark our centenary, members past and present have been contributing to a book ‘At the Heart of Manufacturing’, which charts the history of the association. Our members have made a significant contribution to the world around us and the country we live in and we are proud to be their voice.”
The book is also a record of how much technology has changed over the past 100 years; some of the manufacturing techniques of then would be unrecognisable today. The book was carefully put together by members of the association by looking through historical records and recounting recent history. Every member of the MTA has received a copy of the publication.
The MTA represents the whole spectrum of manufacturing technology in the UK; from metal cutting and metal forming, machine tools to software, tooling, controls, automation and new technologies such as additive manufacturing and smart systems.
MTA www.mta.org.uk
