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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
V-Vehicle 'Optimistic' About $320 Million Green-Car Loan
March 1, 2010 3:19 am | by Alan Sayre, AP Business Writer | CommentsNEW ORLEANS (AP) — A top official of V-Vehicle Co., which is planning to build a fuel-efficient vehicle in northeastern Louisiana, said Sunday that he is confident that the federal Energy Department will approve a $320 million loan — a key portion of the company's financing — by the end of March.
Miss. Town Waits, Hopes For Toyota Plant Revival
March 1, 2010 3:17 am | by Holbrook Mohr, Associated Press Writer | CommentsBLUE SPRINGS, Miss. (AP) — Terry McShan isn't thinking about car sales analyses or excess capacity when he drives by the idle Toyota plant in northeast Mississippi. He's thinking about his little girl. Like most Mississippians, the 46-year-old father of one grown daughter and a 4-year-old girl was thrilled when Toyota announced plans in 2007 to build a plant in Blue Springs, a one-store town in the north Mississippi hills.
Geneva Auto Show Spotlight Casts Long Shadows For 2010
March 1, 2010 3:15 am | by Colleen Barry, AP Business Writer | CommentsMILAN (AP) — For most of the world's automakers, the Geneva Auto Show will be back-to-business with new model rollouts to put the gotta-have-it gleam back in consumers' eyes. For Toyota, that won't be enough. "Toyota is still in the middle of its global recalls, and new problems keep showing up.
Ford Adding 700 Jobs At Ontario Plant
February 26, 2010 5:58 am | CommentsTORONTO — Ford's engine plant in Windsor, Ont., is expected to get more than 700 new jobs over five years. The Ontario government says it will contribute up to $81.2 million towards the plant, building on an earlier investment of $17 million that helped reopen the shuttered plant in 2008.
Bidders Snap Up Equipment In Chrysler Auction
February 26, 2010 4:29 am | CommentsNEWARK, Del. (AP) — Hundreds of bidders from across the country have snapped up machinery, tools and other equipment from the closed Newark Chrysler assembly plant. More than 300 potential bidders gathered Thursday in the auditorium at Clayton Hall on the University of Delaware's Laird Campus and another 250 others were participating via a webcast.
State Agencies Battle With EPA Over Mill's Colored Water
February 26, 2010 3:29 am | CommentsCANTON, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina's water regulators are sticking up for a big paper mill in a dispute with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Friday that the state Division of Water Quality says Evergreen Packaging's mill in Canton cannot meet EPA demands that the plant do more to stop turning the Pigeon River dark.
Sweater Factory Fire Kills 21 In Bangladesh
February 26, 2010 3:26 am | by Julhas Alam, Associated Press Writer | CommentsDHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A fire raced through a sweater factory near the Bangladeshi capital overnight, killing at least 21 people and injuring dozens more, police said Friday. All of the victims of Thursday night's fire, including 14 women, died of suffocation after they were pulled from the Garib & Garib Sweater Factory in Gazipur, district police Chief Moahammad Abdur Rashid said.
Toyota Likely To Miss Output Target By 20 Percent
February 26, 2010 3:22 am | CommentsTOKYO (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. is likely to miss its output target in North America by 20 percent due to slumping sales amid massive recalls, Japan's top business daily said Friday. Toyota's production in North America is now seen at 350,000 units from February to April, down by 20 percent from its original target, the Nikkei business daily said, citing no sources.
Ford Invests $155 Million In Fuel-Efficient V-6
February 26, 2010 3:21 am | CommentsBROOK PARK, Ohio (AP) — The Ford Motor Co. announced Friday that it is investing $155 million and adding 60 jobs at an engine plant in suburban Cleveland to build a fuel-efficient V-6 engine for the 2011 Mustang. The engine built at Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1, is expected to help the Mustang lead its class in fuel efficiency with 30 miles per gallon on the highway and 305 horsepower, the Dearborn, Mich.
Wal-Mart Pushes Suppliers To Drop Greenhouse Emissions
February 26, 2010 3:18 am | by Anne D'Innocenzio, AP Retail Writer | CommentsNEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. wants its suppliers to reduce 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions by the end of 2015. The world's largest retailer's push goes beyond its efforts to date to reduce its own emissions by designing more energy-efficient stores and pursuing alternative fuels for its fleet of trucks.
Dangerous 'Gas Blow' Caused 6 Deaths At Middletown Plant
February 26, 2010 3:17 am | by Stephanie Reitz, Associated Press Writer | CommentsMIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP) — An industrial practice that involved the widespread release of natural gas at a Connecticut power plant shortly before it exploded is "inherently unsafe," and should be curbed to prevent similar incidents, a federal safety investigator said Thursday. Six people were killed in the Feb.
Recalls Won't Derail Toyota's New Texas Plant
February 24, 2010 3:55 am | CommentsTEMPLE, Texas (AP) — Toyota's troubles will not keep a vehicle processing plant planned for Temple from being built. City and company officials say the project has been put on hold but that Toyota still intends to build the plantdespite its ongoing recall of more than 6 million vehicles.
Boeing To Reduce C-17 Production, Cut Jobs
February 24, 2010 3:52 am | CommentsLONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Boeing says it will reduce production of its C-17 military cargo planes by a third at its Long Beach plant. The Chicago-based company said Tuesday it does not know exactly how many jobs will be lost. The plant employs about 5,000 people, and produces 15 aircraft per year.
Pratt Lays Off Workers In Retaliation For Outsourcing Block
February 24, 2010 3:39 am | by Stephen Singer, AP Business Writer | CommentsHARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney delivered a blow to its unionized work force Tuesday, announcing it will lay off 163 employees and appeal a judge's decision blocking it from moving 1,000 jobs out of Connecticut. Just hours after announcing the planned layoffs at its Cheshire and East Hartford facilities, company president David Hess said Pratt & Whitney strongly disagreed with the federal court's ruling earlier this month and planned to file an appeal.
Jury Finds DuPont Liable For 2004 Leak
February 24, 2010 3:36 am | CommentsCOVINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A federal jury has found DuPont liable for a chemical leak that sickened and injured three people in northeastern Kentucky. The Daily Independent in Ashland reports that the jury awarded damages totaling just over $9,000 to Arthellia Bates, Phillip Justice and Janet Senters in the second trial stemming from the October 2004 leak at the company's Wurtland plant.
