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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Boat Manufacturer Goes Global With Six Employees
May 17, 2010 4:41 am | by Susan Salisbury, AP Writer | CommentsSTUART, Fla. (AP) — If you've ever perched on the fiberglass platform that juts out from the back of a boat, it might have been made by Beachcomber Fiberglass Technology. The Stuart company, in business since 1978, builds those swim platforms and other ubiquitous items that are so much a part of boating and marinas that most people never think about their origins.
New Biomass Conundrum: Where To Get Biomass?
May 17, 2010 4:34 am | by Becky Kramer, AP Writer | CommentsKETTLE FALLS, Wash. (AP) — Roaring furnaces unleash the energy of wood at Avista Corp.'s Kettle Falls generating station. Chips and bark become white-hot ash as temperatures soar to 2,500 degrees inside the massive seven-story furnaces. The searing heat produces steam, which runs a turbine for electricity.
Explosion At Gun Manufacturer Caused By Single Machine
May 17, 2010 4:31 am | CommentsCOLEBROOK, N.H. (AP) — The investigation into a series of explosions at a gun and ammunition manufacturing plant in far northern New Hampshire that killed two people has led to one machine, the state's fire marshal said Saturday. Bill Degnan said that the investigation into Friday's explosions at the MDM Muzzleloader building has led to a machine in the manufacturing section of the plant.
GM Rides Expense Cuts, Strong Sales To Profitability
May 17, 2010 4:30 am | by Dee-Ann Durbin & Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writers | CommentsDETROIT (AP) — General Motors Co. rode expense cuts from its bankruptcy and strong sales of redesigned models to its first quarterly net income in nearly three years. The $865 million first-quarter profit is a dramatic reversal from the huge $6 billion loss in the same period last year. The last time the company made a quarterly profit was the second quarter of 2007, when it earned $891 million.
Building Solar Panels On The Strip
May 17, 2010 4:29 am | CommentsLAS VEGAS (AP) — A California company is planning to build a $20 million manufacturing plant for solar power cells in the Las Vegas area. The operation will employ about 278 workers, according to officials at Amonix Inc., which is based in Seal Beach, Calif. The plan was announced Saturday during a dedication ceremony in Henderson for a 308-kilowatt solar installation that the company sold to Southern Nevada Water Authority.
Navistar Turns Stimulus Cash Into Electric Trucks
May 14, 2010 4:48 am | CommentsWAKARUSA, Ind. (AP) — An Elkhart County assembly line has begun turning out Navistar e-Star electric trucks that can travel 100 miles on a single charge. Navistar says the all-electric eStar medium-duty commercial truck being turned out in Wakarusa has batteries can be replaced in about 20 minutes and recharged in six to eight hours.
China Releases American Engineer After 17 Months
May 14, 2010 4:41 am | Commentsby Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press Writer BEIJING (AP) — An American engineer held in China for more than a year on accusations he misused trade secrets has been released, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing said Friday. Hu Zhicheng remains in China but plans to return home soon. The embassy said he was released late last month, but did not have an exact date.
Toyota To Idle Thai Plant Over Political Unrest
May 14, 2010 4:37 am | CommentsTOKYO (AP) — Toyota said Friday it will halt production at one of its four auto plants in Thailand and transfer the workers to the other factories in a move the carmaker says is unrelated to political unrest in the Southeast Asian country. Toyota Motor Corp. spokesman Takanori Yokoi said decision to stop production at a Toyota factory on the outskirts of the Thai capital Bangkok was made in November last year.
Ohio Unlikely To Land $1 Billion Russian Steel Plant
May 14, 2010 4:30 am | CommentsCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The governor is acknowledging that hope has faded for a Russian steelmaking company's plans for a $1 billion steel mill in southern Ohio. Amanda Wurst, spokeswoman for Gov. Ted Strickland, said Thursday the state has not heard from Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works for some time.
The 'Clouds Are Breaking' On Manufacturing
May 14, 2010 4:28 am | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — Industrial production is growing more strongly, more evidence that manufacturing is helping to power the economic recovery. Output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities rose 0.6 percent in April, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. If they are right, that would mark an improvement from the 0.
The Great Neck Invests $1 Billion In S.C Plant
May 14, 2010 4:26 am | CommentsCOLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina is getting some big economic news with word of a New York-based paper products company spending up to $1 billion on a new plant. State Rep. Dan Cooper of Piedmont says Friday's announcement would be good news for Anderson County, which has a 12.5 percent unemployment rate.
EPA Moves To Regulate Industrial Greenhouse Gases
May 14, 2010 4:25 am | by Matthew Daly, Associated Press Writer | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency moved Thursday to more tightly control air pollution from large power plants, factories and oil refineries, a step to limit emissions widely blamed for global warming. The EPA said it is completing a rule requiring large polluters to reduce the amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that they release into the air.
Manufacturing Tech Consumption Up 33.7 Percent
May 13, 2010 10:52 am | CommentsMarch U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $258.00 million, according to AMTDA, the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association, and AMT — The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTC program, was up 58.
Ford Leads The Way For American Automakers
May 12, 2010 5:15 am | by Dee-Ann Durbin and Stephen Manning, AP Auto Writers | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — During the depths of the auto industry's collapse a year ago, Ford told shareholders at its annual meeting that they might have to wait until 2011 before the company started making money again. It turns out they didn't have to wait that long. Thanks to well-reviewed cars and trucks, aggressive cost-cutting and goodwill from consumers for avoiding a taxpayer bailout, Ford Motor Co.
'Green' Movement Hopes Oil Spill Will Spur Major Change
May 12, 2010 4:45 am | by Tamara Lush, Associated Press | CommentsVENICE, La. (AP) — In the weeks after an oil rig exploded and killed 11 men in the Gulf of Mexico, worried environmental groups scoured the water for oil plumes, set up animal triage centers and stretched boom across shorelines. Activists hope their involvement doesn't end there; maybe, they contend, this is the catalyst that America's green movement needs.
