13th ISTMA World Tooling Conference held in Windsor, Canada

This initiative promoted by ISTMA and organized by the CTMA - Canadian Tooling & Machining Association, included several initiatives, namely the 13^th International Special Tooling & Machining Association (ISTMA) Conference, the 11^th International Pattern-Model Makers Congress and an Incoming Trade Mission prepared exclusively for local companies, partly funded by Ontario’s Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT) and Fed-Dev Ontario.

A highlight of the conference for buyers and conference delegates alike was a full day of plant tours that included a wide variety of Windsor-area machine, tool, die and mould shops that opened their doors for an interesting and impressive display of state-of-the-art capabilities and skill sets.

In addition, more than 20 speakers from around the world provided Technical Presentations on a wide range of industry relevant topics. Portugal was represented with two interventions, by Joaquim Menezes, ISTMA President and ‘European Tooling Platform’ and José Camacho from BIID and responsible for ‘ISTMA Statistic Year Book’, who presented the theme ‘Worldwide Tooling Trends and Production’ 

The event generated many networking opportunities to participants, allowing the establishment of contacts and sharing experiences and ideas with international counterparts.

This world meeting ended with a visit to Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn (USA) and a dinner at the same location.