Last year, the WAI’s Board of Directors met at Wire Expo to discuss the Association’s future. That focus continued at Interwire 2025, where the board met in a meeting led by Consultant Eric Curtis, Curtis Strategy.

The meeting served as an update and further discussions about the Centennial Plan that was presented to the WAI’s BoD last October. In it, four pillars were identified as crucial: an Education & Training Center; trade shows & conferences; WJI and WAI media platform; and member users/customers. Key beliefs of the mission include that wire drawing and extrusion are specific processes that cannot be serviced by other industry associations; that technology, digital platforms and AI are paramount; and that in-person events will remain important to hybrid workforces.

At the 2025 meeting, held the day before the event started, board members split into three groups that each discussed areas where the WAI should be active as well as the biggest concerns the industry faces. A wide range of topics were discussed, with one of the most important areas being for WAI to firmly establish itself as “the place to go” for technical information. As for concerns, everyone’s list included the loss of industry expertise as more industry veterans retire.

“Our industry, like many others, needs help for securing and keeping reliable employees,” observed WAI President Eric Bieberich. “The WAI has dedicated volunteers who with the help of staff can help create programs that can make a difference. It’s vital that we do so in an effective way, and meetings like this one we just had are essential.”

The Association has already been active in heightening its educational focus through its video-based education courses available for purchase. Last year, the Board voted to fund the initiative, which has been led by WAI Manager of Education John Markowski, who made a presentation on this at Interwire at the WAI Theater. He noted that to date, four courses have been created so far, covering single-layer extrusion, extrusion materials, extrusion applications, and an introduction to ferrous metallurgy, with others (extrusion special process considerations, wire drawing dies, lubricants, and wire breaks) expected to be released in the near future. Individuals or companies interested in knowing more about the courses now available can contact Markowski at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..