Five Questions with AMT

A blue graphic with text that says Meet ARM Member AMT with headshots of Cat and Ben

In this month’s Five Questions feature, meet Cat Ross (Director of Community Engagement) and Benjamin Moses (Director, Technology) from ARM Member AMT – the Association for Manufacturing Technology! AMT focuses on supporting manufacturers with vital information on technological developments, developing winning business models, advocating for a next-generation Smartforce, and building dynamic ecosystems that nurture new concepts and solutions. Given the synergies between AMT’s focus and the ARM Institute’s mission, it’s natural that our organizations collaborate. While AMT is a proud ARM Institute member, the ARM Institute is also a proud member of AMT.

Learn more about AMT, how you can get involved, their upcoming events, and more in the interview below!

1. We always like to start our interviews by exploring how our interviewees got involved in manufacturing. Can you tell us about your journey into manufacturing? 

Cat: My first glimpse into manufacturing was a segment on Sesame Street about how crayons are made. I was blown away. As an adult entering the workforce twenty years later, I accepted a job with a national standards institute for machinists and metalworkers, and I haven’t looked back since. The opportunities here are endless, so I’m always encouraging more women to consider this career path. In doing so, I’ve had the pleasure of serving on the Board of Directors for the Women in Manufacturing Education Foundation, which offers an impressive slate of professional development programs for women in our sector. Highly recommend! 

Benjamin: When I was young, I would take apart and reassemble all my toys. That turned into a career designing and manufacturing aerospace assemblies and components. I moved back and forth between design and manufacturing, but my love for creating kept me in manufacturing.  

2. You recently hosted your Joint Technology Summit at the ARM Institute’s Pittsburgh facility. Can you tell us about that event, its purpose, and what next steps might come out of it? 

Ben: The Joint Technology Summit is a cross-collaboration between AMT, NTMA, and AGMA to discuss the current state of the art in advanced manufacturing technologies and barriers. Automation is the main technology sector to grow American manufacturing to meet the significant market growth. AMT will leverage this information to provide strategic direction for engaging the manufacturing industry. 

Cat: Bringing these three associations together fosters such a rich forum of ideas, and what a natural fit to bring the Summit to ARM Institute, who are renowned for driving technological innovation and progress. A win-win for all parties! 

3. AMT is such a diverse organization. What are three things that you want our readers to know about AMT.  

Ben: AMT has long stood for growth and expansion, and today, our members carry that torch forward. Industry 4.0 and the digital revolution require a comprehensive evolution in how manufacturers do business. In order to explore the convergence of manufacturing and technology, AMT builds connections between the worlds of manufacturing, technology, capital investment, and startup innovation. This fertile, imaginative space invites companies who aren’t necessarily manufacturers to join us. At the same time, our membership boasts small and medium enterprises, global conglomerates, and everyone in between. Whether members need research or market data analysis, global business development support, introductions to the latest technologies, or the latest industry news, AMT is ready. 

Cat: Ben’s response really nailed it. I would only note AMT’s emphasis on the business of technology. Every product, service, and event that we offer is designed and deployed to deliver the industry intelligence and market access that empowers and enables the success of our members: 600+ U.S. based companies that build, sell, and service the machinery, equipment, and software that manufacturers rely on. Whether its custom research projects, sales forecasting event like our annual MTForecast conference, or community-building meetups, AMT has a solution to increase sales and lower costs. 

4. Are there any upcoming events or initiatives that you’d like our readers to put on their calendars? 

Ben: IMTS – The International Manufacturing Technology Show, September 9-14 at McCormick Place in Downtown Chicago. IMTS 2024 is where the creators, builders, sellers, and drivers of manufacturing tech come from around the globe to connect and discover the latest in innovations and technologies changing our future through advanced and traditional manufacturing, robotics, automation, and digital transformation. Learn more at www.IMTS.com.  

Cat: Save the date for AMT Meetups, too, where local manufacturing professionals come together to make valuable connections. Meetups are all about bringing diverse perspectives from every corner of the supply chain to grow one another’s social capital and expand our networks for the better. Our 2024 Meetup tour includes June 5 in Boston, June 19 in Cincinnati, July 17 in Indianapolis and July 24 in Chicago. Learn more at www.amtonline.org/events.  

5. Registration for the ARM Institute’s 2024 Member Meeting taking place Sept. 23-25 in Pittsburgh will be opening soon. You joined our meeting for the first time last year and kindly sponsored our lunch. What your impression of last year’s meeting and what are you looking forward to this year? 

Cat: I attended along with Ryan Kelly, manager of AMT’s San Francisco Tech Lab, and we so appreciated the opportunity to learn more about member projects and network with this impressive group. We are already looking forward to the 2024 Member Meeting to gather valuable updates on automation trends, opportunities, sector challenges or barriers, and continue building robust networks to establish synergies among ARM and AMT members.  

Bonus Question: Is there anything else that you’d like to add? 

Cat: Save one more date: SPS – Smart Production Solutions in Atlanta on September 15-18, 2025. SPS will launch in collaboration with Mesago, a subsidiary of Messe Frankfurt Group, to accelerate and facilitate the exchange of ideas and innovation in the automation industry. Learn more at https://sps-americas.us.messefrankfurt.com/usa/en.html. 

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ABOUT THE ARM INSTITUTE  

The ARM (Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing) Institute is a Manufacturing Innovation Institute (MII) funded by the Office of the Secretary of Defense under Agreement Number W911NF-17-3-0004 and is part of the Manufacturing USA® network. The ARM Institute leverages a unique, robust, and diverse ecosystem of over 400 consortium members and partners across industry, academia, and government to make robotics, autonomy, and artificial intelligence more accessible to U.S. manufacturers large and small, train and empower the manufacturing workforce, strengthen our economy and global competitiveness, and elevate national security and resilience.  Based in Pittsburgh, PA since 2017, with a regional office in St. Petersburg, FL, the ARM Institute is leading the way to a future where people and robots work together to respond to our nation’s greatest challenges and to produce the world’s most desired products. For more information, visit www.arminstitute.org and follow the ARM Institute on LinkedIn and X(Twitter).