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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Loading Docks, Made Easy
March 1, 2010 9:52 am | Product Releases | CommentsVestil Manufacturing Co. (Angola, IN) offers a trailer lock system that is designed for installation directly in front of the loading dock, with an electric hydraulic system that lifts the hook bar to capture the ICC bar on the back of semi-trailers. To ensure safety, the system comes standard with an accumulator that allows the dock to follow the trailer up and down as it is loaded or unloaded.
Light Up Safety Awareness
March 1, 2010 9:51 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe PSENopt safety light curtains and light barriers from Pilz Automation Safety (Canton, MI) are optoelectronic protection devices that safeguard danger zones whenever a production process requires active yet safe access. The PSENopt curtains offer a muting function — total or partial — that is directly integrated, as is monitoring of the muting lamps.
DC Motors For Any Application
March 1, 2010 9:50 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe IronHorse permanent magnet DC 56C-frame motor line from AutomationDirect (Cumming, GA) features enclosed non-vented and totally enclosed fan-cooled models. The motors are constructed of a rolled steel frame in sizes ranging from 0.33 to 2HP. The IronHorse DC motors are ideal for conveyors or turntables.
Start Up A Stir
March 1, 2010 9:49 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe UHVM and VGVM concrete vibrators from Cleveland Vibrator Company (Cleveland, OH) offer durability, portability, and adjustable frequency for forms, hoppers, bins, chutes, and more. The UH and UHVM air piston vibrators are available in 1-1/4” or 2” diameter piston versions, and both models have adjustable high frequency vibration for maximum efficiency.
Toyoda Apologizes To Chinese Consumers
March 1, 2010 5:39 am | by Joe McDonald, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsBEIJING (AP) — Toyota President Akio Toyoda brought his damage-control campaign to the world's biggest auto market Monday, apologizing to Chinese customers for quality problems and stressing their importance to the Japanese automaker. Toyoda said he flew straight to Beijing from the United States to show his sincerity to Chinese customers after a string of vehicle recalls.
Chinese Manufacturing Growth Slows, U.S. Continues Climb
March 1, 2010 3:51 am | by Elaine Kurtenbach, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsSHANGHAI (AP) — Growth in China's manufacturing slowed in February amid efforts to curb overcapacity in some industries and cool inflation by tightening control over bank lending, two surveys showed Monday. The state-affiliated China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said its purchasing managers index, or PMI, slipped to 52 in February from January's 55.
Toyota's Japan Sales Rise 53 Percent Despite Recall
March 1, 2010 3:42 am | News | CommentsTOKYO (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. saw its new car sales grow last month despite its massive global recalls, helping to buoy Japan's overall new vehicle sales from a year earlier, according to industry figures released Monday. Sales of Toyota passenger cars stood at 136,682 units in February, up 53 percent from a year earlier, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said.
Regent Aerospace Opening Alabama Plant
March 1, 2010 3:21 am | News | CommentsMOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Regent Aerospace says it will open a new plant in Mobile that will create as many as 90 jobs in two years and hopes to build a new facility that will raise employment to 180 in a second phase. The Valencia, Calif.-based company overhauls aircraft seats and interiors.
V-Vehicle 'Optimistic' About $320 Million Green-Car Loan
March 1, 2010 3:19 am | by Alan Sayre, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsNEW ORLEANS (AP) — A top official of V-Vehicle Co., which is planning to build a fuel-efficient vehicle in northeastern Louisiana, said Sunday that he is confident that the federal Energy Department will approve a $320 million loan — a key portion of the company's financing — by the end of March.
Miss. Town Waits, Hopes For Toyota Plant Revival
March 1, 2010 3:17 am | by Holbrook Mohr, Associated Press Writer | News | CommentsBLUE SPRINGS, Miss. (AP) — Terry McShan isn't thinking about car sales analyses or excess capacity when he drives by the idle Toyota plant in northeast Mississippi. He's thinking about his little girl. Like most Mississippians, the 46-year-old father of one grown daughter and a 4-year-old girl was thrilled when Toyota announced plans in 2007 to build a plant in Blue Springs, a one-store town in the north Mississippi hills.
Geneva Auto Show Spotlight Casts Long Shadows For 2010
March 1, 2010 3:15 am | by Colleen Barry, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsMILAN (AP) — For most of the world's automakers, the Geneva Auto Show will be back-to-business with new model rollouts to put the gotta-have-it gleam back in consumers' eyes. For Toyota, that won't be enough. "Toyota is still in the middle of its global recalls, and new problems keep showing up.
Riddle Me This, Small Business
February 26, 2010 9:13 am | by Mike Rainone, Co-Founder, PCDworks | Articles | CommentsMany of you reading this column may work for a small business, or perhaps aspire to own one. Congratulations. According to Henry Paulson, Alan Greenspan and seemingly everyone else along the beltway, small businesses are the key to this nation's recovery. Small businesses account for 52 percent of all the jobs in this country, and conventional wisdom says that if we can just get them to hire more people we can turn this thing around.
Ventilation In Small Spaces
February 26, 2010 8:30 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe VAF-Series ventilators from Americ (Elk Grove Village, IL) are designed for confined space applications. They are manufactured from durable, high-density polyethylene plastic, making them extremely lightweight and portable. Handles are located centrally for balanced maneuverability, and anti-skid rubber feet keep the ventilator in once place.
Detect 'Mass'-ive Leaks
February 26, 2010 8:25 am | Product Releases | CommentsVacuum Instrument Corp. (Ronkonkoma, NY) introduces a new series of helium mass spectrometer leak detectors with touchscreen GUIs for testing the integrity of vacuum systems. The touchscreen allows for greater control and monitoring, along with easy calibration with the MS-60’s built-in leak standard.
Maintain Your Sensors Anywhere
February 26, 2010 8:25 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe U-50 Series Multiparameter Meters from Gardco (Pompano Beach, FL) measure and display 11 parameters simultaneously with a newly-designed control unit. This unit features an easy-to-read LCD display and a one-handed operation. A shock resistant cover makes the unit ideal for industrial applications.
