CTMA launches alliance with online sourcing vendor

A partnership that could help Canadian mold, tool and die makers win more business through online sourcing has been announced by the Canadian Tooling & Machining Association. CTMA (Cambridge, ON) has reached an agreement with First Index (Whippany, NJ), an online sourcing tool for custom manufactured components.
Under the terms of this agreement, First Index will provide exclusive discounts for CTMA member companies. In addition, CTMA and First Index will work together to provide sales and marketing training at CTMA conferences, purchasing fairs, and other events. CTMA will join First Index’s supplier advisory board to help First Index continually enhance its product offering.
The National Tooling & Machining Association (NTMA) in the U.S. has recently renewed its partnership with First Index. The success of that partnership was the impetus for the CTMA/First Index alliance.
Les Payne, President of the CTMA, is enthusiastic about the relationship. “First Index is a leader in the field of work sourcing for the tooling industry and the program they have created will change the way we do business. It is a vehicle that is simple to understand and use."
For more than a decade, First Index has been connecting OEM buyers and suppliers of custom-manufactured components via the findFAST sourcing platform. In the past 12 months, over 7,000 buyers posted more than 25,000 RFQ’s on the findFAST platform — several times more than any competing marketplace, according to First Index.
The company notes that its service is not a reverse-auction. Parts sourced via findFAST cover a spectrum of manufacturing processes including: machining, tool making, casting, forging, sheet metal, medium and heavy fabrication, plastic molding, electronics, and finishing.
CTMA has approximately 180 corporate members with three active chapters in Western Ontario, Windsor, ON, and Toronto. Member companies design, manufacture, repair and assemble tools, dies, molds, models, patterns, jigs, fixtures, gauges, machinery, machining systems, robotics, automation equipment, machine shop products, and cutting tools.