Articles
The Lead
Roof Recoating Enhances Workplace Safety
May 17, 2013 | by Del Williams, technical writer | Comments
Many 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 | Comments
Douglas K. Woods, President of The Association For Manufacturing Technology, discusses the state...
MRO Data Key To Unlocking Cost Savings & Operational Efficiency
May 15, 2013 8:00 am | by IHS | Comments
Maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) groups at many companies are facing a major challenge:...
PwC: Strategies To Enhance Business Opportunities In India
May 14, 2013 8:00 am | by PwC | Comments
According to PwC, India has potential to be the fastest-growing large economy in the world over...
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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Pest Birds And Corrosive Droppings
May 13, 2013 8:00 am | by Chrissy Hansen, Bird-X Media Correspondent | 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.
Grainger CEO Talks Tools for Tomorrow
May 10, 2013 4:04 pm | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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) | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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.
Don’t Get Wrapped Too Tight
May 10, 2013 8:05 am | by Greg Cober, Altra Industrial Motion Product Training Manager | CommentsA properly installed wrap spring clutch/brake will provide millions of cycles for applications where repetitive motion is needed. Care to insure proper mounting will achieve the best possible life and performance in repeating applications.
Why Manufacturers Need To Bulletproof Their Virtualized IT Environments
May 10, 2013 8:00 am | by Frank Hill, Stratus Technologies | CommentsToday, many popular manufacturing applications are certified for virtualization and with good reason. The benefits of virtualization, including cost control, higher productivity, and better long-term planning, are indisputable. Yet, some manufacturing engineers and plant IT departments are missing out on these benefits because they think virtualization involves too much risk — a point of view that is not entirely without merit.
Is The United States Ready To Take Manufacturing Back?
May 8, 2013 8:05 am | by Patrick Van den Bossche, Pramod Gupta, Hector Gutierrez, Chui Lee — A.T. Kearney | CommentsWord on the street is that substantial portions of previously offshored manufacturing operations are due to return to the United States. A number of macroeconomic factors seem to have tipped the balance in favor of domestic manufacturing.
ISM: Manufacturing Slowing, But Still Expanding
May 8, 2013 8:00 am | by Jon Minnick, Associate Editor, Manufacturing Business Technology | CommentsEconomic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in April for the fifth consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business. The PMI number indicated expansion in manufacturing for the fifth consecutive month, but at the lowest rate of the year. Although U.S. manufacturing continued to slow in April, underlying metrics show there is more good news than there is cause for concern.
Q&A: Barriers To American Re-shoring
May 7, 2013 8:05 am | by Joel Hans, Managing Editor, Manufacturing.net | CommentsOver the last few years, there has been an increasing amount of buzz around the concept of “re-shoring,” in which an American company decides it’s more financially viable to bring manufacturing operations back to the U.S. from a foreign land. Generally speaking, company leaders are finding that the “total cost” of producing overseas actually makes outsourcing the worse financial picture.
