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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
'Shrek'-Themed McDonalds Cups Pulled For Cadmium
June 4, 2010 4:26 am | by Justin Pritchard, Associated Press Writer | CommentsLOS ANGELES (AP) — Cadmium has been discovered in the painted design on "Shrek"-themed drinking glasses being sold nationwide at McDonald's, forcing the fast food company to recall 12 million of the cheap U.S.-made collectibles while dramatically expanding contamination concerns about the toxic metal beyond imported children's jewelry.
GM Starts Venture Capital Company For New Tech
June 4, 2010 4:24 am | CommentsDETROIT (AP) — General Motors Co. says it has set up its own venture capital company with $100 million to find new technology. The automaker says General Motors Ventures LLC will help nurture new technology and bring it to market so GM has the latest innovations. GM says former vice president of global product planning Jon Lauckner will head the new venture starting July 1.
CAT Buys Locomotive Maker For $820 Million
June 4, 2010 4:23 am | CommentsPEORIA, Ill. (AP) — Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. says its Alabama-based railroad service unit will spend $820 million cash to acquire locomotive maker Electro-Motive Diesel. Caterpillar says that its Progress Rail Services division, headquartered in Albertville, Ala.
Survey Shows Little Risk Of Industrial Brain Cancer
June 4, 2010 4:22 am | by Stephen Singer, Associated Press Writer | CommentsEAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The incidence of brain cancer at jet engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney was the same as or less than for the general population, researchers said Thursday. The researchers, from the University of Pittsburgh and University of Illinois, released the second of three phases of their massive study of 212,513 workers at one of eight Connecticut plants from 1952 to 2001.
Altria Forks Over $1 Billion To IRS Over Falsified Returns
June 2, 2010 4:57 am | CommentsRICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Altria Group Inc. has agreed to pay about $971 million in taxes and interest in an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service over income tax returns for the years 2000 through 2003, the cigarette maker said in a regulatory filing Tuesday. However, Altria also said in the Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it intends to file administrative claims with the IRS for a refund or credit, and would sue the government if the claims are denied.
Yarn-Making Operation Creates 100 N.C. Jobs
June 2, 2010 4:55 am | CommentsBELMONT, N.C. (AP) — A South Carolina textile company plans to open a yarn-making operation in a vacant mill in North Carolina, employing about 100 people. Multiple media outlets reported that Jo-Mar Spinning will start the spinning and twisting operation in the former Helms plant in Belmont.
Chinese Honda Plant Restarts After Wage Strike
June 2, 2010 4:34 am | by Joe McDonald, AP Business Writer | CommentsBEIJING (AP) — Honda Motor Co. said a key parts factory in China resumed full operation Wednesday following a two-week strike over wages that forced Honda to halt production at four assembly plants. The strike highlighted tensions between workers and foreign companies that look to China as a source of cheap labor and a fast-growing market amid weak demand elsewhere.
Toyota Boosting Highlander Production At Ind. Plant
June 2, 2010 4:33 am | CommentsPRINCETON, Ind. (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. is boosting production of the gas model Highlander sport utility vehicle at its southern Indiana plant. Toyota spokeswoman Kelly Dillon said Tuesday that production of all of company's gas model Highlanders for the North American market will be shifted in the coming months from one of Toyota's plants in Japan to its Princeton-area plant.
OSHA Fines Seafood Processor $214,000
June 2, 2010 4:32 am | CommentsPORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — The U.S. government has proposed more than $214,000 in fines against a Canadian seafood processing company accused of violations at a New Hampshire plant. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says inspectors found 17 violations of workplace health and safety standards at High Liner Foods in Portsmouth.
Tata Inaugurates Plant For U.S.-Bound Nano
June 2, 2010 4:31 am | by Erika Kinetz, AP Business Writer | CommentsSANAND, India (AP) — Tata Motors inaugurated a factory Wednesday to produce its super-cheap compact Nano car, nearly two years after violent farmer protests forced the company to relocate. The new factory in India's business-friendly Gujarat state promises to unleash production of the pint-sized car, which Tata plans to export to Europe, and eventually the U.
Hewlett-Packard To Cut 9,000 Jobs
June 1, 2010 5:11 am | CommentsPALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) — Hewlett-Packard Co. said Tuesday it will cut about 9,000 jobs and take $1 billion in charges over three years as it creates fully automated commercial data centers. The Palo Alto, Calif. technology company said it will invest $1 billion in its enterprise services unit, over a multiyear period.
Homebuilder Worried About Shoddy Drywall In 2006
June 1, 2010 5:08 am | CommentsMIAMI (AP) — A leading East Coast homebuilder worried about the malodorous Chinese drywall it was using in Florida homes in 2006, but didn't alert most of its customers or government officials, according to court documents. The concern was so great that WCI Communities at one point planned to tear out the drywall and rebuild.
Covidien Buys ev3 For $2.6 Billion
June 1, 2010 5:05 am | CommentsNEW YORK (AP) — Covidien PLC said Tuesday it is buying vascular device maker ev3 for $2.6 billion in cash as it continues to remake its business. Covidien, which makes drugs and medical devices, will pay $22.50 for each share of ev3, a premium of nearly 19 percent over Friday's closing price.
China's Manufacturing Slips In May
June 1, 2010 4:42 am | CommentsSHANGHAI (AP) — The recovery in China's manufacturing slowed in May on sluggish new orders and rising inventories, surveys showed Tuesday. The state-affiliated China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said its purchasing managers index, or PMI, fell to 53.9 in May from 55.7 in April and 55.
Outsourcers Discover Chinese Workers 'Are Not Machines'
June 1, 2010 4:40 am | by Elaine Kurtenbach, AP Business Writer | CommentsSHANGHAI (AP) — Global manufacturers struggling with life-or-death pressures to control costs are finding that the legions of low-wage Chinese workers they rely on have limits. A strike at Honda Motor Co. and the official response to a spate of suicides at Foxconn Technology, a maker of electronics for industry giants such as Apple, Dell and Hewlett-Packard, suggests China's leaders are at least tacitly allowing workers to talk back.
