The Leading Source for Industrial Maintenance News
FREE Email Newsletter
Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Upbeat Earning Reports Point To Improving Economy
April 26, 2010 4:21 am | by Ieva M. Augstums, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsNEW YORK (AP) — Stock futures pointed to a modestly higher open on Wall Street Monday after Caterpillar Inc. joined other companies in reporting more signs of an improving world economy. The big equipment maker, whose results are seen as an economic indicator, reported first-quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations after a one-time charge related to health care expenses.
Manufacturing An Invisible Car
April 23, 2010 11:40 am | Articles | CommentsNormally we don't like to feature too many advertisements in IMPO 's Thursday video-based newsletters, but sometimes we just can't help ourselves. In this case, Shell wanted a better way to show how oil interacts with a car's engine without using special effects. While a number of ideas were floated around, like x-rays, the team finally settled on recreating a Nissan 370Z in clear plastic.
Canadians Plan 200-Job Alabama Auto Supplier
April 23, 2010 4:30 am | News | CommentsFORT PAYNE, Ala. (AP) — A Canadian auto supplier says it plans to invest $14 million to $16 million in a plant to be built in Fort Payne that will initially employ 200 people. Plasman Corp, part of A.P. Plasman Corp. of Windsor, Ontario, says the facility will do plastic-injection molding, painting and assembly of automotive exterior parts and tool repair.
Automakers Relived As Auto Fleets Balloon
April 23, 2010 4:18 am | by Dee-Ann Durbin, AP Auto Writer | News | CommentsDEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — U.S. auto sales to fleets surged 47 percent in the first quarter compared to last year, an early sign of economic improvement as governments, construction businesses and rental-car companies began buying again. Automakers are expecting fleet sales to continue to climb.
Boeing Fined $500,000 For Nuclear Runoff
April 23, 2010 4:15 am | News | CommentsVENTURA, Calif. (AP) — Regional water quality regulators have fined Boeing Co. $500,000 for contaminated stormwater runoff at a former nuclear and rocket engine testing facility in eastern Ventura County. The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board issued a consent judgment Thursday also ordering Boeing to pay $75,000 in attorneys fees and civil penalties for days when contaminants exceeded permitted limits at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory.
Spyker Producing 1,000 Saabs A Week
April 23, 2010 4:13 am | News | CommentsAMSTERDAM (AP) — Spyker Cars NV, the owner of Saab Automobile AB, said Friday it is producing Saab cars at the rate of 1,000 per week since resuming production in March. Spyker, the Dutch niche luxury car maker which in its 11-year history never made a profit, confounded critics by buying the much larger Saab from General Motors in January for $74 million (euro52 million) — less cash than Saab had on its books.
Kia Profits Quadruple In Early 2010
April 23, 2010 4:10 am | by Kelly Olsen, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Kia Motors said net profit quadrupled in the first quarter on stronger sales and equity gains from affiliated companies. Kia, South Korea's second-largest automaker, earned 398.6 billion won ($358 million) in the three months ended March 31, it said in a regulatory filing Friday.
The New Detroit: Goodbye Cars, Hello Crops
April 23, 2010 4:07 am | by David Runk, Associated Press Writer | News | CommentsDETROIT (AP) — Detroit, which revolutionized manufacturing with its auto assembly lines, could once again be a model for the world as residents transform vacant, often-blighted land into a source of fresh food. With growing interest in locally raised food, cities including New York, Los Angeles and Seattle are looking at ways to foster and manage urban agriculture.
Sprayon Goes VOC-Friendly
April 22, 2010 7:32 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe Eco-GradeT line of products from Sprayon (Cleveland, OH) offer extreme pressure lubricants and fast-acting cleaners or degreasers, which help preserve and protect your equipment, facility, and workforce. All Sprayon Eco-GradeT products offer formulas that are made with renewable, biodegradable resources, and are VOC-compliance in all 50 states.
Deliver Low Dewpoints
April 21, 2010 7:43 am | Product Releases | CommentsKaeser Compressors, Inc. (Fredericksburg, Va.) unveiled its wall-mounted desiccant dryer, which provides capacities from 7-50 scfm at 100 psig. The dryer deliver dewpoints as low 100 ºF, is designed for easy installation, features a solid state timer, and is based on a counterflow design — resulting in the driest desiccant always at the top of the bed and the air leaving the on-stream tower at a low dewpoint.
Need A Lift?
April 21, 2010 7:19 am | Product Releases | CommentsNACCO Materials Handling Corporation (Greenville, NC) has launched a new series of electric stand-up lift trucks — the ESC030-040AC series — which provide dependable performance for lifting capacities of 3,000 to 4,000 pounds. Each truck features precision load positioning that allows operators control the truck's position while working on an incline, such as on a dock or in a trailer, minimizing the likelihood of product damage from unintended load contact.
Accuracy Is Everything
April 21, 2010 7:12 am | Product Releases | CommentsKrohne, Inc. (Peabody, MA) introduces the Tantalum OPTIMASS 7000, a single straight tube Coriolis mass flowmeter, for use in the chemical industry. The first single straight tube meter available with Tantalum wetted-flange material construction, the Tantalum OPTIMASS 7000 is able to measure highly aggressive and corrosive fluids, and it aims to provide safe and reliable measurement of fluids that require glass-lined piping or glass-lined process vessels.
403 Ways To Transmit Motion
April 21, 2010 7:07 am | Product Releases | CommentsQuality Transmission Components (Garden City Park, NY) unveiled its new series of metric worm gears and worm wheels, which provide a solution to many power transmission design applications. The wormed gears are stocked in 4140 alloy steel for the worms and CAC702 aluminum bronze for the worm wheels.
Cheese Producer Puts Metal Detection To The Test
April 21, 2010 6:02 am | Articles | CommentsAnthony Rowcliffe, a 42 year-old company that has its roots in Peckham, London, has grown over the years and is now operating out of two purpose-built BRC accredited sites at Paddock Wood in Kent, supplying over 1,000 different lines, including its own branded Clemency Hall product.
Dipping Into The Future Of Food Safety
April 21, 2010 5:18 am | by Krystal Gabert, Associate Editor, Food Manufacturing | Articles | CommentsFamily-owned Country Maid, maker of dips, spreads and salads, has always been devoted to food safety and quality, but its recently installed track-and-trace system puts the facility on the cutting edge of traceability. In 1939 Irene Grebe opened Grebe’s Bakery, selling home-baked goodies from her own kitchen in Milwaukee.
