Globalization
FREE Email Newsletter
Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Silicon Valley At Front Line Of Global Cyber War
June 4, 2013 10:06 am | by Martha Mendoza, AP National Writer | News | CommentsChinese President Xi Jinping and American counterpart Barack Obama will talk cyber-security this week in California, but experts say the state's Silicon Valley and its signature high-tech firms should provide the front lines in the increasingly aggressive fight against overseas hackers.
Coca-Cola Opens Myanmar Bottling Plant
June 4, 2013 10:03 am | by Yadana Htun, Associated Press | News | CommentsCoca-Cola began bottling its famous soft drink in Myanmar on Tuesday as part of a planned five-year, $200 million investment after having no local production for more than 60 years. The company announced in a press release the ceremonial inauguration of its bottling plant in Hmawbi Township, a suburb of Yangon, the country's biggest city, with local partner Pinya Manufacturing Co.
Where Has All The Training Gone?
June 4, 2013 8:05 am | by Robert Allen and Kathleen Bellemare, Connecticut Spring & Stamping | Articles | CommentsTraining is extremely important to the future of manufacturing in the United States, yet in many states, it has fallen by the wayside. Training for skilled manufacturing positions has been hit by a perfect storm of budget cuts and the mistaken idea that all young workers should go to college.
7 Workers Arrested At Nike Subcontractor
June 3, 2013 1:52 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsCambodian police on Monday clashed with workers and arrested seven at a factory that makes clothing for the U.S. sportswear company Nike in the latest violence linked to a strike over salaries there, a union organizer said. Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia organizer Son Vanny said its members exchanged barrages of sticks and stones with members of a rival union opposing the strike.
Fire Kills 119 At China Poultry Plant
June 3, 2013 10:01 am | by Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press | News | CommentsFire raged through a poultry plant in northeastern China on Monday, trapping workers inside a cluttered slaughterhouse and killing at least 119 people, reports and officials said. Several dozen people also were hurt in the blaze in Jilin province's Mishazi township, which appeared to have been sparked by three early morning explosions, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Survey: China Manufacturing Shrank In May
June 3, 2013 9:53 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsChina's manufacturing shrank slightly last month, a report said Monday, adding to signs of an uncertain recovery in the world's second-biggest economy. HSBC's monthly purchasing managers' index fell to 49.2 in May. That's down from 50.4 in April. Readings below 50 indicate a contraction.
Global Joblessness To Hit 200M This Year
May 31, 2013 1:48 pm | by ReutersVideo | Videos | CommentsGlobal unemployment will hit 200 million this year, and declarations of intent to tackle the problem will mean nothing without action, says International Labor Organization director general Guy Ryder. And within the next five years, he suspects global joblessness to reach 215 million.
ArcelorMittal Sells Stake In Canada Unit For $1.1B
May 31, 2013 1:43 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, said Thursday that it has completed the sale of a 15 percent stake in one of its Canadian iron ore operations to an Asian-led consortium for $1.1 billion in cash. A group led by South Korean steelmaker POSCO and China Steel Corp. had entered into a joint venture that owns ArcelorMittal iron ore mining and infrastructure assets in Quebec. The deal was originally announced in January.
Estonia Eager To Teach World About Oil Shale
May 31, 2013 1:43 pm | by Gary Peach, Associated Press | News | CommentsHome to the creators of Skype and the first country to use online voting, Estonia relishes its image as a technological pioneer. But the tiny East European country's most far-reaching economic achievement could come from how it has learned to squeeze oil from a rock.
Eurozone Unemployment Heading For 20M
May 31, 2013 1:43 pm | by Pan Pylas, Associated Press | News | CommentsUnemployment across the 17 EU countries that use the euro hit another record high in April — and appears to be on course to hit 20 million this year in what would be another gloomy landmark for the currency bloc. Eurostat, the European Union's statistics office, said Friday that the unemployment rate rose to 12.2 percent in April from the previous record of 12.1 percent the month before.
Motorola: 1st U.S.-Assembled Smartphones Coming
May 30, 2013 2:21 pm | by Will Weissert, Associated Press | News | CommentsCellphone pioneer Motorola says it's opening a manufacturing facility that will produce the first smartphone ever assembled in the U.S. — its new flagship device, Moto X. The Texas site was once used by fellow phone manufacturer Nokia, meaning it was designed to produce mobile devices, said Will Moss, a spokesman for Motorola Mobility, which is owned by Google.
Inside Chinese Firm's Deal To Buy Smithfield Foods
May 30, 2013 12:06 pm | by CBS News | Videos | CommentsSmithfield Foods, the world's largest pork producer, is being bought by Shuanghui. The price: almost $5 billion. If approved, it will be the largest takeover of an American company by a Chinese buyer. This is the latest in a string of American companies being purchased by China. So why this company—and why now?
Brooks Expands Global Reach With New Middle East Sales Office
May 30, 2013 11:26 am | by Brooks Instrument | News | CommentsBrooks Instrument, a world-leading provider of advanced flow, pressure, vacuum, level and vapor delivery solutions, has opened a new sales office in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, to support its expanding customer base in the Middle East. The new facility, which officially opened March 9, offers the full line of Brooks products with a focus on thermal mass flow and variable area flow instrumentation.
OECD: Europe Remains Threat To World Economy
May 29, 2013 2:18 pm | by Greg Keller, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe recession in Europe risks hurting the world's economic recovery, a leading international body warned Wednesday. In its half-yearly update, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said that protracted economic weakness in Europe "could evolve into stagnation with negative implications for the global economy."
EU Greenhouse Gas Emissions Lowest To Date
May 29, 2013 2:14 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThe EU's environmental agency says the 27-nation bloc's greenhouse emissions in 2011 were the lowest since it began monitoring them in 1990. The European Environment Agency says greenhouse gas emissions dropped 3.3 percent compared to 2010, and were 18.4 percent below 1990 levels. It cited a milder winter in 2011 as the main reason for the drop.
Wind Tower Company To Employ 250 In SD
May 29, 2013 2:12 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsA Canada-based wind tower manufacturer that is setting up shop in the southeastern South Dakota city of Brandon says it hopes to start production this summer. Marmen Inc. is moving into a facility built by a U.S.-based wind tower company that never used it, and also expanding the plant.
China Factory Contraction Signals Fragile Recovery
May 29, 2013 1:47 pm | by Reuters | Videos | CommentsChina's economy, the third largest economy in the world, shows fresh signs of faltering, with an advance reading of manufacturing output shrinking for the first time in seven months. That may worry trading partners--but not its leaders.
Creating Better Jobs For Manufacturing’s Comeback
May 29, 2013 8:00 am | by Ray Attiyah, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer, Definity Partners | Articles | CommentsScan through the business section of the news, and you’re likely to see stories about the resurgence of U.S. manufacturing, about how companies are moving jobs back to the United States because of the rising cost of manufacturing in (and shipping to and from) China. Certainly good news for American manufacturers, but I would argue that this trend is not what the resurgence of U.S. manufacturing should be built on.
EU Looks To Small Business To Help Unemployment
May 28, 2013 1:29 pm | by Sarah DiLorenzo, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsEuropean leaders sounded the alarm on youth unemployment Tuesday and called for more help for businesses to help solve the problem that has left nearly one in four young people in Europe without a job. At a conference in Paris Tuesday, French, Italian and German ministers warned that if high youth unemployment is not addressed, young people will lose faith in their governments and the European Union.
N. Korea Relaxes Controls On Salaries
May 28, 2013 1:25 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsNorth Korea relaxed state control of salaries last month, a government economist said, outlining a change in policy intended to boost production by giving companies latitude to provide workers with financial incentives. Ri Ki Song, a professor at the Institute of Economics at North Korea's Academy of Social Sciences in Pyongyang, said enterprises are now allowed to use some of their earnings to pay workers more.
Germany: Merkel Vows To Avoid Trade War With China
May 28, 2013 1:22 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday she would use her country's economic clout to prevent the European Union from imposing punitive tariffs on some Chinese products to avoid a trade war. Germany will push for "very intense talks" between the EU and China to seek a negotiated solution as swiftly as possible, the leader of Europe's biggest economy told visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
Bridge Collapse A Major Break In Trade Corridor
May 28, 2013 10:17 am | by Donna Gordon Blankinship, Associated Press | News | CommentsFor farmers, business owners and government officials up and down the West Coast, Washington's bridge collapse on Interstate 5 represents much more than a close brush with tragedy. As much as $20 billion in freight travels to and from Canada and along the busy north-south corridor each year.
VW's German Workers Win Raises In Pay Deal
May 28, 2013 10:16 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsVolkswagen's German factory workers will get a two-stage raise under a new wage deal reached as the automaker grapples with slipping sales and profit. The company said Tuesday it agreed with the IG Metall union on increases of 3.4 percent from Sept. 1 and 2.2 percent from July 1 of next year through February 2015. The agreement covers 102,000 workers in six west German auto plants.
Trailblazing Israeli Electric Car Company To Close
May 28, 2013 10:09 am | by Jpsef Federman, Associated Press | News | CommentsIt was an audacious idea that came to symbolize Israel's self-described status as "Start-Up Nation," a company that believed it could replace most gasoline-powered cars with electric vehicles and reduce the world's reliance on oil — and all within a few years. But it all came crashing down.
British Firms Face Ethical Dilemmas In Bangladesh
May 24, 2013 2:14 pm | by NBC News | Videos | CommentsFor the first time, Tesco, one of the largest retailers in the world, opened the doors to its factory in Bangladesh. ITV News visited a production center said to be ethically run. It manufactures many of the 40 million garments made in Bangladesh every year for the supermarket giant Tesco.
