AGMA and ABMA Unite to Form Motion + Power Manufacturers Alliance

2025 is a historic year for the American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA), the American Bearing Manufacturers Association (ABMA), and their respective members.

On April 24, at the AGMA/ABMA Annual Meeting in Austin, the membership of each association voted to approve a merger between AGMA and ABMA, creating the Motion and Power Manufacturers Alliance (MPMA).

AGMA and ABMA will continue to keep their names in the marketplace as the 108-year-old AGMA brand and the 107-year-old ABMA brand have a significant history and value to their respective memberships.

The new MPMA entity will deliver increased value through standards creation under the AGMA and ABMA brands, more robust education and workforce development programs, a strong connection of the supply chain via face-to-face events and two industry publications, and advocacy at the Federal and Executive Branch levels.

The AGMA and ABMA have worked closely together on joint programming for the past 18 years, including AGMA managing ABMA since 2019. The Motion and Power Manufacturers Alliance brings together leading power transmission companies to add value to our ever-evolving community. This constitutes a dynamic evolution for two of the best-in-class associations working together for the greater good of its members and the industry at large.

The organizations will unite their committee structures to ensure both gearing and bearing issues and opportunities are explored, standards and programming will continue to be identified under the AGMA and ABMA names, and members will be encouraged to continue to identify as AGMA or ABMA members, as a part of MPMA.

AGMA’s history is focused on standards and education, and business connections, while ABMA’s value is focused on those issues as well as advocacy, brand protection and global markets, making the new Alliance an opportunity to grow value across both organizations under one umbrella. The industry is coming together as companies merge and acquire to form multi-faceted total system solutions providers, and having ABMA and AGMA come together under the MPMA makes sense to support the evolving market for the next 100 years.

The MPMA will have a united board of directors and continue to be governed by an executive committee including a chair, vice chair, treasurer, past chair and two at-large seats. AGMA Member Sara Zimmerman, Sumitomo, will serve as the chair in 2025–2026.

Combined, the MPMA will consist of more than 425 member companies representing the full spectrum of private and public companies, global and domestic business, open gear, enclosed gears and the full range of bearing solutions.

The merger represents a culmination of ABMA’s and AGMA’s long history of working together, including 18 years of joint Annual Meetings and nine years of AGMA’s Power Transmission Alliance. For the past five years, AGMA has managed ABMA operations.

By creating the MPMA, the two associations have a stronger voice in the standards and advocacy community, enhanced education and training positions, and added value to its publications, the MPT Expo, and the online B2B community.

To best serve the respective members, the two associations are committed to looking to the future while continuing their main pillars of membership value: Standards, Education, Emerging Technology, and Industry Information.

“The bottom line is, we are here to serve you, and we are in this together,” said Matt Croson, President of AGMA, and Jenny Blackford, President of ABMA, in a joint statement. “As we move the industry forward, we will honor what got us to over 100 years of existence while we will focus on what will allow us to thrive over the next 100 years. Simply put, the associations are stronger together as this merger unites the brightest and best minds throughout the gearing and bearing community.”

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