Have you ever had an issue that only someone in your unique position could solve?
Maybe you’ve found yourself burning the midnight oil on a Friday night, trying to complete an order for an important customer when an issue arose that you didn’t know how to handle. With nobody else in the shop to turn to, who can you turn to?
Enter NTMA Connect, an online, members-only platform for tooling and machining experts to ask questions, share insights, and build connections with industry peers. Since its initial launch in January 2023, NTMA Connect has served as a nationwide industry roundtable for manufacturing leaders, job shop owners, engineers, managers, and so on.
Since its launch a year and a half ago, NTMA Connect has bridged the gap between manufacturing professionals from coast to coast, bringing them together over a common cause: being the best at what we do.
How Members Benefit from Our Online Networking Platform
9 times out of 10, NTMA members cite our networking opportunities as the main reason they decided to join in the first place. So it comes as no surprise that our members have benefited greatly from the accessibility and user-friendliness of our networking platform. Here are some of the major perks related to networking:
Make Connections, Anytime and Anywhere
As an online platform, NTMA Connect allows for 24/7 access to a nationwide network of manufacturing experts. So, if you’re tossing and turning over an issue impacting your business, you can simply post asking for advice on the NTMA Connect platform. Who knows – maybe someone on the opposite coast is awake and online, available to help out within the hour.
Learn from Others’ Mistakes and Successes
With thousands of peers at your fingertips, there’s a great chance someone else has had the same experience as you – shopping around for new equipment, recruiting talent, working through an issue with a customer, you name it! If you ask a question or post about a problem, chances are someone can share what they did in this scenario – or reveal what not to do in this situation, which can be just as valuable.
Embrace the Power of Human Connection
Don’t get us wrong — AI tools like ChatGPT can be helpful in a pinch. But automation lacks two major things: a sense of humanity and in-the-trenches experience.
Here’s a challenge for you: next time you want to ask Chat GPT an industry-specific question, post it on NTMA Connect and lean on your manufacturing network instead.
Multiple Communities for Various Needs
On NTMA Connect, it’s simple to toggle between different communities. Communicate with the national community at large or join groups to confer with niche networks, such as:
- Members from your area
- Members specializing in a particular industry, such as aerospace machining or medical manufacturing
Other Value-Adds of NTMA Connect
While networking is the primary benefit of NTMA Connect – “connect” is in its namesake, after all! – this platform offers other benefits, including:
Full Access to a Library of Information
If you have any questions about your NTMA membership, you can view a full library of documentation right on the NTMA Connect platform.
Calendar of Upcoming Events
NTMA Connect offers a comprehensive list of NTMA’s upcoming events, both at the national and local levels. Suppose you’re interested in seeing what topics will be covered in future webinars or want to double-check whether that local chapter event was on the 12th or the 21st. In that case, you can simply check the calendar for clarification.
Already a member? Join NTMA Connect to take full advantage of your manufacturing network!
Interested in becoming a member? Join NTMA today to leverage our rich community of industry professionals!
