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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
GE Transportation Mulls Rehiring 145 of 1,500 Laid Off
April 21, 2010 4:48 am | News | CommentsERIE, Pa. (AP) — The union at GE Transportation's plant in Erie will vote Friday on some work rule changes necessary to bring back 145 of 1,500 workers laid off last year. The plan would recall 88 laid off workers permanently and 57 others for 12 weeks to fill a specific order. A company official says GE wants to be prepared should the market for locomotives improve.
The 'Volvo King Kong' And Geely's Cheeky Past
April 21, 2010 4:44 am | by Elaine Kurtenbach, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsSHANGHAI (AP) — Chinese tycoon Li Shufu's car company Geely has a knack for giving its vehicles oddball names: Gleagle, King Kong, Englon. Not as memorable for buyers of the King Kong and its stablemates is a standard of quality that's so-so even by the Chinese auto industry's standards. Zhejiang Geely Holding Co.
Poll: U.S. Makes Better Cars Than Asian Automakers
April 21, 2010 4:36 am | by Alan Fram, Associated Press Writer | News | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — After a long romance with foreign rivals, America's love affair with the automobile is returning to its roots with a revived affection for U.S.-made cars. Slightly more Americans now say the United States makes better-quality vehicles than Asia does, with 38 percent saying U.
The Price Of Carbon: 27c Per Gallon
April 21, 2010 4:21 am | by Jim Lane, Biofuels Digest | Articles | CommentsPerhaps the only thing under heaven that moves slower and more unpredictably than evolution is the evolution of carbon policy. Biofuels investors have long since written off carbon as a factor, saying that the uncertainty of policy has led them to fund only those projects that can survive without a price on carbon.
Volcano Disrupts Just-In-Time Manufacturers
April 21, 2010 4:10 am | by Samantha Bomkamp, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsNEW YORK (AP) — The strategy of keeping inventories lean paid off for U.S. manufacturers during the recession. Just-in-time delivery of parts makes even more sense when budgets are tight. Now that a giant ash cloud from a volcano in Iceland is disrupting global air freight, some manufacturers are finding that this strategy is backfiring.
Ammonia Leak Leads To Evacuation Of 125
April 21, 2010 4:10 am | News | CommentsBIRDSBORO, Pa. (AP) — An ammonia leak at a kosher Pennsylvania poultry plant has led to the evacuation of about 125 people, including six who suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Emergency crews were called Tuesday night to the Mehadrin Kosher Poultry plant in Birdsboro, which is about 8 miles southeast of Reading.
GM Repays $6.7 Billion Government Loan
April 21, 2010 4:08 am | by Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer | News | CommentsDETROIT (AP) — General Motors Co. has repaid the $8.1 billion in loans it got from the U.S. and Canadian governments, a move its CEO says is a sign automaker is on the road to recovery. GM CEO Whitacre will formally announce the loan paybacks Wednesday at the company's Fairfax AssemblyPlant in Kansas City, Kansas, where he will also announce that GM is investing $257 million in that factory and the Detroit-Hamtramck plant, both of which will build the next generation of the midsize Chevrolet Malibu.
Stay Off That Plane
April 20, 2010 12:13 pm | by by David Mantey, Editor, Product Design & Development | Blogs | CommentsTo fly or not to fly is suddenly the question , and though I do enjoy the Shakespearean spin on the tragedy, let’s not get too loose with the definition of tragedy. If anything, the airport crisis plays out more like a dark comedy than a tragic event. Labeling a week stranded in an airport a tragedy is like calling Piano Man the greatest song ever made.
Energy Harvesting Gets A Boost
April 20, 2010 12:05 pm | by Tony Armstrong, Director of Product Marketing, Power Products, Linear Technology Corporation | Articles | CommentsA wide range of low-power industrial sensors and controllers are turning to alternative sources of energy as the primary or supplemental means of supplying power. Ideally, such harvested energy will eliminate the need for wired power or batteries altogether. Transducers that create electricity from readily available physical sources such as temperature differentials (thermoelectric generators or thermopiles), mechanical vibration (piezoelectric or electromechanical devices), and light (photovoltaic devices) are becoming viable sources of power for many applications.
Iran Won't Hinder Global Nuclear Power Development
April 20, 2010 10:27 am | by by Luke Simpson, Associate Editor, Chem.Info | Blogs | CommentsThis week the hot topic of nuclear power was overshadowed by President Obama’s announcement to restrict the use of nuclear weapons and reduce nuclear stockpiles—along with Russia—by about one-third. If you missed it, the President specified that the use of nuclear weapons would only be considered against countries that are not in compliance with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; for example, North Korea and Iran.
Displacement Gone High-Tech
April 20, 2010 7:56 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe LK-G5000 Laser Displacement Sensor from KEYENCE (Woodcliff Lake, NJ) now features a RS-CMOS sensor and provides a 392 kHz sampling rate that is eight times faster than previous models, with a 0.01µm repeatability. The sensor is now more compact than previous models, making it easy to mount in tight production environments.
Finding The Best Angle
April 20, 2010 7:55 am | Product Releases | CommentsMetabo Corporation (West Chester, PA) now offers the 5” W11-125 Quick Compact Class Angle Grinder, which features a quick wheel change system that makes changing discs both safe and easy, without the use of tools. The W11-125 is ideal for cutting and grinding applications with a Vibratech side handle that reduces vibration up to 60 percent, lowering the risk of white finger syndrome, according to the company.
Showing The Ropes
April 20, 2010 7:55 am | Product Releases | CommentsKonecranes (Springfield, OH) has developed RopeQ, a reliable system that evaluates the working condition of wire ropes using a proprietary Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) method. The RopeQ uses electromagnetic technology to assess the inner and outer wires and strands of a rope, which ensures accurate and repetitive inspection results.
Be Graceful, Safe Around Electricity
April 20, 2010 7:54 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe VoltageVision Power Warning Alerts from Grace Engineered Products (Davenport, IA) provide electricians with electrical safe information while working on de-energized systems. The system is now available in a solid-on model type, which features LEDs to illuminate the presence of voltage.
Keep Your Fingers Safe
April 20, 2010 6:59 am | Product Releases | CommentsDanray Products LLC (Rockford, IL) introduces its new fan guard safety scale, which checks the openings in fan guards for compliance with OSHA 29 CFR 1910.212(a)(5). The OSHA regulation states that fan blades must be covered with a guard, which may not have openings more than ½”.
