E-Archive

From Editor's Desk

in Vol. 9 - July Issue - Year 2008
MFN Responds to Global Demand with a Network of 14 International Offices
Andrzej Wojtas (Ph.D.)

Andrzej Wojtas (Ph.D.)

The word globalization will not necessarily trigger positive feelings in everyone. That is clear and well understood. Many local companies do not have the means to compete on a global scale and many still have to see the benefits of this modern-day phenomenon. However unfortunate, the solid fact is that globalization will not go away and, like it or not, we have to deal with it. For MFN the situation is different. With its team of over 40 members from 16 nations, distributing the magazine to 64 countries, globalization has a friendly face.

Last month MFN opened in China its 14th international office (see www.mfn.li/mfnworldwide). Having so many offices around the globe has many advantages for our publication. The magazine benefits from local networks which results in better researched and investigated articles and press releases. Furthermore, the local presence is also important for providing an improved service to the readers interested in process training.
MFN offers such trainings in peening, mass finishing and blasting around the globe in up to 8 languages. Our international offices are the first contact for the local people evaluating such education programs. And naturally it makes it so much easier to communicate in the native language without the need to call the headquarters in Switzerland. The number of people trained by MFN has tripled compared to 2006. While in 2006 there were around 270 participants for the training courses, looking at the current rate of registrations MFN will have registered well over 800 people in 2008. The organization will have hosted over 25 local workshops in 16 countries and will have carried out at least 40 on-site trainings. From South Africa, Asia, Middle East, South& North America to Europe, with few exceptions, there is hardly an economically established country where MFN has not sent its trainers. As far as the international offices are concerned, strategic locations were chosen, from which MFN is able to look at new territories.
Important mile stones recently were the opening of the offices in Sao Paulo, Brazil, China and India, and last but not least an office in Poland, from which MFN will have better access to the Eastern European countries.
Eastern Europe is quickly becoming a very important market for the aerospace, automotive and machine industries. Thanks to MFN's strong and international team, the organization has positioned itself strategically to be ready for even the most challenging demands of globalization.

Best Regards
Andrzej Wojtas (Ph.D.)

Chief Editor of MFN
E-mail: andrzej@mfn.li