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Moving Manufacturing

FORWARD​

90 Years of Regional Leadership 

In April 1934, 25 tool shop owners from Dayton formed the Tool Manufacturer’s Association. These tooling visionaries had come together because they felt the need to provide a united front to oppose some of the provisions of the recently enacted National Industrial Recovery Act. 

In 1960, those visionaries became the Dayton Tool & Die Manufacturers Association. In 1982, they evolved to the Dayton Tooling & Machining Association; in 2003, the Dayton Tooling & Manufacturing Association; and in 2011, it became what it is today, the Dayton Region Manufacturers Association.  The current name, DRMA, reflects the Association’s broad base of diverse manufacturers, strengthening all regional manufacturing organizations and beyond.

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  • DTMA was founded in 1935 by a small group of tool and die shop owners who met informally to discuss business, build relationships, and increase camaraderie. Originally, there were seven members. This group became the foundation for what is now the DRMA.

  • In the early 1990s, they began to shift the focus of the DTMA to a more business-oriented association

  • The group established a formal board with Dave Dysinger elected as chair

  • In 1997, the DTMA hired their first full-time employee, Angelia Erbaugh, as Executive Director

  • The economic recession in the early 2000s forced it to shift its membership to a broader focus that included all manufacturing organizations, including affiliate and associate members

  • The DRMA structurally realigned, putting the board's focus on their vision and strategy while Angelia focused on execution and relationship-building 

  • A Governance Committee was reinstated with terms limits and new board members every year

  • As DRMA evolved, it shifted from "We WANT" to "We ARE," the voice of regional manufacturing

  • DRMA established a broader approach, creating partnerships with educational institutions, businesses, governmental groups, community, and non-profits   

Today, the Dayton Region Manufacturers Association (DRMA) is the voice for our region’s manufacturing industry. DRMA is a catalyst of innovation, a builder of partnerships, and a champion for education to keep manufacturing in the Dayton region now and into the future.

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