SMMA Drives Small Motors Industry

By Jack McGuinn, Senior Editor

(Ed. Note—The following is another in an ongoing PTE series profiling manufacturing and trade associations in support of the motion and power transmission industries.)

Every industry needs a voice to promote and protect its interests, and the Small Motor and Motion Association (SMMA) is the mighty roar of the electric motors and drives manufacturers throughout North America. Founded in 1974, the SMMA exists—quoting its mission statement—“to provide a forum to develop, collect and disseminate technical and management knowledge.” Strategically, the association strives to maintain a repository of technical, design and materials know-how; continuing education; and management expertise resources for the betterment of its industry and members. The SMMA also brings its power to bear through extensive representation, lobbying and sponsorship activities in order to better influence those North American and international entities responsible for setting standards and compliance certification standards that govern and regulate all aspects of the small electric motor industry.

In addition, the SMMA provides resources in support of its two most comprehensive learning centers, the Motor & Motion College (South Dartmouth, MA) and the Electric Motor Education and Research Foundation—EMERF (Mashpee, MA). In essence, the two institutions are central to the SMMA’s existence.

William H. Chambers, SMMA operations director, explains why.

“EMERF (a 501 [c] [3] entity) was founded in 1995 to fill a need for pre-competitive research in subjects directly related to electric motors,” he says. “Some of the large companies engage in research; however, the results are not shared with other companies. (But) there are areas of study which, through shared resources and in a non-competitive environment, can benefit the entire industry.”

Chambers, who with his wife Betsy (executive director) own Bevington-Chambers Associates and manage the SMMA on a fee basis, states that, with the help of a Department of Energy grant, EMERF is conducting “original research” to identify the reason behind core losses in lamination steels. Upon conclusion of the study, the results will be disseminated to motor manufacturers in order to enable them to then reduce those losses and in turn enhance product functionality and efficiency. Chambers points out that, with more than 15 million fractional horsepower motors produced every day, energy efficiencies are a key issue for an industry that is a major consumer of electricity.

As for the Motor & Motion College, it was instituted in 1993 as a direct response to a problem facing many industrial sectors—a diminishing number of managers and workers with the skill sets necessary to maintain productivity. In the small motor industry, there is a decided need for new blood well trained in “rotating machinery.”

“As the higher-tech, more attractive technical disciplines flourished, low-tech, electric motor education disappeared from most colleges,” says Chambers. “So an electrical engineer, or a mechanical engineer, for any number of reasons ends up going to work for a motor company and understands the electrical, or the mechanical, technology involved, but not both. (Our) college offers several courses aimed at teaching the electrical and mechanical considerations for various motor types. (The college) also offers less technical courses aimed at sales and applications personnel.”

The courses vary from one-half to three days in length, and are often grouped with SMMA conferences held in the spring and fall, and are also conducted at relevant trade shows and other conferences. On-site teach-ins are also available.

Alan Beaulieu, of the Institute for Trend Research, addressing SMMA members at their Spring Management Conference in San Diego last month.

The association is comprised of 107 member companies, both large and small. Member companies include, Johnson Electric, Baldor, Black & Decker, Danaher and Moog, as well as small, privately held companies. There are also supplier members such as Essex and Tempel Steel.

Given the rapidly developing global economy, it’s no surprise the SMMA claims a “global focus,” despite its North American roots.

“It is an acknowledgment of the global nature of the business, while continuing to be composed of mostly North American companies,” says Chambers. “We have members from China and the UK. It is also a recognition that it is difficult to tell whether a company is a ‘North American’ company or not. Many of our members manufacture some or all of their motors offshore, and many non-North American companies manufacture in this country.”

As with all manufacturers, the small motor industry faces challenges and hurdles that must be met and overcome. Beyond the lack of well-trained managers, etc., Chambers points out a few of the more pressing:

“Remaining competitive with product manufactured in low labor cost environments. Dealing with different product requirements/standards in different regions of the world, and the ongoing merger and acquisition activity which reduces the number of potential SMMA members.”

As touched upon earlier, the SMMA Spring Management and Fall Technical conferences are a major component of the association’s work. The Spring Management Conference was held in May at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego, and the Fall Technical Conference will take place Oct. 10-12 at the 21c Museum Hotel in Louisville, KY.

“As their titles suggest,” says Chambers, “in the spring, the program is composed of political, environmental, legislative, marketing, sales and other topics aimed at the management level of attending companies. The Fall Technical Conference is comprised totally of presentations on new technologies in motor design, manufacturing, materials and testing.”

Membership requirements are very inclusive says Chambers.

“Anyone involved in or interested in the electric motor industry. Many of our members build large motors, but our technical focus is on the fractional horsepower (less than one horsepower) motor. Our membership categories are regular (companies who manufacture motors, components, materials or software), and affiliate (media, consultants and academia).”