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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Why Foreign Corporations Struggle In America
February 12, 2010 8:43 am | by Jeff Klingberg, President & CEO, Fluid Power Technologies | Articles | CommentsA recent LinkedIn post asked for experiences from foreign national corporations who have had trouble introducing their products and services to the North American market. From our experience in this area, foreign national corporations typically encounter the following issues: Send a foreign national to open the operation just because someone believes there is a large untapped market in North America, but no research is done and no plan is formulated before coming.
Safety Needs A Backup
February 12, 2010 7:16 am | Product Releases | CommentsSIS-TECH (Houston, TX) announces the DIAMOND-SIS automated independent backup (AIB), a standalone safety instrumented system that backs up current process control trip logic and meets the requirements of IEC 61511. The AIB is available in single, dual, and triplicated channel configurations with on-line diagnostics, testing, and maintenance capabilities.
You Hold The Power
February 12, 2010 7:15 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe Edison power distribution line from AutomationDirect (Cumming, GA) now includes the HPB-series open-style power distribution blocks as a convenient way to manage power distribution needs. The distribution blocks are manufactured with tin-plated aluminum connectors suitable for copper conductions, helping maintain a high SCCR rating of 200kA.
Get The Nastiest Of Drain Clogs
February 12, 2010 7:15 am | Product Releases | CommentsRIDGID (Elyria, OH) introduces the Auto-Clean drain cleaning machine for cleaning drain blockages in pipes from ¾” to 1½” in diameter. The machine features a dual-direction AUTOFEED technology, which advances and retrieves the drain-cleaning cable with the push of a lever.
Industrial Vacuuming With A Pulse
February 12, 2010 7:13 am | Product Releases | CommentsCamfil Farr Air Pollution Control (APC, Jonesboro, AR) has introduced a new pulse-cleaned industrial vacuum that reduces clogs to prevent problems that result from a loss of suction during cleaning. The FarrVac operates without compressed air and may be used for everyday cleanup.
Pick Wisely
February 12, 2010 6:50 am | Product Releases | CommentsTRI-TRONICS, Inc. (Tampa, FL) has introduced the SMARTEYE ColorWise Sensor that solves most difficult color applications at higher speeds than color cameras or other sensors. The ColorWise is ideal for intricate color sorting or inspection problems, such as high-speed packaging and production lines.
Brother: Work On Conn. Plant Had 'Substandard' Safety
February 12, 2010 5:40 am | by John Christoffersen, Associated Press Writer | News | CommentsNEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — The brother of one of five workers killed in an explosion at a power plant under construction says his brother called the project "screwed up," and a worker on the job the day before the explosion says safety on the job was "substandard." The concerns about pressure to get the job done and safety standards at the Kleen Energy Systems plant in Middletown were raised in interviews with The Associated Press on Wednesday, and add to a growing number of questions about work conditions at the site.
Strong Growth Predicted For Industrial Wireless
February 12, 2010 5:08 am | News | CommentsResearch Triangle Park, NC — The Wireless Industrial Networking Alliance (WINA), expert wireless resource for the industrial market, today announced results of its first End-Users survey on the application of wireless technology in the automation industry at the ARC Forum in Orlando, Florida.
Cleveland Home To New 'Gasification' Power Plant
February 12, 2010 4:43 am | News | CommentsCLEVELAND (AP) — The city of Cleveland will soon be burning trash to power homes and businesses. A $1.5 million agreement signed with the New Jersey-based Princeton Environmental Group would design a 20-megawatt power plant fueled by municipal waste. The plant, the first of its kind in the U.
Toyota Plans Tell-All To Rebuild Consumer Trust
February 12, 2010 4:08 am | by Malcolm Foster, Associated Press Writer | News | CommentsTOKYO (AP) — Toyota said Friday it's planning a new level of disclosure about car problems beyond what the automaker is legally required to reveal as it seeks to rebuild consumer trust. The move comes amid intensifying pressure for the automaker's president Akio Toyoda to testify before the U.
Inventor, Manufacturer Of The Frisbee Dies At 90
February 12, 2010 3:46 am | by Doug Alden, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | News | CommentsSALT LAKE CITY — Walter Fredrick Morrison, the man credited with inventing the Frisbee, has died. He was 90. Utah House Rep. Kay McIff, an attorney who represented Morrison in a royalties case, says Morrison died at his home in Monroe, Utah, on Tuesday. McIff is from Richfield, Morrison's original hometown.
Specialists Purge Gas Lines At Middletown Blast Site
February 12, 2010 3:44 am | News | CommentsMIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP) — Specialists from a natural gas delivery company helped vent a pipe Thursday at a Connecticut power plant where an explosion killed five people. Officials say the venting procedure posed no danger to the public but was necessary to vent natural gas out of about 800 feet of pipeline to the Kleen Energy Systems plant in Middletown.
135 Jobs Cut As GM Moves Parts Factory To Mexico
February 12, 2010 3:43 am | News | CommentsCOLUMBIA CITY, Ind. (AP) — A union official says about 135 people will be out of work as a northeastern Indiana auto parts factory shuts down. It will be the second time in a year that Fort Wayne Foundry Corp. has closed its Columbia City plant. The company restarted the factory in July, weeks after it laid off more than 600 workers by closing plants in Fort Wayne and Columbia City.
Nissan To Take Orders For Electric Leaf In April
February 12, 2010 3:42 am | by Dan Strumpf, AP Auto Writer | News | CommentsNEW YORK (AP) — Nissan Motor Co. said Thursday that it will start signing up customers in April who want to buy its new Leaf electric car, with shipments starting by the end of the year. Nissan has shown the five-passenger sedan, which can go 100 miles on a single charge, at cities around the country over the last three months in a push to market zero-emission technology.
Humvee's Last Hurrah In The U.S. Army
February 12, 2010 3:41 am | by Carly Everson, Associated Press Writer | News | CommentsINDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Army Staff Sgt. Tom Davis never saw the bomb that destroyed his Humvee as he rounded a corner in Ramadi just a week into his second tour in Iraq in 2006. Davis lost a leg and broke his back and both arms and can no longer walk or work. He'll never know whether he would have been less severely injured if he'd been in a different vehicle.
