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Element Appoints Dr. Fabian Schober to Lead Connected Technology and Mobility Business Unit

Element Materials Technology, a leader in testing, inspection, and certification (TIC) services, announced the appointment of Dr. Fabian Schober as SVP of its global Connected Technology and Mobility (CT&M) business unit.  Schober reports to Matt Hopkinson, EVP, EMEAA.

In his new role, Schober will lead a team of 1,200+ technology experts based in laboratories in the U.S., the UK, Germany, China, South Korea and Japan, with the goal of helping manufacturers safely accelerate time-to-market for consumer electronics, IoT devices, autonomous vehicles, and medical equipment.

Schober brings a proven track record of success in the TIC sector to the role.  He joins Element from the TÜV SÜD group, another global player in the industry, where he held a range of senior roles over a 16-year tenure.  He was most recently CEO for TÜV SÜD’s Americas region where he was instrumental in driving significant growth, and before that held various divisional CFO and M&A leadership positions.

Hopkinson commented: "We are thrilled to welcome Fabian to the Element team as we seek to expand our offering in the fast-growing connected technology and mobility markets.  His deep industry expertise, combined with his leadership flair and real passion for helping customers safely bring products and services to market, made him the ideal choice for this role."

Dr Schober added: “The rapid advancements in connected technology and mobility are reshaping industries and making safety, reliability, and time-to-market more critical than ever. I am excited to lead Element’s global CT&M team in driving innovation and helping our customers bring groundbreaking solutions to market with the highest standards of quality and performance." 

Schober, originally from Austria and now living in the U.S., holds a degree from Vienna University of Economics and Business (Austria), a PhD from the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland), and is an alumnus of Havard Business School’s General Management Program (USA).

For more information, visit https://www.element.com/connected-technologies.

Mastercam Acquires FASTech

Sandvik announced the acquisition of the business of the American company FASTech, which will be part of Mastercam, a leading CAD/CAM software provider. The acquisition has been completed as an asset acquisition. FASTech, Inc., a valued Mastercam channel partner serving customers in Ohio and eastern Kentucky.

This acquisition marks an important milestone in Mastercam’s mission to shape the future of manufacturing. For over 30 years, FASTech has been a trusted partner in delivering best-in-class solutions and supporting manufacturers. By integrating FASTech’s expertise and regional insights, Mastercam strengthens its ability to deliver innovative solutions and exceptional service to customers in the region.

“Integrating FASTech into Mastercam reinforces our commitment to providing manufacturers with unmatched support and industry-leading CAD/CAM solutions,” said Russ Bukowski, interim president of Mastercam. “This acquisition allows us to build even closer relationships with customers in the Midwest region of the United States, ensuring their success in an evolving manufacturing landscape.”

For more information, visit www.mastercam.com.

Surface Roughness, Texture, and Tribology Short Course, May 7–8, 2025

Registration is now open for the annual Surface Roughness, Texture, and Tribology short course, Livonia, MI, May 7–8, 2025. The two-day class offers a unique opportunity to learn the fundamentals of surface roughness and tribology and how they relate to friction, wear, noise, sealing, and appearance, in manufacturing and product development.

“We’ve developed this class to help people use surface roughness analysis in their workplaces,” said Don Cohen, PhD, who presents the course. “We introduce a wide range of topics in a short time, including a new NVH (Noise, Vibration, and Harshness) segment. The two-day format lets us dive deep into surface roughness basics and to also address our attendees’ specific applications.”

The two-day course topics include:

• Measuring surface texture
• Filtering texture data into roughness and waviness
• Analysis techniques and tools
• Surface texture parameters
• Specifying surface texture
• Applying texture analysis to wear, vibration, and other functions
• Coating adhesion and appearance
• Noise, vibration and harshness (friction-induced vibration)
• Dry friction and rolling friction
• Fundamentals of lubrication
• Surface metrology strategy

“We’ve been refining and expanding this class for 20 years,” said Dr. Cohen. “It’s the most thorough and affordable opportunity we know to learn the fundamentals of surface texture and tribology, and to apply them for use in the workplace.”

Class details and registration are available at michmet.com/classes. Registration requests can also be made by emailing info@michmet.com. A video introduction to this class is available at https://youtu.be/kQM23BbTHfk.

Changes to the Basler AG Management Board; Ines Brückel Becomes New CFO, Hardy Mehl Takes over Sales and Marketing

Basler AG has appointed Ines Brückel as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) effective January 1, 2025. In this position, she will be responsible for Finance, Legal & Compliance, IT/SAP and Administration.

CEO Dr. Dietmar Ley will be responsible for research and development, product business, human resources and organizational development.

Deputy CEO Hardy Mehl, currently CFO/COO, will assume responsibility for sales and marketing, communications and the digital customer journey as of January 1, 2025, and will continue to oversee operations and investor relations.

Ines Brückel previously worked for the auditing firm KPMG and held leading positions in the finance departments of large international technology companies. She holds a degree in business administration with a focus on finance, investments and marketing, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Norbert Basler, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, states: "We are very pleased that Ms. Brückel has accepted the position on the Management Board and look forward to working with her. We are excited about the fresh ideas she will bring to the company based on her many years of experience.”

For more information, visit www.baslerweb.com.

Mastercam Announces Leadership Transition

Mastercam announced the appointment of Russ Bukowski as interim President, effective December 16. This strategic move leverages Bukowski's extensive experience and proven leadership to drive the company forward.

With over 20 years of expertise in strategy, Bukowski is well-equipped to guide Mastercam through this transition and continue its trajectory of success. His deep understanding of creating effective strategies and delivering exceptional customer experiences will be instrumental in advancing Mastercam's goals of accelerated growth and innovation. 

"With several years of experience at Mastercam, Russ is deeply familiar with our ongoing initiatives and the direction forward. With his extensive network, strong leadership, and communication skills, Russ will shoulder the interim role in a great way," says Mattias Nilsson, president of Business Area segment Sandvik Manufacturing Solutions.  

Bukowski commented, "I'm honored and humbled to step into this leadership role as interim President during these changing times. I look forward to working with our internal teams and our Channel Partners worldwide to align Mastercam's goals and strategy and ensure Mastercam remains at the forefront of the manufacturing industry, delivering innovative solutions and exceptional value to all our loyal customers."  

For more information, visit www.mastercam.com.

October 2024 US Cutting Tool Orders Total $212.5M, Up 12.6% From September 2024

Shipments of cutting tools, measured by the Cutting Tool Market Report compiled in a collaboration between AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology and the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI), totaled $212.5 million in October 2024. Orders increased 12.6% from September 2024 but were down 0.2% from October 2023. Year-to-date shipments totaled $2.07 billion, up 0.6% from shipments made between January and October of 2023. The year-to-date growth rate has declined every month since April 2024.

Steve Stokey, executive vice president and owner of Allied Machine and Engineering, said, “The data indicates what most of us realize, and that is the economy continues to be soft. The economic forecasts show we are at the bottom of the curve, and better times are ahead. The upturn cannot come soon enough.”

The Cutting Tool Market Report is jointly compiled by AMT and USCTI, two trade associations representing the development, production, and distribution of cutting tool technology and products. It provides a monthly statement on U.S. manufacturers’ consumption of the primary consumable in the manufacturing process, the cutting tool. Analysis of cutting tool consumption is a leading indicator of both upturns and downturns in U.S. manufacturing activity, as it is a true measure of actual production levels.

For more information, visit www.amtonline.org.

Post-IMTS Decline in Manufacturing Technology Orders Blunted by Rebound in Aerospace Investment

Orders of manufacturing technology, measured by the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO) report published by AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, totaled $385 million in October 2024. These orders for metalworking machinery decreased 14.5% from September 2024 and were 5.5% behind October 2023 orders. Year-to-date orders reached $3.74 billion, a decline of 7.5% compared to the first 10 months of 2023.

Although orders of manufacturing technology are still on a longer-term downward trend, October 2024 orders were 3% above the average value of all Octobers. This downward trend represents a normalization of order activity after a frenzied buying cycle caused by manufacturers grappling with increasing demand and the supply bottlenecks of the COVID pandemic.

• After significantly increasing purchases in September 2024, contract machine shops, the largest customer of manufacturing technology, pulled back orders in October by nearly 30%. This was due to several factors. The U.S. presidential election likely introduced enough uncertainty that businesses were hesitant to make additional investments. The Boeing machinists strike, which lasted through all of October 2024, also likely freed capacity in shops that tend to serve the aerospace sector.
• Unlike contract machine shops, manufacturers of aerospace products and parts increased orders of manufacturing technology to the highest level of 2024 in October. Additionally, average order value increased to the highest level since January 2022. This indicates that, much like the UAW strike in 2023, aerospace manufacturers used the downtime to replace and expand the technology used on production lines.

In the first full month after the Federal Reserve began reducing interest rates from a peak of 5.5%, manufacturing technology orders fell below the average order value of the previous expansionary period. This is in contrast to the last experience of a soft landing in 1995, when order values remained above the average between the end of the last recession and the first rate cut for at least nine months following the initial cut. Last week’s strong jobs report showed growth in the manufacturing sector, driven largely by producers of durable goods.

For more information, visit www.amtonline.org.