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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Speed To Market 2013
January 30, 2013 8:00 am | by Steve Helfer, General Manager, Clinkenbeard, Rockford, IL | Articles | CommentsChallenges are ever increasing with global markets. Customers are expecting quicker response times on the solutions they seek. Companies are impacted by forces from all directions, but it all comes down to execution: if you don’t execute you will not win the market or launch the product. Execution is stopped by distractions from your core business and your business core processes; none of these distractions are new.
China Levies Anti-Dumping Tax On U.S., EU Chemicals
January 28, 2013 2:00 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsChina says it will impose anti-dumping duties on two chemicals from the United States and European Union for five years. The Ministry of Commerce said it ruled that U.S. and EU companies have been selling the chemicals at unfairly low prices, hurting China's domestic industry.
Cisco CEO: Canada Is Best For Business
January 25, 2013 12:00 pm | by CNN Money | Videos | CommentsAt the World Economic Forum, Cisco CEO John Chambers says it is easier to do business in Canada and Russia than in the U.S. He says that other countries "get" how important it is to attract business, favorable tax policy, and working together with businesses to achieve goals. He also says that, right now, the U.S. is not country that attracts business.
Survey: China Manufacturing Hits 2-Year High
January 25, 2013 10:04 am | by Kelvin Chan, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsChina's manufacturing crept higher in January to the fastest pace in two years, a survey showed Thursday, in another sign the world's second-biggest economy is coming out of a downturn. A preliminary version of HSBC's monthly purchasing managers' index rose for the fifth month in a row to 51.9 in January from 51.5 in December. Readings above 50 on the 100-point scale indicate an expansion.
Opel May Move Up End Of German Plant Production
January 22, 2013 2:07 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsGeneral Motors Co. is pressing employees in Germany to agree on a turnaround plan for its struggling European unit, warning if there is no deal it would end car production at one of its German plants two years earlier than planned. Opel announced last month it plans to stop producing cars at the plant in Bochum at the end of 2016 when it stops making its current Zafira model.
Is Labor Productivity The No. 1 Factor For Global Competiveness?
January 22, 2013 8:00 am | by Simon Macpherson, Senior Director Operations, Kronos EMEA | Blogs | CommentsIt’s been my long-held belief that no matter what we automate in manufacturing, or how flexible and effective a supply chain we develop, it’s how we manage the people in the business that will make the difference between good and world class. When it comes to managing the workforce, very few industries are under more pressure than manufacturing.
Over 140 Nations Adopt Treaty To Cut Mercury
January 21, 2013 10:07 am | by John Heilprin, Associated Press | News | CommentsA new and legally binding international treaty to reduce harmful emissions of mercury was adopted Saturday by more than 140 nations, capping four years of difficult negotiations but stopping short of some of the tougher measures that proponents had envisioned.
China's Growth Rebounds But Still Vulnerable
January 18, 2013 10:14 am | by Joe McDonald, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsChina's economy is finally rebounding from its deepest slump since the 2008 global crisis but the shaky recovery could be vulnerable to a new downturn in global trade. Growth rose to 7.9 percent in the three months ending in December, up from the previous quarter's 7.4 percent data showed Friday.
Denso Plans $1B North American Investment
January 15, 2013 2:20 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsAuto parts supplier Denso Corp. plans to invest nearly $1 billion in North America over the next four years and add more than 2,000 jobs as it works to localize its operations. The investment from the Japanese company was announced Tuesday during press previews for the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Jeep Manufacturing To Expand To China
January 15, 2013 2:18 pm | by David Runk, Associated Press | News | CommentsFiat, Chrysler and a Chinese automaker have signed an agreement to expand manufacturing in China and produce the Jeep for sale in that market. The companies said the agreement was signed at Chrysler Group LLC's headquarters in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills.
Eurozone Industrial Output Down For 3rd Month
January 14, 2013 10:20 am | by Pan Pylas, Associated Press | News | CommentsIndustrial output across the 17 European Union countries that use the euro fell in November for the third straight month, official figures showed Monday, raising fears that the recession in the region has continued into the last three months of 2012.
Apple CEO: China Will Be Biggest Market
January 11, 2013 2:14 pm | by Joe McDonald, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsApple expects China to overtake the United States as its biggest market, CEO Tim Cook told a Chinese government news agency. "China is currently our second largest market. I believe it will become our first. I believe strongly that it will," the Xinhua News Agency quoted Cook as saying in an interview.
China Trade Rebounds In Sign Of Economic Recovery
January 10, 2013 1:51 pm | by Joe McDonald, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsChina's trade growth rebounded strongly in December in a positive sign for the gradual and still uncertain recovery of the world's second-largest economy. Export growth more than quadrupled from the previous month to 14.1 percent while imports — which failed to grow at all in November — rose 6 percent in a sign of increasing domestic demand, data showed Thursday.
Yanmar To Build New Indonesia Plant
January 9, 2013 10:09 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsYanmar Co., a Japanese maker of agricultural equipment, engines and boats, said Wednesday it will build a new plant in Indonesia to produce diesel engine parts and other products. Yanmar said its move to set up the factory at an industrial complex in eastern Jakarta by investing roughly 7.5 billion yen is aimed at enhancing the company's cost competitiveness through overseas production.
Unemployment Risks Creating A New Divide In Europe
January 8, 2013 2:39 pm | by Don Melvin, Raf Casert, Associated Press | News | CommentsRecord unemployment and fraying social welfare systems in southern Europe risk creating a new divide in the continent, the EU warned Tuesday, when figures showed joblessness across the 17 EU countries that use the euro hit a new high. Eurozone unemployment rose to 11.8 percent in November, the highest since the euro currency was founded in 1999, according to the statistical agency Eurostat.
Nissan Chief Hopes For Better Japan-China Relations
January 2, 2013 10:10 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsNissan Motor Co. President and Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn expressed hope that the recent change in leadership in both Japan and China will bring about an improvement in strained bilateral economic relations and a recovery of auto sales in China.
The Real Cost Of That Pool Toy
January 2, 2013 8:01 am | by Laurie Keyser Brunner, President, MainStream Management LLC | Blogs | CommentsWhen we think about profitably manufacturing goods, China is at the top of the list, followed closely by Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. But, I am here to report that manufacturing in America is alive, if not exactly well. And, the best of U.S. manufacturers can compete with—and beat—the cost of overseas production.
Foxconn Invests $200M In U.S. Camera Maker
December 21, 2012 9:45 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsHon Hai Precision Industry Co., the Taiwanese contract electronics manufacturer known as Foxconn, is buying an 8.88 percent stake in Woodman Labs Inc., the maker of the GoPro line of camcorders for surfing and other sports, for $200 million.
China To Overhaul Struggling Solar Panel Industry
December 20, 2012 2:16 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsChina's government says it will encourage mergers among producers of solar panels to strengthen an industry that has suffered huge losses due to excess production capacity and price-cutting wars. The announcement, which analysts have expected for months, comes as Beijing faces trade sanctions by the United States and possibly Europe over complaints its support for solar panel producers violates trade rules.
Reshoring 101: Right-Sizing U.S. Manufacturing, Part 2
December 19, 2012 8:05 am | by Tim Hutzel, Managing Director & Researcher, MainStream Management LLC, & Dave Lippert, President, Hamilton Caster & Manufacturing Co. | Blogs | CommentsThe companies that sent their manufacturing to foreign countries soon discovered there were frustrations and costs they never anticipated. They found that differences in language made communicating product specifications and manufacturing instructions to their offshored sources difficult. They learned that cultural differences made it difficult to motivate the foreign companies to respond quickly to their needs.
German Company Announces Alabama Plant
December 18, 2012 1:50 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsGerman auto supplier Rausch & Pausch is locating a plant in Auburn, Ala. that is expected to create 105 jobs within five years. Chairman Horst Pausch Sr. said the company based in North Bavaria, Germany, plans to have both its U.S. headquarters and a production facility in Auburn. The company produces solenoid valves, control blocks, and other auto parts.
Reshoring 101: Right-Sizing U.S. Manufacturing, Part 1
December 18, 2012 8:09 am | by Tim Hutzel, Managing Director & Researcher, MainStream Management LLC, & Dave Lippert, President, Hamilton Caster & Manufacturing Co. | Blogs | CommentsThe story of how the United States lost its place in manufacturing dominance and why jobs were shipped offshore is highly relevant for business executives, government leaders, and anyone interested in understanding their true impact on the country and what it will take to reestablish America’s prominence as a manufacturing leader.
Boeing Delivers First New Jet To Iraq In Decades
December 17, 2012 10:14 am | by Adam Schreck, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe first new Boeing Co. jetliner sold to Iraq in 30 years touched down in Baghdad on Saturday, signaling the country's determination to rebuild its economy after decades of war and sanctions. Iraq is eager to improve its creaky aviation industry, which lags far behind that of its energy-rich neighbors.
Hitachi Holds 1st Board Meeting In India
December 14, 2012 10:00 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsHitachi Ltd. on Thursday held a board of directors' meeting in the Indian capital New Delhi, the first time it has held such a meeting outside Japan since the company's founding in 1910. Holding the meeting in India indicates that Hitachi is planning a strategy targeting the promising market of 1.2 billion people.
China's Biggest Automaker To Build Thailand Factory
December 13, 2012 10:38 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThai agriculture conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group said Thursday it has agreed to set up a joint venture with China's largest automaker, SAIC Motor Corp., with the aim of opening an auto factory in Thailand in the next two years. The joint venture, under the name of CP Motor Holding Co., will facilitate Thailand's ambitious efforts to become the "Detroit of Asia," said Noppadon Chiaravanont.
