Manufacturing & Technology News articles from April 2007

Manufacturing & Technology News archives from April 2007

Productivity growth numbers are skewed by cost savings from offshore outsourcing.
April 16, 2007... The federal government's measure of productivity growth of the U.S. manufacturing sector during the past 15 years may be widely overstated due to outsourcing and the shift to offshore production of goods, according to a study from the Upjohn...

Specialty steel industry describes countless Chinese subsidies and their impact on capacity.(Industry overview)
April 16, 2007... The Chinese government is providing its stainless steel producers with "massive" subsidies, tax rebates, low-or no-interest loans, grants and various import restrictions to boost production to levels far beyond what can be consumed...

Manufacturers Alliance says multinational growth overseas is good for U.S.
April 16, 2007... Too many of the negative aspects of globalization and trade are being promulgated in the press, and the benefits of companies doing business in foreign markets are not often discussed, according to a recent report from the Manufacturers...

NIST hopes to fund Mfg. R&D.
April 16, 2007... The National Institute of Standards and Technology has issued a solicitation request for the Advanced Technology Program that includes a category described as "21st Century Manufacturing." NIST issued the RFP despite the White House Office of...

Measurement System is becoming a barrier to U.S. innovation.(Company overview)
April 16, 2007... U.S. industry might soon face a serious impediment to its innovative capacity due to a growing a lack of investment in a new generation of sophisticated measurement tools, according to a sweeping assessment of the United States Measurement...

Quotable.(Quotation)
April 16, 2007... "The creation of the Wright Flyer of 1903, the world's first airplane, is a story of a measurement barrier to technological innovation overcome. "The Wright Brothers had been vexed by the under-performance of a wing they had designed based...

MEP could get a shot in the arm.
April 16, 2007... Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is leading an effort to add $66.7 million to the annual budget of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership run by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. MEP received $104.7 million this year. The Bush...

Indian outsourcing firms are biggest users of tech visas.
April 16, 2007... The H-1B visa program aimed at allowing skilled immigrants to work in the technology industry is not working as intended and is leading to the direct loss of good jobs in the United States, says Ronil Hira of the Rochester Institute of...

Quotable.(Quotation)
April 16, 2007... "In practice, a company may lower costs by shifting to less productive but substantially lower-cost contract labor, and from the company's perspective output per worker hour would fall, but measured productivity... would rise. Such a case is...

Multifactor Productivity for all manufacturing & computer and electronic equipment, 1987-2004.
April 16, 2007... [GRAPHIC OMITTED]

House creates export control reform group.
April 16, 2007... A new congressional working group has been created to study and educate members of Congress and staff about the need to modernize U.S. export controls. The bipartisan group, headed by Reps. Don Manzullo (R-Ill.), Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) and Earl...

Anti fast track coalition elicits support from hundreds of groups.
April 16, 2007... Opponents of renewing Trade Promotion Authority (commonly known as Fast Track) are basing a good part of their argument on President Bush's low approval ratings. "The entire political agenda in this country is now focused on this...

States take stance against Fast Track.
April 16, 2007... State legislatures in Montana and Maine have voted in favor or resolutions calling on Congress to reject the current system of presidential control over negotiating free trade agreements. Another six states are said to be considering similar...

'Yea' for fast track industry coalition.
April 16, 2007... Some of the country's largest industrial trade associations have created a political advocacy group to press Congress to renew the president's authority to negotiate free trade agreements. The "Trade For America" coalition encompasses trade...

Bassett Furniture Industries.(PLANTS CLOSING IN THE U.S.)
April 16, 2007... Bassett Furniture Industries has announced that it will shut down its 323,000-square-foot wood manufacturing facility in Bassett, Va., and eliminate 280 jobs, or about 15 percent of the company's workforce. "Closing this plant has been the most...

Borg Warner.(PLANTS CLOSING IN THE U.S.)
April 16, 2007... Borg Warner has announced plans to close its Muncie, Indiana, four-wheel drivetrain transfer case plant and lay off 780 employees. Closing the plant is a means to "stabilize our business in North America" and will leave the company "stronger,...

Nanometrics Inc.(PLANTS CLOSING IN THE U.S.)
April 16, 2007... Nanometrics Inc., has announced plans to shift its manufacturing capability for metrology equipment from Concord, Mass., to South Korea. The company, traded on Nasdaq and with sales last year of $96 million, will produce its overlay metrology...

Renfro.(PLANTS CLOSING IN THE U.S.)
April 16, 2007... Renfro has announced plans to close its Riverside Drive sock factory in its hometown of Mount Airy, N.C., after 86 years of production. The company will lay off 102 workers, which is on top of the more than 700 workers it has laid off in Mount...

Russell Corp.(PLANTS CLOSING IN THE U.S.)
April 16, 2007... Russell Corp. has announced plans to close its Cross Creek apparel plant in Mount Airy, N.C., and lay off 300 workers by the end of August. The company says it cannot compete with imports from China.

Hitachi's Global Storage Technologies.(PLANTS CLOSING OVERSEAS)
April 16, 2007... Hitachi's Global Storage Technologies division has announced plans to lay off about 4,250 workers-11 percent of its workforce--by consolidating its hard disk drive plants into "mega" facilities in Asia. The company will close its Guadalajara,...

Zed Candy.(PLANTS CLOSING OVERSEAS)
April 16, 2007... Zed Candy has announced plans to close its manufacturing plant in Kilcock, Ireland, and move production to Dong Guan, China. The company will lay off 75 workers. "In recent years Zed Candy has struggled to maintain profitability in a very...

Honda.(PLANTS OPENING IN THE U.S.)
April 16, 2007... Honda has broken ground on a $550-million automobile assembly plant near Greensburg, Indiana, 50 miles southeast of Indianapolis. When finished next year, the facility on 1,700 acres will employ 2,000 workers producing 200,000 Honda Civic...

Toyota.(PLANTS OPENING IN THE U.S.)
April 16, 2007... Toyota has selected Tupelo, Miss., to be the site of its next U.S. production plant. The $1.3-billion factory will produce 150,000 of its popular Highlander sport utility vehicles. Toyota will hire 2,000 workers. "On my visits to northern...

Nifco.(PLANTS OPENING IN THE U.S.)
April 16, 2007... Nifco, one of Japan's largest makers of industrial plastic parts and components, has announced plans to open a new 43,000-square-foot plant in Shelbyville, Ky., and create 151 jobs. "It is our intent to install state-of-the-art manufacturing...

Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake LLC.(PLANTS OPENING IN THE U.S.)
April 16, 2007... Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake LLC has announced plans to consolidate its drum and air disc brake manufacturing operations in a new plant in Bowling Green, Ky. The company, formed in July 2004 as a venture of Bendix and Dana Corp., expects to...

TigerTurf.(PLANTS OPENING IN THE U.S.)
April 16, 2007... TigerTurf, an Auckland, New Zealand-based firm, has announced plans to build a new manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas, as a means to keep up with growing demand in the United States for synthetic grass athletic fields.

Trussway, Ltd.(PLANTS OPENING IN THE U.S.)
April 16, 2007... Trussway, Ltd., has announced plans to build a new plant in Clinton, N.C., to produce wood roof and floor trusses for home builders in North and South Carolina. The plant will employ 30 workers.

Intel.(PLANTS OPENING IN ASIA)
April 16, 2007... Intel has received approval from the Chinese government to build a $2.5-billion semiconductor fabrication plant in the northeastern coast city of Dalian. The plant will employ 1,700 workers and is expected to generate $15.4 billion a year in...

Caterpillar.(PLANTS OPENING IN ASIA)
April 16, 2007... Caterpillar has announced that it is moving its Asia-Pacific operations headquarters from Tokyo to Beijing. "Operational and sales success in China is a critical success factor for the company's long-term growth and profitability," said...

Genentech.(PLANTS OPENING IN ASIA)
April 16, 2007... Genentech is building a new $140-million plant in Singapore to produce a drug called Lucentis, which will be used to treat mascular degeneration, a main cause of blindness in the elderly. The new drug is considered a "biologic"--made from...

Micron Technology.(PLANTS OPENING IN ASIA)
April 16, 2007... Micron Technology of Boise, Idaho, has opened its first manufacturing facility in China, a $250-million, 180,000-square-foot plant that will employ 2,000 workers in Xi'an. The facility will assemble and test dynamic random access memory, NAND...

Pilkinton.(PLANTS OPENING IN ASIA)
April 16, 2007... Pilkinton, the British glass manufacturer, has announced plans to open a new plant in Achutapuram Mandal, India. The $150-million facility will produce laminated automobile windshields and, later, float glass for the building market. The plant...

INA Bearings.(PLANTS OPENING IN ASIA)
April 16, 2007... INA Bearings has opened an 18,000-square-meter, 40-million euro plant in Talegoan, India, for the production of precision products for the automotive and industrial sectors. The plant's 350 employees will make 40 million units of products...

Tata BlueScope Steel Ltd.(PLANTS OPENING IN ASIA)
April 16, 2007... Tata BlueScope Steel Ltd., a 50/50 joint venture between Australia's BlueScope Steel and India's Tata Steel, has opened a new steel building components and systems manufacturing plant at Sriperumbudur, Chennai, India. The plant's output of...

China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Co.(PLANTS OPENING IN ASIA)
April 16, 2007... China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Co. (CNHDTGC) has announced plans to build a $100-million truck manufacturing plant in Pakistan. The company will build vehicles to meet growing demand in Pakistan's oil, construction, food, logistics,...

Qimonda.(PLANTS OPENING IN ASIA)
April 16, 2007... Qimonda, a supplier of memory chips, has announced plans to build a new DRAM module manufacturing facility in Johor, Malaysia. The facility is expected to start producing chips in 2008 and will employ up to 3,000 workers.

Halliburton's Energy Services Group.(PLANTS OPENING IN MEXICO)
April 16, 2007... Halliburton's Energy Services Group has announced plans to open a new 9,290-square-meter manufacturing plant in Monterrey, Mexico. The facility will employ 50 people to produce oilfield equipment.

WorldSource Inc.(PLANTS OPENING IN MEXICO)
April 16, 2007... WorldSource Inc. has built a new manufacturing plant in Mexico that will make acoustic guitars. The company's Tubert International manufacturing division now has plants for musical instruments in Argentina, China and Mexico. Los Angeles-based...

Advanced Technology Services.(PLANTS OPENING IN MEXICO)
April 16, 2007... Advanced Technology Services (ATS) of Peoria, Ill., which provides companies with skilled factory workers and production equipment repair and maintenance services, has expanded operations to Monterrey, Mexico. "With more American-and...

BP Solar.(PLANT OPENING IN EUROPE)
April 16, 2007... BP Solar has started construction of a "mega" photovoltaic cell plant at its European headquarters in Tres Canto, Madrid, Spain. For phase one of the project, BP will increase annual cell capacity from 50 megawatts to 300 megawatts. The company...

Chinese researchers boost Motorola's innovation.
April 16, 2007... Motorola's research centers in China are providing the company with numerous technological and product breakthroughs, according to Motorola. The Motorola China R&D Institute "has demonstrated state-of-the-art technologies in software, hardware...

OMB creates earmark database.
April 16, 2007... The Office of Management and Budget has created a database of the 13,496 earmarks (totaling $19 billion) in the 2005 congressional appropriations bills. The database "establishes a clear and transparent benchmark from which to judge the...

Outsourcing IT grows in Mfg. sector.
April 16, 2007... Manufacturing companies are becoming more aggressive in outsourcing their back office information technology and business processes to India and China, according to a report from EquaTerra, a consulting firm specializing in outsourcing....

Steelworkers and employers combine forces in a new Washington trade association.
April 27, 2007... A new manufacturing trade association is up and running in Washington, D.C. The Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), a joint endeavor between steel companies and the Steelworkers Union hopes to help do its part to rebuild the U.S....

Virginia Tech shooting hits close to home: 'we will prevail'.
April 27, 2007... On Thursday afternoon April 19, three days after the shootings at Virginia Tech, my wife and I put our dog in the car and headed south to visit our son, a senior engineering major at the university. As we drove four hours from Washington, D.C.,...

A federal effort to measure U.S. innovation is timely.
April 27, 2007... In August of 2006, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez announced that he was convening a panel of business leaders and academics to assess how best to measure innovation in the U.S. economy. This advisory group, whose first meeting was held in...

Seventy-eight members of House join manufacturing caucus.
April 27, 2007... The four-year-old House of Representatives' Manufacturing Caucus has attracted 78 members from across the political spectrum, with 36 republicans and 42 democrats participating. It is being chaired by Reps. Don Manzullo (R-Ill.) and Tim Ryan...

Cato says trade deficit is a reflection of economic vibrancy.
April 27, 2007... The U.S. trade deficit last year of $836 billion is widely considered to be a drag on economic growth, but there is no evidence to prove that assumption, according to the Cato Institute's Center for Trade Policy Studies. "The consensus on trade...

High-speed rail: sometimes the French get it right.
April 27, 2007... Analysis of the French election paints France as the new Sick Man of Europe. This is the indictment: taxes are too high; the bureaucracy is too powerful; the trade unions are too influential; and the immigrant population is too separate,...

Stop criticizing the WTO, says Council on Foreign Relations.
April 27, 2007... The United States has benefited from the World Trade Organization, and it is "reckless" for members of Congress and others to criticize the "fragile" organization, says a study from the Council on Foreign Relations. The WTO's dispute settlement...

Our heroes.
April 27, 2007... Manufacturing & Technology News editor Richard McCormack was in Elgin, Ill., this week, giving a speech at the Manufacturers' Resource Conference at the Elgin Community College sponsored by the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce. He passed out...

Letter to editor.(Editorial)
April 27, 2007... Ross Perot said if we open up trade like we have done that you would hear a "giant sucking sound," and that's what's taking place. For some reason, both political parties are for trading with these countries when they know the only people to...

Challenger's suggestions for nervous job holders.
April 27, 2007... The Citibank announcement of 17,000 job cuts on April 11 is the largest single job-cut announcement outside of the automotive industry since 2005, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the outplacement firm. With the Citibank job cuts, the...

Modest growth in tech jobs.
April 27, 2007... The United States high-tech industry is slowly coming out of its slump. The country added 150,000 new jobs in the high-tech sector in 2006, up from 87,000 new jobs created in 2005. But only 5,100 of the new tech jobs created last year were in...

NIST: first authorization since '92.
April 27, 2007... The House Science Committee has done something that it hasn't done since 1992: it has passed an authorization for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The "Technology Innovation and Manufacturing Stimulation Act of 2007"...

Joint Strike Fighter program office is going lean.
April 27, 2007... The U.S. Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program office is the latest Defense Department organization to jump on the lean path. Lockheed Martin is leading a team of five major defense contractors including Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, General...

Subprime loans could plague auto industry.
April 27, 2007... U.S. automobile dealerships might be headed for some financial trouble caused by sub-prime loans made to financially risky buyers. Last year, auto dealerships initiated almost $50 billion in sub-prime new vehicle loans, according to J.D. Power...

U.S. companies lead world in R&D spending.
April 27, 2007... The 2,000 largest companies in the world conducting research and development increased their investment in R&D by 7 percent in 2005 to $471 billion, according to the European Union's Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard. The average growth...