Departments Editorial CUTTING TOOLS
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 by Michelle Tackla
Fabtastic. That's Fabtech International, one of the world's largest forming and fabricating expositions. To be held November 3, 4, and 5 in Cleveland OH's IX Center, the show will debut as an annual event. It will be hosted alternately in Chicago's McCormick Place North, where last year's 788 exhibitors occupied 340,000 sq ft of floor space and made Fabtech 97 the largest show in the event's history. Last year's attendance of 28,867 marked a 31.5% increase from 1995, says John Catalano, senior show manager. "The rush of people at show open on a Bears-game Sunday was definitely a surprise," says Sue Roberts, marketing specialist, WA Whitney Co. This year, 425 exhibitors will use more than 300,000 sq ft of exhibit space to attract over 10,000 attendees. The show is sponsored by the Fabricating & Manufacturing Assn (FMA) and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). Of the change of venue, Catalano says: "Exhibitors want a location that is an epicenter of the metal forming and fabricating market that offers a diverse audience." He cites forming and fabricating as the No 2 industry in Cleveland. Down South. Also, keep your eyes open for Charlotte Apex 98, to be held March 10, 11, and 12 at the Charlotte Convention Center, Charlotte NC. The show is sponsored by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, the American Machine Tool Distributors' Assn, and the Assn for Manufacturing Technology (AMT). For more information on Fabtech 98 or Charlotte Apex 98, call SME customer service at 1-800-733-4763 or browse SME's website: http://www.sme.org. From meters to believers: Converting meters is made easy by logging onto http://www.metricUSA.com. But it offers more than
metric calculations. Browse if you're an engineer, consultant, or buyer searching for
facts and sources for a variety of metric products and services. The web resource features a directory of products and services; a metric-conversion calculator; a metric-news section featuring product, government, and industry news; a calendar for metric-related events; and a section titled Speak Out for discussions about metric subjects. Change of chairman: Toyoda Machine Works, Ltd, Kariya City, Japan, has named Kent Nakamura chairman of Toyoda Machinery USA Corp, its wholly owned subsidiary in the US. Nakamura replaces Jack Sakane, who has returned to Japan. PDM trend-trackers convene: In late November, a group of 60 representatives of suppliers in the Product Data Management market met in Ann Arbor, MI, for the fourth annual Vendor Forum on Strategic Market Issues, sponsored by CIMdata, Inc, Ann Arbor, MI. Among their findings, they cite the importance of increasing supplier segmentation, greater overlap of PDM-related capabilities in ERP systems, the ever-growing reach of the World Wide Web, and a greater emphasis on systems-focused rather than individual-function solutions. PDM 98 will be held April 7-9 in Innisbrook, FL. Contact CIMdata at 313-668-9922 for more info or check out http://www.cimlinc.com. Acquisition news: De-Sta-Co Industries, Madison Heights, MI, has announced the acquisition of EOA Systems, Inc, Dallas, TX. EOA designs and manufactures peripheral equipment for industrial robots and will function as an independent entity within De-Sta-Co.
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