The 2025 FMA World-Class Roll Forming Workshop in Elgin, IL, brought together industry leaders, educators, and manufacturers to explore the most critical challenges and advancements shaping roll forming today. Among the many valuable insights shared throughout the event, four key takeaways stood out, each pointing to a core issue affecting operations across the industry: employee training.
From the urgent need to develop more effective training programs to managing the diverse skill levels of today’s workforce to addressing the growing gap between employees’ strengths in controls and their mechanical understanding to leveraging automation to bridge the skills gap, it’s clear that building a skilled, adaptable team is essential to achieving long-term success in roll forming.
One of the most pressing challenges facing the roll forming industry today is the growing need for effective employee training. As technology advances and equipment becomes more sophisticated, the skills gap among operators and technicians continues to widen. Improperly trained personnel can lead to costly errors, inconsistent product quality, and excessive downtime.
At the 2025 World-Class Roll Forming Workshop, this issue took center stage, with multiple sessions highlighting the importance of standardizing setup procedures, improving tooling installation practices, and empowering employees with the knowledge to troubleshoot and optimize production lines. Investing in training isn’t just beneficial, it’s essential for maintaining efficiency, ensuring repeatability, and future-proofing operations in a competitive market.
Another major challenge highlighted at the 2025 World-Class Roll Forming Workshop was managing the wide range of skill sets among today’s manufacturing employees. As the workforce continues to evolve, with experienced technicians retiring and newer employees entering the industry with varying levels of mechanical and technical knowledge, roll forming operations must adapt their training and support strategies. The one-size-fits-all approach no longer works.
Companies must develop flexible training programs that address both foundational concepts for newcomers and advanced techniques for seasoned operators. Presenters emphasized the need for cross-training, clear documentation, and hands-on learning to bridge knowledge gaps and ensure consistent performance across shifts and teams. Managing skills diversity effectively is critical to minimizing downtime, maximizing line efficiency, and building a resilient workforce.
A recurring theme throughout this year’s event was the growing disparity between employees’ strengths in controls and automation versus their weaknesses in mechanical skills. As roll forming equipment becomes increasingly sophisticated with advanced control systems, newer generations of workers often enter the field with strong backgrounds in software and diagnostics but limited hands-on mechanical experience. This imbalance can create challenges in areas such as tooling setup, alignment, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
Workshop presenters stressed the importance of well-rounded training programs that not only leverage employees’ existing strengths in controls but also reinforce foundational mechanical competencies. Closing this gap is essential for maintaining uptime, ensuring product quality, and developing operators who can confidently manage both the digital and mechanical aspects of roll forming systems.
In response to the widening skills gap, many manufacturers are turning to automation not only to boost efficiency but also to compensate for the shortage of experienced mechanical talent. During the workshop, speakers shared how automation is being strategically deployed to simplify complex setup tasks and reduce reliance on manual adjustments. For example, mechanical enhancements such as precision handwheel adjustments, preset tooling stations, and quick-change cartridge systems help operators set roll tooling more accurately with minimal trial and error.
On the controls side, advanced HMIs (Human-Machine Interfaces) allow users to store and recall setup recipes, automate roll positioning, and monitor real-time production parameters. Additionally, the ability to capture and analyze data from the roll forming process, such as speed, pressure, and alignment metrics, enables continuous improvement, faster troubleshooting, and significant reductions in changeover time. This integration of smart automation is empowering manufacturers to maintain high output and quality, even with a workforce still gaining mechanical experience.
Formtek is committed to advancing the roll forming industry through innovation, education, and collaboration. We extend our gratitude to the FMA for organizing this impactful event and to all the attendees who engaged with us during the workshop. We look forward to continuing these conversations and exploring new opportunities to support your roll forming needs. For more information on Formtek’s products and services, or to connect with our team, please visit our website or contact us directly.