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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Brewery Worker Abuses Free Beer, Injures 4 In Car Accident
February 23, 2010 3:38 am | CommentsPORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — State Farm Insurance has sued Deschutes Brewery, saying it allowed an employee to drink too much free beer before he was involved in a traffic accident. The lawsuit filed Friday in Multnomah County Circuit Court seeks $230,000. It alleges the employee was told by a supervisor that workers were allowed one free beer at the end of a shift, but no one monitored how much the employee drank.
Kleen, O & G Sued For Safety Violations In Deadly Blast
February 23, 2010 3:37 am | by John Christoffersen, Associated Press Writer | CommentsNEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Two workers injured in a power plant explosion filed a lawsuit Monday alleging that proper safety procedures were not followed, and an attorney said that included live electricity running through the site, workers welding and a gas-fueled torch heater running when the blast happened.
Pediatricians Push For Better Choking Warnings On Food
February 22, 2010 4:02 am | by Lindsey Tanner, AP Medical Writer | CommentsCHICAGO (AP) — When 4-year-old Eric Stavros Adler choked to death on a piece of hot dog, his anguished mother never dreamed that the popular kids' food could be so dangerous. Some food makers including Oscar Mayer have warning labels about choking, but not nearly enough, says Joan Stavros Adler, Eric's mom.
High-Tech Waste Strangling 3rd World
February 22, 2010 3:59 am | by Jim Gomez and Rod McGuirk, Associated Press Writers | CommentsBALI, Indonesia (AP) — Sales of household electrical gadgets will boom across the developing world in the next decade, wreaking environmental havoc if there are no new strategies to deal with the discarded TVs, cell phones and computers, a U.N. report said Monday. The environmental and health hazards posed by the globe's mounting electronic waste are particularly urgent in developing countries, which are already dumping grounds for rich nations' high-tech trash, the U.
Del. Negotiates Pollution Deal At Specialty Steel Plant
February 22, 2010 3:53 am | CommentsCLAYMONT, Del. (AP) — Delaware officials say they are working on a new pollution control settlement for Evraz Claymont Steel. Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Collin O'Mara told lawmakers recently that company officials appear ready to make new investments to control metallic dust and other problems at the site.
Whitacre Earns $9 Million As GM CEO
February 22, 2010 3:44 am | by Dan Strumpf, AP Auto Writer | CommentsNEW YORK (AP) — General Motors Co. CEO Ed Whitacre will receive a salary of $1.7 million this year, plus stock awards that will bring his total pay package to $9 million at a later date, the automaker said Friday. In a surprise announcement, GM also said former CEO Fritz Henderson has been rehired as a consultant.
212 Jobs Lost In Ark. Air Conditioning Plant
February 22, 2010 3:27 am | CommentsFORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) — Officials say 212 workers are likely to lose their jobs by the end of the year at a Fort Smith plant that makes air conditioning systems, mostly for homes. Ingersoll Rand, the parent firm of Trane Residential Solutions, said Friday that some of the production at the Trane plant at Fort Smith will be moved to a plant in Lynn Haven, Fla.
Surviving The 1,000-Mile Commute
February 22, 2010 3:26 am | by Sharon Cohen, AP National Writer | CommentsJANESVILLE, Wis. (AP) — In the early dawn, after another week building cars, Michael Hanley leaves his job in Kansas. He quickly zips into Missouri, then heads up a ribbon of highway past grain silos and grazing deer, across the frozen fields of Iowa, over the Mississippi River and into the rolling hills of Wisconsin.
Turbine Maker Recalls 79 Workers At Pa. Plant
February 19, 2010 3:59 am | CommentsEBENSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Spanish wind turbine maker Gamesa has brought back 79 workers laid off from a western Pennsylvania plant in November. The company says it will also hire 50 more workers at its plant in Ebensburg, about 70 miles east of Pittsburgh. Company officials said in November that 141 people were laid off, including the 79 who have been recalled.
Is Wichita The Next Detroit?
February 19, 2010 3:50 am | by Molly McMillin, Associated Press Writer | CommentsWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita's business jetmakers sometimes think about Detroit. Not that many years ago, U.S. automakers weren't too concerned about emerging foreign competitors. Productivity was poor, costs were out of control, and they became complacent, said Cessna Aircraft CEO Jack Pelton.
Ind. Truck Part-Maker Shuttered, 225 Jobs Cut
February 19, 2010 3:35 am | CommentsELKHART, Ind. (AP) — A northern Indiana factory that makes truck parts is being shut down, with about 225 people to lose their jobs. Accuride Corp. spokeswoman Eva Schmitz says its Gunite Corp. factory in Elkhart will be closed by May 1. Its production will be moved to factories in Rockford, Ill.
Toyoda To Testify Before Congress Over Recalls
February 19, 2010 3:34 am | by Elaine Kurtenbach, ,AP Business Writer | CommentsTOKYO (AP) — Toyota's president Akio Toyoda, under fire for his handling of sweeping recalls, will testify before a congressional hearing next week, appealing to U.S. lawmakers and aggrieved customers for understanding while the company fixes its safety problems. Japanese officials praised the decision by Toyoda, grandson of the company's founder, to accept a formal invitation to explain the recalls and outline plans by the world's largest automaker to ensure safety and satisfy worried car buyers.
Exec Indicted In Price-Fixing, Bribery-Based Food Cartel
February 19, 2010 3:33 am | by Robin Hindery, Associated Press Writer | CommentsSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The former owner of a California food company was indicted Thursday in an alleged price-fixing plot that involved buyers for some of the nation's biggest food chains. A federal grand jury in Sacramento charged Frederick Scott Salyer with racketeering, wire fraud and obstruction of justice.
Eaton Suspends Production After Death
February 19, 2010 3:29 am | CommentsBELMOND, Iowa (AP) — The Eaton Corp. has suspended production at its plant in Belmond after a worker died on the job. Company officials say 51-year-old Doug Barkema, of Belmond, died in an accident at the plant Wednesday afternoon. Jason Smith, director of North American Automotives for Eaton, says production will not be restarted until officials determine what happened.
Worker Dies At Eaton's Belmond, Iowa Plant
February 18, 2010 3:33 am | CommentsBELMOND, Iowa (AP) — The Eaton Corp. says a worker has died on the job at its plant in Belmond in northern Iowa. Company spokeswoman Julie Habbouche says 51-year-old Doug Barkema, of Belmond, died in the accident on Wednesday. She says Barkema was a machine operator and had worked at the plant for 24 years.
