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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Silicon Valley-Area Hub Becomes Factory Town
May 20, 2013 10:01 am | by Martha Mendoza, AP National Writer | News | CommentsIn a busy factory, machinists move sheets of aluminum roll in the back door to be molded, stamped, twisted and notched into high-tech electric cars that sell for more than $60,000 each. Down the road in another plant, crews slice solar cells, place them under glass sheets and create panels that ship by the boxful to Europe.
1 Millionth Jeep Wrangler Built At Toledo Plant
May 20, 2013 10:00 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsAuto workers in Toledo celebrated a milestone this past week. The 1 millionth Jeep Wrangler rolled off the assembly line at Chrysler's assembly plant that opened in 2006. Chrysler marked the occasion Friday with a ceremony at the production line.
IN Withdraws Support For Fertilizer Plant
May 20, 2013 9:57 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsIndiana officials withdrew state backing Friday for a fertilizer plant over concerns about whether its Pakistan-based owners are doing enough at its overseas operations to keep the potentially explosive material from being used against U.S. troops.
Manufacturing Gangnam Style
May 20, 2013 8:05 am | by Stacey Wagner, Manager, Workforce Systems Development, NIST MEP | Blogs | CommentsBaxter’s ability to work side by side with human counterparts has many people worried. What if he and his robotic buddies stop dancing and take over all the manufacturing jobs? What if people – and the wonderful human qualities they bring to manufacturing – become passé?
Labor Productivity And Global Competiveness
May 20, 2013 8:00 am | by Simon Macpherson, Senior Director Operations, Kronos EMEA | Articles | CommentsWhen it comes to managing the workforce, very few industries are under more pressure than manufacturing. With tremendous price competition from developing countries and a world where products can be replicated across the globe and transported with ease, manufactures need to look at every aspect of their operations for competitive advantage and productivity improvements.
Flying Car Prototypes Grounded After Crash
May 17, 2013 12:47 pm | by The Canadian Press | News | CommentsThe Transportation Safety Board says the U.S. manufacturer of flying cars has grounded all five of its prototypes until it can determine a cause for a recent crash in B.C. One of the Maverick flying cars crashed near a Vernon elementary school last week, leaving a pilot and a passenger with minor injuries.
FL Gov. Signs Manufacturing Tax Break Into Law
May 17, 2013 12:46 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsFlorida Gov. Rick Scott on Friday signed a bill that creates a tax break for the state's manufacturers. The governor made it official during a stop at a Tampa manufacturing firm. The measure (HB 7007) exempts manufacturers from having to pay sales taxes on equipment purchases for three years.
Cadillac Recalls SUVs In China
May 17, 2013 12:44 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsChina's product safety agency says General Motors Co.'s main Chinese joint venture is recalling Cadillac SUVs to correct a problem with nuts that hold their wheels in place. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said Friday that Shanghai GM will recall 2,653 imported Cadillac SRXs.
CAT Purchase In China Gets Huge Price Cut
May 17, 2013 12:42 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsCaterpillar will pay $135 million less for a Chinese mining equipment company after uncovering dodgy accounting practices that inflated its value. Caterpillar announced a non-cash $580 million charge earlier this year related to the sale after uncovering "accounting misconduct" during an internal investigation of ERA Mining Machinery Ltd. and its subsidiary Zhengzhou Siwei Mechanical & Electrical Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
Problems Surface Over AZ's 2007 Immigration Law
May 17, 2013 12:41 pm | by Jacques Billeaud, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe immigration debate in Arizona reached a boiling point in 2007 when the state passed a groundbreaking law targeting those often blamed with fueling the nation's border woes: Employers who hire immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.
Is It Possible to Bring Manufacturing Back to the U.S.?
May 17, 2013 12:33 pm | by David Mantey, Executive Editor, PD&D | News | CommentsIn the press, “reshoring” is defined as the repatriation of manufacturing operations from a low-cost country, back to the home country. In Washington, it stands as the repatriation of manufacturing operations from China, back to the U.S. But in reality, according to Young, it is the transfer of “some manufacturing production from a low-cost country back to the home country or to another country, low-cost or not.”
Small SUVs Struggle In Crash Test
May 17, 2013 12:30 pm | by CNN Money | Videos | CommentsFive SUVs including the Hyundai Tuscon, Ford Escape, Kia Sportage, Buick Encore and Jeep Patriot earned poor ratings in a tough new crash test. Only two of 13 small SUVs performed well in front-end crash tests done by an insurance industry group, with several popular models faring poorly in the evaluations.
Roof Recoating Enhances Workplace Safety
May 17, 2013 11:19 am | by Del Williams, technical writer | Articles | CommentsMany industrial facilities such as petrochemical plants must remain safely, efficiently operational with virtually no downtime, unplanned maintenance, or replacement for decades. To protect equipment from corrosion, traditionally three separate coatings are used, often in a zinc, epoxy, urethane combination. While this is common, it is far from optimal.
Building U.S. Manufacturing Strength
May 17, 2013 11:19 am | Articles | CommentsDouglas K. Woods, President of The Association For Manufacturing Technology, discusses the state of U.S. manufacturing, job development, and what the industry can expect going forward. While today’s manufacturing industry is more sophisticated and high tech than ever before, he says, the industry still needs to address some critical issues to be successful in the future.
Kentucky Plant To Add 100 Full-Time Jobs
May 17, 2013 11:19 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsAn auto parts maker is adding a new building and 100 full-time jobs to its operation in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products LLC broke ground Wednesday on its second expansion since November. Gov. Steve Beshear's office said the company plans to add an 87,000-square-foot building with a capital investment of up to $66 million.
