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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
January Unemployment Drops To 9.7 Percent
February 5, 2010 3:34 am | by Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writer | News | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — The unemployment rate dropped unexpectedly in January to 9.7 percent, while employers shed 20,000 jobs, according to a report that offered hope the economy will add jobs soon. The unemployment rate dropped from 10 percent because a survey of households found the number of employed Americans rose by 541,000, the Labor Department said Friday.
Air Products Offers $5.1B For Airgas, Willing To Get Hostile
February 5, 2010 3:28 am | News | CommentsLEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. (AP) — Industrial gas supplier Air Products and Chemicals Inc. said Friday that it made an unsolicited cash bid of about $5.1 billion for smaller rival Airgas Inc. and is willing to make a hostile offer if necessary. Airgas said its board will review the offer with financial and legal advisors and recommended that its stockholders not take any action yet.
Body Armor CEO Spent $353,000 On Pens
February 5, 2010 3:22 am | News | CommentsCENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — A federal prosecutor says a former chief executive had lavish spending habits — including $353,000 worth of pens, some made of gold or silver. The evidence was presented Thursday at the Central Islip (EYE'-slip), N.Y., trial of David H. Brooks. He founded DHB Industries, Inc.
Feds Adopt Safety Revisions After Slim Jim Explosion
February 5, 2010 3:20 am | by Mike Baker, Associated Press Writer | News | CommentsRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Federal officials voted Thursday night to adopt urgent safety recommendations in response to last year's deadly explosion at a Slim Jim snack factory in North Carolina. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board approved the recommendations Thursday night by a 2-1 vote taken following a public hearing in Raleigh.
Thermal Imaging For Cost Savings, Energy Conservation, and Innovation
February 4, 2010 10:51 am | by Sandra J. Blum, for FLIR Systems Inc. | Articles | Comments“As long as the simple truth prevails that something gets hot before it breaks down, applications for infrared cameras will be endless.” Infrared radiation is emitted by every object above a temperature of -273 degrees C. To capture this radiation and make it visible, you need an infrared camera that can take clear thermal pictures, measure temperatures instantly, and convert these infrared images into a standard electronic format for further processing.
Gearing Up For Success
February 4, 2010 10:20 am | by Anna Wells, Editor, IMPO | Articles | CommentsRoscoe, IL might be considered the gear capital of the world. This small city serves as stomping ground to three gear manufacturers, and is part of an enclave of manufacturing towns in Northern Illinois, including Rockford—a once industrial giant which now suffers the highest unemployment rate of any city in the state.
Fluorescent Takes On HID
February 4, 2010 8:36 am | Product Releases | CommentsCooper Lighting (Peachtree City, GA) offers the HBI High-Bay Industrial Fluorescent Series, which features an optic that has been optimized to provide maximum performance from T8 lamps. The high lumen package allows the benefits of fluorescent to be applied at high mounting heights that were traditionally exclusive to HID lamps.
Make Your Work Portable
February 4, 2010 8:35 am | Product Releases | CommentsVeto Pro Pac (Norwalk, CT) has introduced the Model LT-XL tool bag, which is designed to store and organize hand tools with two large zippered storage compartments and two padded storage slots. The LT-XL is built from a PVC-impregnated body fabric, which is then riveted to a 3mm injection-molded polypropylene base.
Gas Phase Analysis In Real-Time
February 4, 2010 8:33 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe Titan industrial FTIR systems from MIDAC (Costa Mesa, CA) provide real-time, multi-component extractive gas phase analysis for various applications, including industrial hygiene, CEM, and process optimization. Cell pathlengths range from 1cm to 60 meters, and thermal isolation from the spectrometer allows operation from ambient temperatures to 240°C, allowing moist sample streams to be analyzed without condensation.
Get The Right Angle
February 4, 2010 8:32 am | Product Releases | CommentsKadant Solutions (Auburn, MA) has launched the AngleSet angle gauge tool for doctor blade and scraper installations. The new gauge is used to set the proper angle for improved doctoring performance and longer blade life. The AngleSet tool provides an accurate reading of the blade angle, and its compact design allows for flexibility in various applications, including creping, coating, drum flaking, and converting.
I Drive A Yaris
February 4, 2010 8:12 am | by by David Mantey, Editor, PD&D | Blogs | CommentsI drive one, I don’t own one — the only vehicle with my name on the plates (2LGT2QT) is a ’98 Dodge Neon that has made me its most outspoken proponent since high school. I remember the day a future cop and former friend rode beside me and called the Neon a disposable 10-year car.
An Alternative to Diverging Roller Size Graders
February 4, 2010 8:12 am | Articles | CommentsNutra Manufacturing is the manufacturing arm of GNC, the largest global specialty retailer of nutritional supplements. With GNC’s “quality first” principle guiding every step, Nutra uses the latest technologies to produce the highest quality supplements.
Joojoo Web Tablet To Reach Consumers By Month's End
February 4, 2010 4:49 am | by Jessica Mintz, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsSEATTLE (AP) — The Joojoo, a Web-browsing tablet device that's the subject of a high-profile Silicon Valley legal dispute, appears on track to reach early buyers at the end of February. The flat touch-screen computer was known until December as the CrunchPad, after the technology blog TechCrunch.
Civil Lawsuit Reopened Over Stinky Hogs
February 4, 2010 3:45 am | by Bill Draper, Associated Press Writer | News | CommentsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Fourteen rural northwest Missouri residents who received $100,000 apiece in a 1999 lawsuit against a major hog producer have asked a Jackson County jury to give them more money for what they say are intolerable smells coming from its 80,000-head hog confinement in Gentry County.
Deadly Slim Jim Blast Prompts New Rules
February 4, 2010 3:35 am | News | CommentsRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Federal officials are scheduled to vote Thursday evening on urgent safety recommendations in response to a deadly explosion at a Slim Jim snack factory in North Carolina last year. The proposal before the U.S. Chemical Safety Board recommends that national and international safety codes be changed to more strongly control gas-line purging.
