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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Foreign Automakers Join Tokyo Motor Show
May 13, 2013 10:00 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsA total of 18 foreign automakers will participate in the Tokyo Motor Show starting in November, but the "Big Three" U.S. automakers will skip the event, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said. While General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC will be absent from the 43rd annual event for the third consecutive year, 17 European automakers, such as Volkswagen AG and BMW AG of Germany, will participate in the event.
Pest Birds And Corrosive Droppings
May 13, 2013 8:00 am | by Chrissy Hansen, Bird-X Media Correspondent | Articles | CommentsPest birds cost individuals and businesses millions of dollars each year in clean-up expenses, repairs, and damaged equipment. Some large industrial facilities spend as much as six figures to combat pest bird problems. Facility managers must understand the important of implementing a preventative bird control program as means of reducing these costs.
David Vs. Goliath – Stealing Innovation
May 10, 2013 4:06 pm | by Mike Collins, Author, Saving American Manufacturing | Blogs | CommentsThe right thing to do is to enforce invention and innovation rights. These rights create jobs, economic benefits, and profits for our society, while our patent-piracy tolerance destroys the economic benefits we seek. If an American-made business model is destroyed by the cannibalistic capitalism of our marketplace, what products can survive to create jobs in our society?
Grainger CEO Talks Tools for Tomorrow
May 10, 2013 4:04 pm | Articles | CommentsAs the required skill set for advanced manufacturing continues to evolve, many resources emerge to address workforce development needs in the industry. James Ryan, CEO of industrial distribution leader, Grainger, sat down with IMPO to discuss ways in which technical education has been a continued priority for his business — and why the skilled trades have more to offer than many people realize.
By The Numbers
May 10, 2013 3:42 pm | by Anna Wells, Executive Editor, IMPO | Articles | CommentsConveying equipment can’t just keep getting faster – it has to get smarter as well. Learn how market conditions, design elements, and maintenance issues work together to create positive trends in the conveyor industry.
That's A Wrap
May 10, 2013 3:38 pm | by Dan Schmidt, Business Development Manager, ITW Muller | Articles | CommentsIs the amount of load damage going up with the age of your stretch wrap equipment? Having trouble keeping up with production and the increasing number of SKUs and load configurations? Have a need to do more with less people and feel automation might be the answer? Would you save money on film and eliminate film breaks if you could just improve performance?
A Harder, Greener Cut
May 10, 2013 3:34 pm | by Rachel Leisemann Immel, Associate Editor, IMPO | Articles | CommentsWhile tooling may only account for five percent of the cost of producing a typical metal part, it can have an enormous impact on overall production efficiency, quality, and cost. Cutting tool consumers and manufacturers are considering emerging technologies, new tools, and new techniques to continue stay competitive in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.
Don’t Wait ... Automate!
May 10, 2013 3:02 pm | by By Jeff Burnstein, President, Association for Advancing Automation (A3) | Articles | CommentsRecently, there has been a large amount of media coverage on the issue of automation technologies taking jobs, especially in manufacturing. Though we appreciated the focus on how technological advances in automation and robotics are revolutionizing the workplace, we were very disappointed in how they characterized the segment as “robots taking jobs” in America.
Vibration Detection For A Safe, Reliable Plant Floor
May 10, 2013 2:49 pm | by Rachel Leisemann Immel, Associate Editor, IMPO | Articles | CommentsThere is no such thing as a vibration free machine,” says Steve Matthews, business manager of VibrAlign’s service company, PdM Solutions, Inc. Rotor unbalance, sheave misalignment, worn bearings, loose bolts, and bearing lubrication issues can affect every machine on the plant floor. And when they do, costly and dangerous failures can result.
Intertech Plastics Completes $2M Investment
May 10, 2013 2:43 pm | Articles | CommentsIntertech started 2013 off in a big way, after the addition of 2 new Husky 1100 ton high-speed molding presses, related automation, and state of the art centralized chilling system. These moves allow Intertech to support its clients’ needs for high quantity injection molded product production, warehousing, and distribution to the western United States, within a cost structure that keeps Intertech competitive in the global marketplace.
Industrial Doorway Accident Prompts Metal Fabricator’s Air Curtain Installation For Safety
May 10, 2013 2:40 pm | Articles | CommentsAfter several near-misses culminating with an injurious forklift truck collision involving strip curtains, a Northeast Ohio metal fabricator and manufacturer searched for creative solutions to improve safety, energy efficiency, and productivity at a high traffic ground level material handling doorway.
Raising The Bar
May 10, 2013 2:23 pm | by Krystal Gabert, Editor, Food Manufacturing | Articles | CommentsHearthside Food Solutions is a young company with deep roots. Co-founded in 2009 by a group of investors led by Hearthside Chairman and CEO Rich Scalise, the company strives to be the largest and best contract manufacturer of snacks in the country.
Better, Worse, Or Just Different?
May 10, 2013 2:17 pm | by Anna Wells, Executive Editor, IMPO | Blogs | CommentsRecently, Kiplinger released a forecast of its own, and it’s a direct and complex identification of both the good and the bad elements facing manufacturers and the economy as a whole. Notably, Kiplinger cites that, despite losing some steam this year, manufacturing will still power the economy and continues to outpace gains in the economy as a whole, both this year and next.
Texas Launches Criminal Probe Into Plant Explosion
May 10, 2013 2:04 pm | by Angela K. Brown, Ramit Plushnick-Masti, Associated Press | News | CommentsTexas law enforcement officials on Friday launched a criminal investigation into the massive fertilizer plant explosion that killed 14 people last month, after weeks of largely treating the blast as an industrial accident. The announcement came the same day a paramedic who helped to evacuate residents the night of the explosion was arrested on a charge of possessing a destructive device.
All Nippon Airways To Add Boeing 787 Routes
May 10, 2013 2:01 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsAll Nippon Airways Co. is planning to start flying the Boeing 787 to Taipei and Shanghai in addition to three other cities abroad previously served by the U.S. manufacturer's advanced aircraft, after it resolves the battery issue and resumes services on June 1.
