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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Boeing Gets $4B Helicopter Pact From Army
June 11, 2013 2:15 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsBoeing has received a $4 billion, multi-year contract from the Army for 177 CH-47F Chinook helicopters. The Army has options to buy up to an additional 38 helicopters. Deliveries are expected to start in 2015. The order will bring the Army's CH-47F inventory close to its goal of 464 aircraft, including 24 for replacements.
GM Stock Sale Brings Government $3.2B This Year
June 11, 2013 2:13 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsThe U.S. government has sold $3.2 billion worth of General Motors stock so far this year. The Treasury Department says in its monthly report to Congress that it sold $611.4 million worth of stock in May. That's on top of $1.64 billion worth of stock sold from January through April and another $1.03 billion from a public offering last week.
GA Company To Set Up Shingle ME Plant
June 11, 2013 2:11 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsA Georgia-based company that manufactures cedar shingles is planning to locate a manufacturing plant in northern Maine that will create 78 new jobs. Gov. Paul LePage and Bryan Kirkey, CEO of Ecoshel, announced Tuesday that the shingle plant will be located at the former Levesque sawmill in Ashland.
Vermont Gas: Expansion Means New Jobs
June 11, 2013 2:09 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsVermont's only natural gas company says its expansion through Addison County will mean the addition of 14 jobs in the company. Vermont Gas has asked regulators for permission to expand its footprint from Chittenden and Franklin counties in northwestern Vermont south through Addison County.
Boeing: World Air Fleet To Double In 20 Years
June 11, 2013 10:11 am | by Lori Hinnant, Associated Press | CommentsBoeing predicted that the number of commercial aircraft in operation globally will double in the next two decades, with the bulk of some 35,000 new planes going to Asia, an executive from the US airplane-maker said Tuesday. Randy Tinseth, vice-president of marketing for Boeing Co., said rising oil prices are forcing carriers to think harder about efficiency, and that means smaller planes that burn less fuel.
Officials Wait To Judge Apple 'Kill Switch'
June 11, 2013 10:09 am | by Terry Collins, Associated Press | CommentsThe top prosecutors in San Francisco and New York, seeking ways to curb thefts of mobile devices, said Monday they will reserve judgment of Apple's new security feature designed to make it harder to reactivate a stolen iPhone. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman have been asking the leading wireless device makers to create a "kill switch" that would render stolen phones useless.
Last Engineer Let Go At Idaho Hoku Plant
June 11, 2013 10:07 am | by The Associated Press | CommentsAn estimated $400 million polysilicon plant in eastern Idaho now has only eight workers, all security guards, after its last engineer exited last month amid dwindling hopes the facility will ever produce materials for solar panels. Hoku Scientific Inc., based in Hawaii, started building the plant in Pocatello about five years ago, as interest in solar energy grew and polysilicon prices rose.
Brazil Gov't To Perform Crash Tests After AP Report
June 11, 2013 10:04 am | by Bradley Brooks, Associated Press | CommentsAfter a decade of spiking fatalities from passenger car wrecks, the Brazilian government said Monday it plans to build its first auto crash test facility in an effort to improve the poor safety record of vehicles built and sold in the world's fourth-largest automobile market.
Judge Sides With GM, Dismisses Spyker Lawsuit
June 11, 2013 10:03 am | by Dee-Ann Durbin, AP Auto Writer | CommentsA federal judge on Monday dismissed a $3 billion lawsuit filed by Dutch car maker Spyker against General Motors Co. Spyker sued GM last August, accusing it of unfairly blocking a deal to let a Chinese buyer take over Swedish carmaker Saab. GM sold Saab to Spyker in 2010. Saab filed for bankruptcy protection less than a year later after GM blocked its sale to a Chinese automaker.
Jeep Returns To OH Factory Site 70 Years Later
June 11, 2013 10:02 am | by Tyrel Linkhorn, The Blade | CommentsAfter spending the last seven decades in Italy, a World War II-era Jeep returned home to Toledo last week, 70 years to the day after it rolled off the production line. Vittorio Argento, an Italian radio journalist and military vehicle enthusiast, shipped the carefully restored vehicle across the Atlantic Ocean, then drove it from New Jersey to Toledo, where he parked in the shadow of a Willys-Overland smokestack.
Stripped-Down Harley Rebounds From Recession
June 10, 2013 2:33 pm | by M.L. Johnson, Associated Press | CommentsSome motorcycle enthusiasts feared Keith Wandell might be the outsider who drove Harley-Davidson into the ground. Instead, he may be remembered as the guy who kept the motorcycle maker on the road. Wandell grabbed the handlebars at the motorcycle maker in the heart of the economic crisis in 2009. Harley lost $55 million that year, as buying a motorcycle stopped being an option for many consumers.
Next Phase For MN Ford Plant: Demo
June 10, 2013 2:31 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsThe nearly century-long history of the Ford Motor Co. plant in St. Paul will soon be erased. Demolition starts Monday and is expected to last into next year. Decommissioning has already been underway for some time, with equipment being shipped to other Ford sites or recycled.
Exide Files For Bankruptcy Protection
June 10, 2013 2:29 pm | by Tom Murphy, AP Business Writer | CommentsBattery maker Exide Technologies is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it attempts to restructure its U.S. business and strengthen its balance sheet. The Milton, Ga., company said its international operations are excluded from the filing, which it made Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.
Chrysler Recalls 15,000 Darts, Engines Can Stall
June 10, 2013 2:28 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsChrysler says it's recalling about 15,000 Dodge Dart compact cars worldwide because they could stall in cold temperatures. The recall affects 2013 model year cars with 1.4-liter four-cylinder engines and dual-clutch automatic transmissions.
Obama Observes 50th Anniversary Of Equal Pay Act
June 10, 2013 2:27 pm | by Jim Kuhnhenn, Associated Press | CommentsPresident Barack Obama says that 50 years after enactment of the Equal Pay Act, the nation still faces gender wage disparities that must be fixed. "This is the 21st century," he declared. "It's time to close that gap." Obama raised the issue while observing the anniversary of the law signed by President John F. Kennedy in 1963.
