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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Safer Hopper Dumping
February 5, 2010 9:39 am | Product Releases | CommentsRoura Material Handling (Clinton Twp., MI) has developed MHR (Mechanical Hopper Release) system, which helps to prevent a forklift operator from having to get off the lift in order to dump a self-dumping hopper. According to the company, the MHR is a new solution for safely handling bulk material and waste.
Go Retro On Your Roof
February 5, 2010 9:38 am | Product Releases | CommentsThybar Corporation (Addison, IL) now offers the Retro-Curb, an insulated roof curb that allows for unrestricted positioning on standing seam roof systems. The curb has a flat, pre-punched base flange that can be cut out to allow perfect alignment with the seams on the roof, and they are custom designed to accommodate any roof slope.
Pick-To-Anything
February 5, 2010 9:38 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe Real Time Solutions order fulfillment system from Intelligrated (Cincinnati, OH) has been re-launched, and now features pick-to-light, pick-to-voice, and pick-to-cart. Features of the system include: Pick-to-Light Bright lights, LED displays, and flashing indicators to provide direction to the correct pick locations and pick quantities.
Laser Alignment Isn't A 'Bore'
February 5, 2010 9:34 am | Product Releases | CommentsPinpoint Laser Systems (Peabody, MA) introduces two bore alignment accessories for the Laser Microgage line. These new mounts can accommodate bore diameters as large as 3’, and as small as 2 ½”. The Laser Microgage projects a visible reference beam that extends out to 180 feet and is accurate within 0.
Laser Sensor Innovations Improve Tire Manufacturing
February 5, 2010 9:04 am | by Dr. Walt Pastorius, Technical Marketing Advisor and Mr. Martin Sanden, Market Manager, LMI | Articles | CommentsIntroduction Tire and rubber manufacturers today are requiring inspection systems to detect small geometric defects wherever they occur on the rubber surface in both final and in-process inspection operations. To increase quality and improve product safety, these smaller areas of dimensional variation or defects must be detected with very high reliability.
Skydiving From Space
February 5, 2010 9:02 am | by by Paul Livingstone, Senior Editor, R&D Magazine | Blogs | CommentsThe Red Bull Stratos team has kept itself under wraps until today’s press conference at the New York Academy of Sciences in NYC. The ambitious project marks the first major attempt at breaking an old but daunting skydiving record, one that starts at the edge of space.
GM Supplier, SL America, To Add 300 Jobs With $35m Expansion
February 5, 2010 8:38 am | News | CommentsNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Auto parts supplier SL America will add 300 jobs in a $35 million expansion at its SL Tennessee LLC plant in Clinton. A statement from Tennessee economic development director Matt Kisber's office said the new jobs in the planned $35 million expansion will be created by the end of 2010.
Time To Go On The Attack
February 5, 2010 5:23 am | Articles | CommentsMany economists have characterized stories about the decline of U.S. manufacturing as simply doom and gloom opinions. Ralph Keller of the Association of Manufacturing Excellence says of American manufacturing: “This is not the story of the death of manufacturing in the United States, just one of change and continuous improvement.
BAE Systems Closes Tenn. Plant, Cuts 173 Jobs
February 5, 2010 5:04 am | News | CommentsKNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Defense contractor BAE Systems said it is permanently closing its manufacturingplant in East Tennessee in a move that will eliminate 173 jobs. The plant in Grainger County made body armor for the military. Joe Coltman, vice president of personnel protection systems, said in a statement provided to the Knoxville News Sentinel that the permanent closure would be effective Friday.
Toy Company Fined $200K For Leaded Winnie The Pooh
February 5, 2010 3:54 am | News | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. company has agreed to pay a $200,000 penalty to settle allegations it violated U.S. law when it imported Thomas and Friends, Curious George and Winnie the Pooh toys with high levels of lead. The Consumer Product Safety Commission alleged that Schylling Associates Inc.
Prius Recall Highlights Dangers Of Electronic Car Controls
February 5, 2010 3:41 am | by Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsNEW YORK (AP) — Your most expensive piece of electronics probably is not your flat panel TV or your computer. More likely, it's your car, which can pack 50 microprocessors to control everything from the fuel mix to the rearview mirrors. The recalls and other technical problems besetting Toyota in the last few weeks highlight the risks of relying on electronics instead of the mechanical rods and cables that controlled vehicles for most of the 20th century.
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.
