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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Nuclear Weapons Plant To Improve Fire Safety
June 17, 2013 2:16 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsPantex, the country's only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly plant, has completed main construction on a $35M project that is designed to improve fire protection at the facility. The new construction comes after the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board raised safety concerns earlier this year.
Police: 1 Dead, 7 Hurt In 2nd LA Plant Blast
June 17, 2013 10:15 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsA second blast in two days has killed a worker at a south Louisiana chemical plant, just miles from the site where two workers were killed a day earlier. The latest explosion also injured seven people, some severely, State Police Trooper Jared Sandifer said late Friday.
Measuring The Impact: Quality Metrics And Manufacturing Intelligence
June 14, 2013 8:00 am | by Steve Wise, VP of Statistical Methods, InfinityQS Intl. | Articles | CommentsWhat if you could report to your board room that reducing scrap has increased your company’s profit by 10 percent? Or, what if you could show plant managers that exactly 15 defects occurred within a particular shift? Because quality affects every level of an organization — from the plant floor, to the C-suite, to the customer — it is far more than a cost of doing business; it is a game changer.
June 2013: Toshiba, Made In America
June 13, 2013 10:49 am | Digital Editions | CommentsIn this issue, check out the 2013 Jobs Report, which feature's American-made Toshiba HEV engines, veterans in today's skilled labor jobs, the latest industry numbers, how manufacturers can take back American-made, and more.
GM Tells Analysts It's Making Progress On Costs
June 12, 2013 1:39 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsGeneral Motors says it's making progress cutting costs to improve profit margins. The company's product development chief, Mary Barra, tells analysts GM is saving money by using the same parts on many vehicles. It also has moved parts suppliers closer to factories to cut shipping costs.
Glaxo Fires Worker Over Misrepresented Study Data
June 12, 2013 1:27 pm | News | CommentsBritish drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline PLC says it dismissed one employee and a second has resigned in the wake of a scandal over misrepresented data in a research paper published in 2010. The company says its investigation of recent allegations of questionable data has established that some information in the paper had been misrepresented.
EEOC Sues Over Criminal Background Checks
June 12, 2013 9:45 am | by Sam Hananel, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed lawsuits Tuesday against discount retailer Dollar General Corp. and a BMW manufacturing plant in South Carolina over their use of criminal background checks to screen out job applicants or fire employees.
Yamaha Expanding Vehicle Production In Georgia
June 12, 2013 9:39 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsOfficials at Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corp. say they've opened a second assembly plant in Newnan and will hire 100 employees to work on a new utility vehicle. The Japanese company also said this week that it has completed transferring all of its ATV production to the Coweta County plant south of Atlanta.
CAT Workers OK 6-Year Deal At Wis. Plant
June 12, 2013 9:36 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsUnion members have ratified a six-year labor contract at Caterpillar Inc.'s plant in South Milwaukee. The new contract freezes wages and pensions but includes a $4,000 signing bonus and shortens temporary layoffs. Caterpillar says the Peoria, Ill.-based company is pleased to have reached what it believes is "a fair, reasonable and comprehensive agreement."
Strong Tours Show ‘Em What You’re Made Of
June 12, 2013 8:05 am | by Cory Schaeffer, Co-Founder of Listen Technologies | Blogs | CommentsHumans are curious creatures. We like to see how things work, and we want to know what makes things tick — we have a deep-seated desire to make a connection with our environment by understanding the process of creation. That, in part, is what is so appealing about facility tours.
GM Stock Sale Brings Government $3.2B This Year
June 11, 2013 2:13 pm | by The Associated Press | News | 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.
Stripped-Down Harley Rebounds From Recession
June 10, 2013 2:33 pm | by M.L. Johnson, Associated Press | News | 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.
Exide Files For Bankruptcy Protection
June 10, 2013 2:29 pm | by Tom Murphy, AP Business Writer | News | 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.
GM CEO: Dividend, Share Buyback Possible
June 6, 2013 2:10 pm | by Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer | News | CommentsGeneral Motors CEO Dan Akerson says the company's finances are sound enough to consider paying a dividend or even buying more stock from the U.S. government. The CEO, in comments after GM's annual meeting Thursday, also said the company first has to keep investing in new vehicles and equipment.
Italy Appoints Administrator For Troubled Plant
June 5, 2013 10:03 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Italian government on Tuesday appointed a turnaround expert as administrator to oversee Europe's largest steel mill as part of an emergency decree to safeguard jobs while pushing ahead with an environmental cleanup at the plant linked to elevated cancer rates in the area.
Treasury To Sell 30M Shares Of GM Stock
June 5, 2013 9:57 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThe U.S. government is taking advantage of the recent run-up in General Motors stock to sell off another 30 million shares in the auto giant that it acquired in a bailout. The Treasury Department said Wednesday that it will sell the shares, plus another 20 million owned by a United Auto Workers retiree health care trust, in a public offering after the market closes Thursday.
Ex-Porsche CFO Found Guilty Of Fraud In VW Bid
June 4, 2013 10:13 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsPorsche's ex-finance chief has been convicted of fraud after a court found he provided false information during the German sports car marker's failed 2009 attempt to take over Volkswagen AG. Former Porsche CFO Holger Haerter was fined an unspecified amount after being found guilty Tuesday by a Stuttgart state court, the dpa news agency reported.
Italian Gov't Prepares To Take Over Ilva Steel Mill
June 4, 2013 10:08 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsItaly's industry minister says the government is preparing an emergency decree to temporarily take over Europe's largest steel mill, which is beset by environmental and corruption scandals. Flavio Zanonato said Tuesday that it had become clear that the cleanup of the plant cannot be conducted by those responsible for the environmental emergency.
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.
Dell Board Recommends Michael Dell Buyout Offer
May 31, 2013 2:35 pm | by Tom Murphy, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsThe Dell board is standing behind a buyout offer from the company's CEO and founder, and has asked shareholders of the slumping PC maker to approve the deal in a July 18 vote. The company's announcement Friday is the latest volley in a battle with prominent shareholders over the company's future and Michael Dell's role in it.
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?
France Won't Force Companies To Cap Executive Pay
May 24, 2013 2:12 pm | by Sarah DiLorenzo, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsThe French government is trying to woo executives and entrepreneurs, amid concerns that it has antagonized the businesses needed to reinvigorate the economy. Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici announced Friday that the government no longer plans to push for a law to cap executive salaries in the private sector.
Tesla Repays DOE Loan Nine Years Early
May 23, 2013 12:16 pm | by Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer | News | CommentsTesla Motors, which makes a highly acclaimed $70,000 electric car, has paid off a startup loan from the U.S. government nine years early. The Palo Alto, Calif., company said it wired in a $451.8 million payment to the government on Wednesday. The money, coupled with two prior payments, paid off a $465 million loan Tesla got from the Department of Energy loan in 2010 to foster development of advanced-technology vehicles.
Apple's Cook To Face Senate Questions On Taxes
May 21, 2013 10:12 am | by Marcy Gordon, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsA Senate panel says Apple Inc. is avoiding paying billions of dollars in U.S. taxes, but the world's most valuable company says it is complying with the laws and pays "an extraordinary amount" in taxes to the U.S. government. Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook is scheduled to testify Tuesday on Capitol Hill to explain the company's tax strategy.
Founder Of MI-Based PSI Passes Away At Age 79
May 20, 2013 11:35 am | by Phillips Service Industries, Inc. | News | CommentsPhillips Service Industries, Inc. (PSI), a privately-held global manufacturing and services holding company, has announced that its Founder and Chairman of the Board, William T. (Bill) Phillips, passed away after a hard-fought battle with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is also commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was 79-years-old, and a long-time resident of Northville, MI.
