News
FREE Email Newsletter
Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Bangladesh Workers Join Chinese In Wage Protests
June 22, 2010 4:45 am | by Julhas Alam, Associated Press Writer | CommentsDHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — About 700 garment factories in Bangladesh were shut Tuesday after days of violent protests by tens of thousands of workers demanding better wages. The manufacturers decided late Monday to close their factories because they had no other way to avoid the anarchy in the major industrial hub outside the capital, according to an official at the Bangladesh GarmentManufacturers and Exporters Association.
FDA's Anti-Tobacco Regulation On Slow Burn
June 22, 2010 4:36 am | by Michael Felberbaum, AP Tobacco Writer | CommentsRICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A year after a new law put tobacco regulation in the hands of the Food and Drug Administration, one thing is clear: It will likely be years before any of the most aggressive steps to reduce deaths from smoking might happen. When President Barack Obama signed the bill into law last June, anti-tobacco advocates suggested it could lead to a reduction in nicotine levels, a ban on menthol cigarettes or other aggressive moves.
Toyota To Hire 100 At Southern Indiana Factory
June 22, 2010 4:32 am | CommentsPRINCETON, Ind. (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. plans to add about 100 temporary workers to its southern Indiana plant as it increases production. Factory spokeswoman Kelly Dillon says the new production workers for the plant near Princeton will be hired in the coming weeks through its staffing agency, Aerotek.
Disgruntled Mazda Employee Slams Car Into Co-Workers
June 22, 2010 4:31 am | by Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer | CommentsTOKYO (AP) — A disgruntled worker slammed his car into employees at a Mazda factory Tuesday, killing one and injuring 10, stunning Japan just two years after an autoworker went on a deadly rampage in central Tokyo. Toshiaki Hikiji, 42, was arrested about an hour later on attempted murder charges after fleeing in his car from Mazda's Ujina plant in Hiroshima prefecture, southwestern Japan, police said.
AstraZeneca Pays $103 Million For Price Fixing Cancer Drug
June 21, 2010 5:05 am | CommentsNEW YORK (AP) — AstraZeneca PLC on Friday agreed to pay $103 million to settle lawsuits that allege it inflated the price of its cancer drug Zoladex and its child asthma medication Pulmicort. The lawsuits alleged that the British drug maker inflated the average wholesale price of the drugs, a benchmark rate used to determine how much the drugs cost for consumers, health plans and government programs.
Biden Breaks Ground On Battery Manufacturing Plant
June 21, 2010 4:58 am | CommentsMIDLAND, Mich. (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden plans to visit Midland for the groundbreaking of an advanced battery manufacturing facility being built by a Dow Chemical Co. joint venture. Biden is to be at the event Monday for the Dow Kokam facility. The joint venture was given a $161 million grant to build a lithium polymer battery technology manufacturing plant.
Miss. Governor, Senators Shopping For A Ford
June 21, 2010 4:44 am | by Chris Blank, Associated Press Writer | CommentsJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is shopping for a Ford. The governor ordered lawmakers back for a special session starting Thursday to consider millions in tax incentives and pension plan changes to entice the automaker to keep its Kansas City-area plant producing.
The 105-Year 'Heart Of Clarion' Dies July 1
June 21, 2010 4:43 am | by Dante Anthony Fuoco, Associated Press Writer | CommentsCLARION, Pa. (AP) — There's a hum here, soft yet ever-present. The noise is drowned out during the din of the day, but late at night the sound of the Owens-Illinois glass plantreverberates through this town of 6,000 people. Mayor Andrea Estadt calls it the "heartbeat of Clarion," an enunciation from a plant that has been a centerpiece of community employment and pride for 105 years.
'Pool Noodle' Manufacturer Helps Clean Up The Gulf
June 21, 2010 4:41 am | by Stephen Tait, Associated Press Writer | CommentsMARYSVILLE, Mich. (AP) — Barry Jorgensen has never traveled to the Gulf of Mexico. That doesn't mean he isn't concerned about the extensive oil spill affecting that region. "I'm disgusted with what is going on there," said Jorgensen, 50, of Marysville. Now, Jorgensen is getting a chance to help.
Toyota Preparing To Hire 2,000 Miss. Workers
June 21, 2010 4:39 am | CommentsBLUE SPRINGS, Miss. (AP) — Toyota officials say they'll begin hiring later this year in Blue Springs, Miss., and details about the process will be announced in a few weeks. Ray Tanguay, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada and executive vice president of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, says the workers won't need any special skills.
Dawn Gets Product Placement In Oil Spill Coverage
June 18, 2010 5:01 am | Commentsby Joel Walsh, AP Writer KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — BP's brand may be tarnished with each week that oil spills into the Gulf of Mexico. But a brand manufactured in Kansas City, Kan., is enjoying the kind of publicity that can't be bought or planned. Just about any article or newscast about wildlife coated with oil in the gulf region mentions Dawn — the only detergent recommended for cleaning the hundreds of afflicted pelicans, gulls and gannets.
Toyota Next Up In Chinese Supplier Strikes
June 18, 2010 4:56 am | by Elaine Kurtenbach, AP Business Writer | CommentsSHANGHAI (AP) — Toyota Motor was assessing the impact Friday from strikes that hit two of its China-based parts suppliers, the latest unrest among migrant workers who are the backbone of the country's industrial sector. Workers at a plastic parts factory of Toyota Motor Corp. affiliate Toyoda Gosei Co.
Obama To Ohio: Jobs Are Still No. 1 Focus
June 18, 2010 4:45 am | by Ben Feller, Associated Press Writer | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — Determined to keep showing the economy is on his mind, President Barack Obama is dashing into Ohio for the groundbreaking of a road project, hoping to remind the nation that the massive, costly stimulus act is still churning out jobs. Millions of unemployed people have yet to feel the relief.
Boeing Wins $25 Million Navy Contract
June 18, 2010 4:37 am | CommentsSEATTLE (AP) — The U.S. Defense Department said Thursday that Boeing Co. received a $25 million modification to an existing contract. Boeing's St. Louis operations will make proposed engineering changes to the trailing edge flap for wings on F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler fighter aircraft.
UAW Accuses Toyota Of Phasing Out Unions
June 18, 2010 4:35 am | by Dan Strumpf and Tom Krisher, AP Business Writers | CommentsToyota's announcement that it will resume construction of a car factory in Mississippi was a much-needed piece of good news for both the state struggling with persistent unemployment and the automaker trying to recover some goodwill after a recall crisis bruised its reputation. But the decision drew fire from America's largest auto union, which accused Toyota of shifting production from a union plant to a nonunion facility.
