Manufacturing & Technology News articles from January 2008

Manufacturing & Technology News archives from January 2008

U.S. is virtually a non-player in the solar production business.
January 10, 2008... The United States invented photovoltaics--the direct conversion of sunlight to electricity--but its industry is falling far behind the rest of the world in production and in installations, according to the Earth Policy Institute. In 2006, U.S....

A new order settles upon the NAM.(Interview)
January 10, 2008... A large turnover in the staff at the National Association of Manufacturers has left many NAM old-timers questioning the organization's management and direction. As much as half of NAM's professional employees have departed since the arrival of...

Treasury: U.S. businesses lose due to an outdated tax system.
January 10, 2008... The current system of business taxation in the United States is making the country noncompetitive globally and needs to be overhauled, according to the U.S. Department of Treasury. A new tax system aimed at improving the global business...

AEA.(PEOPLE:)
January 10, 2008... The AEA, formerly the American Electronics Association, has a new president and CEO. Christopher Hansen, group executive officer at the American Association of Retired People, has been selected to succeed William Archey. At AARP, Hanson...

U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.(PEOPLE:)
January 10, 2008... Daniel Slane has been appointed to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission by House Minority Leader John Boehner. Slane is the founder and co-owner of the Slane Co., a diversified company involved in real estate development,...

Commerce Dept. committee: export controls on smart people in U.S. don't work.
January 10, 2008... The regulations that control the flow of militarily sensitive technical information from students studying in the United States to foreign governments doesn't work in the era of globalization, according to a committee created by the Department...

Truck Mfg. sector downturn hurts Modine.
January 10, 2008... The continued downturn in the U.S. commercial truck industry is going to force Modine Manufacturing Co. to close its high-cost production plants in the near future. "To respond to the underlying performance issues within the Original...

Timken continues growing China production.
January 10, 2008... Timken Co. of Canton, Ohio, has entered a joint venture with Xiangtan Electric Manufacturing Co., of China to build a $38-million plant in China to manufacture main shaft bearings for wind turbines. Timken will hold 80 percent of the venture,...

OSHA inspections up 4.3 percent in 2007.
January 10, 2008... The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was busy last year conducting inspections of workplaces. OSHA conducted 39,324 inspections during its fiscal year 2007, an increase of 4.3 percent over 2006. The agency cited 67,176...

Investment in measurements essential for semiconductors.
January 10, 2008... Investments made in measurement systems have provided huge benefits to the United States semiconductor industry. The $12.3 billion invested in advanced semiconductor measurement systems between 1996 and 2006 will result in economic gains of...

Mfg. jobs continue disappearing.
January 10, 2008... Exports are expected to increase by a healthy 19 percent during 2007, but that hasn't turned the situation around for manufacturing workers. The year ended on another down note for manufacturing employment, with job losses totaling 31,000 for...

Air Conditioning, Gas Appliance trade associations merge.
January 10, 2008... The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute has merged with the Gas Appliance Manufacturing Association to create a new Arlington, Va.-based organization called the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). "By coming...

MAPI: U.S. manufacturing is at a tipping point.
January 10, 2008... The U.S. manufacturing sector "is at the tipping point of a recession," according to the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI in its quarterly forecast. About half of all U.S. industries are already declining and MAPI's analysis projects that 14 of 24...

2008 calendar of manufacturing & technology events.(Calendar)
January 10, 2008... January 19 - 24 Photonics West, San Jose, Calif.: http://spie.org/photonics-west.xml?WT.mc_id=RCALENDARW. January 23 - 27 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Davos, Switzerland: http://www.weforum.org/en/index.htm. January 24 Micro...

Overhaul planned for Nuclear Bomb Agency.
January 10, 2008... National Nuclear Security Administration has issued a plan to overhaul the operations of its massive nuclear weapons R&D and production complex and reduce its nuclear stockpile of weapons by 50 percent. The plan calls for a reduction of its...

WTO rules in favor of U.S. on zeroing.
January 10, 2008... The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled in favor of the United States in a case Mexico brought against the U.S. with regard to the use of "zeroing" to determine anti-dumping duties. Zeroing is used by the Commerce Department to determine...

The economic state of the union--2008.
January 24, 2008... In just the past seven years, U.S. household debt almost doubled and federal debt soared by near two-thirds, rocketing by a combined $10.5 trillion. The total combined debt of households ($14.4 trillion) and the federal government ($9.2...

A stimulus to what? Delusions prevail in Washington.(FAREWELL TO SUPPLY-SIDE ECONOMICS)
January 24, 2008... With his tax rebate policy, President Bush has put economic policy back on a Keynesian basis. Will it work? During the two decades it was in effect, supply-side economics had restorative effects on the American economy. Its predecessor,...

Letter to the editor: reflections on GE's strategy.(Letter to the editor)
January 24, 2008... The lead line in the Nov. 30, 2007, Manufacturing & Technology News article about General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt--"A downturn in the U.S. economy shouldn't hurt General Electric"--raises questions about the destruction of the United States...

NAM hires workforce chief.
January 24, 2008... Emily DeRocco, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training, is jumping ship and has taken a job with the National Association of Manufacturers. DeRocco, the Bush administration's leading advocate for the creation of a skilled...

Manufacturers implored to look overseas for sales.
January 24, 2008... "Manufacturers adhering to old supply-chain rules are putting their businesses in jeopardy by not adapting to new rules" that have come about due to the "pressure of a globalizing economy," according to a report from the National Association of...

China deals with higher labor costs.
January 24, 2008... A new labor contract law that went into effect in China on January 1 could increase costs of manufacturing, according to a report from the AHN news service in Beijing, China. The 98-article law approved last June allows Chinese workers with...

MFG.com taps into venture wealth.
January 24, 2008... MFG.com, the Atlanta-based global online market for manufactured parts, has received $26 million in venture funding from Fidelity Ventures, Fidelity Asia Ventures and European Founders Fund. The money will be used by MFG.com to expand globally,...

Invest now in transportation network.
January 24, 2008... The United States faces a transportation investment crisis that must be reversed, otherwise the competitiveness of the nation is at stake, according to the final report from the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study...

Europe gives auto firms [CO.sub.2] break.
January 24, 2008... The European Parliament has voted in favor of a European automobile industry request to lengthen the time it is being provided to reduce carbon emissions from new automobiles. The so-called Competitive Automotive Regulatory System for the 21st...

Freelance TV reporter turns up the heat on multinationals.
January 24, 2008... A freelance investigative television reporter from Detroit has finished the first part of a series documenting the shift of U.S. industrial capability to China and Chinese infiltration of American universities. Vince Wade, who worked as a...

Japanese auto makers export more vehicles into U.S. market.
January 24, 2008... Japanese auto companies' purchases of parts from U.S. suppliers stagnated in 2006, according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA). After 21 years of steady growth, Japanese auto companies purchased $48.8 billion in parts...

SCHOTT AG.(NEW PLANTS IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... SCHOTT AG of Mainz, Germany, has announced plans to build a new solar energy factory south of Albuquerque, N.M. The $100-million, 200,000-square-foot plant will employ 350 people and produce photovoltaic modules and solar receiver lines. The...

Ausra Inc.(NEW PLANTS IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Ausra Inc. has announced plans to build a 130,000-square-foot manufacturing plant outside of Las Vegas, Nev., to build solar thermal power systems. The facility will produce reflectors, towers and absorber tubes needed to run solar thermal...

Spire Corp.(NEW PLANTS IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Spire Corp. has announced plans to add 53,000 square feet of manufacturing space to its solar equipment plant in Bedford, Mass. The additional space increases the company's manufacturing plant to 144,000 square feet. The company has almost...

Solaicx.(NEW PLANTS IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Solaicx, a maker of silicon wafers used for photovoltaics, has opened a new 136,000-square-foot plant in Portland, Ore. The facility will be able to produce more than 32 megawatts of PV cells per year and have 100 employees. At full capacity...

Spartan Chassis, Inc.(NEW PLANTS IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Spartan Chassis, Inc. has purchased two manufacturing facilities near its headquarters in Charlotte, Mich. The facilities, which total 200,000 square feet, will help Spartan meet increased demand from the Department of Defense to supply the...

Toho Tenax America.(NEW PLANTS IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Toho Tenax America has announced plans to invest $23 million in its Rockwood, Tenn., carbon fiber manufacturing facility. It is the second major investment in the Rockwood plant since Toho Tenax bought the Fortafil Fiber plant in 2004 from...

Toyota.(NEW PLANTS IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Toyota is quickly ramping up production in North America. The company produced 1,671,009 vehicles at its North American plants last year, up 8 percent from 2006, and an increase of 39 percent over the last five years. Toyota expects to increase...

Ag Growth Industries.(NEW PLANTS IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Ag Growth Industries plans to convert a 163,000-square-foot facility in Union City, Ind., into a manufacturing plant to build augers, conveyors and grain storage bins and handling equipment. The company will create more than 70 jobs by 2010....

Alexin LLC.(NEW PLANTS IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Alexin LLC, a start-up aluminum billet manufacturer, has announced plans to build a $56-million plant in Bluffton, Ind., and create more than 50 new jobs. The company will recycle scrap aluminum to make billet for extruders at the...

Siemens.(NEW PLANTS IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Siemens has opened a refurbished electric motor manufacturing facility in Norwood, Ohio, after making an investment of $30 million. The facility was originally built in 1898 and is one of Siemens oldest manufacturing facilities in the world....

ABP Induction.(NEW PLANTS IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... ABP Induction, a manufacturer of induction heating and melting furnace systems, has opened a 22,000-square-foot facility in Massillon, Ohio. The facility manufactures and remanufactures induction coil assemblies, including those made by its...

Hasbro Inc.(NEW PLANTS IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Hasbro Inc. has announced plans to invest up to $40 million in its plant in East Longmeadow, Mass. The company will buy new molding machines, high-speed assembly lines and new printing and dye cutting equipment. It will also lay off 200 of the...

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.(NEW PLANTS IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has announced plans to build an $11-million, 37,000-square-foot manufacturing plant for the production of single-use bioprocess containers in Logan, Utah. The single-use containers serve cell-culture applications...

HSAC Corp.(NEW PLANTS IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... HSAC Corp., an automotive supplier based in Gardena, Calif., has announced that it will relocate its manufacturing operations to Fort Wayne, Ind., creating 145 new jobs by 2011. The company, known as Hi-Shear Automotive, will invest $5 million...

SES Solar Inc.(NEW PLANTS IN EUROPE)
January 24, 2008... SES Solar Inc., based in Geneva, Switzerland, has secured $11.5 million in loans from the Geneva State Department of Energy and the Banque Cantonale de Geneve to finish construction of its first photovoltaics manufacturing plant in Switzerland....

SCHOTT AG.(NEW PLANTS IN EUROPE)
January 24, 2008... SCHOTT AG, has opened a new factory in Russia to produce flat glass for manufacturers of refrigerators and ovens in the Baltic states. The factory, located in Bor, near the city of Nizhny Novgorod, was built in a joint partnership with AGC Flat...

Hyundai Motors.(NEW PLANTS IN INDIA)
January 24, 2008... Hyundai Motors has announced plans to start manufacturing its premium 'i20' hatchback in India and export all of the production to overseas markets. Hyundai will start making the new car by the end of this year at its plant in Chennai, which is...

Volvo Bus Corp.(NEW PLANTS IN INDIA)
January 24, 2008... Volvo Bus Corp. has announced plans to build a big new bus body manufacturing plant in Hosakote, Bangalore, India. The $800-million facility is a joint venture with India's Jaico Automobiles and will have the capacity to build 1,000 busses per...

Mitsui Chemicals Group.(NEW PLANTS IN INDIA)
January 24, 2008... Mitsui Chemicals Group has announced plans to open a new manufacturing plant in India to manufacture polypropylene resins to be used by automakers for making bumpers, panels and pillars. The company has contracts with Honda and Suzuki and is in...

Samsung.(NEW PLANTS IN INDIA)
January 24, 2008... Samsung has opened its second manufacturing facility in Sriperumpudur near Chennai, India. The $100-million facility will produce 1.5-million color television sets per year and has initial employment of 350 workers. "We are also looking at...

Tata Motors.(NEW PLANTS IN INDIA)
January 24, 2008... Tata Motors has entered into a joint venture with Fiat to build a manufacturing plant in India worth more than 650 million euro. The factory will produce Fiat's premium "Grande Punto" and "Linea" automobiles, its 1.3-liter multijet diesel, and...

Sterling Jewelers.(NEW PLANTS IN INDIA)
January 24, 2008... Sterling Jewelers has opened a new manufacturing plant in Vishakhapatnam, India. The Akron, Ohio-based company's new plant will employ 114 workers in the manufacture of rough diamonds. The company is the largest specialty retail jeweler in the...

Omax Autos Ltd.(NEW PLANTS IN INDIA)
January 24, 2008... Omax Autos Ltd. is setting up a new manufacturing factory in India to supply chassis for light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles produced by Tata Motors. The facility, at Lucknow, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, will cost Rs 55 crore.

Gokaldas Exports.(NEW PLANTS IN INDIA)
January 24, 2008... Gokaldas Exports, a major Indian apparel manufacturer, has announced plans to build new manufacturing facilities in Hubli and Mangalore, India, with a combined production capacity of four million garments per year. The Bangalore-based company...

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.(NEW PLANTS IN ASIA & THE MIDDLE EAST)
January 24, 2008... Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has announced plans to spend $300 million to buy new machines for its tire factory in Taoyuan, Taiwan. The company, which exports 60 percent of its production from the plant mostly to Europe, is also searching for...

3M.(NEW PLANTS IN ASIA & THE MIDDLE EAST)
January 24, 2008... 3M will invest hundreds of millions of dollars in China over five years and double or triple its manufacturing capacity there. "China is a big piece of our growth strategy, because China obviously is becoming a real manufacturing powerhouse for...

Eastman Kodak.(NEW PLANTS IN ASIA & THE MIDDLE EAST)
January 24, 2008... Eastman Kodak has opened a new 226,042-square-foot digital printing plate manufacturing factory in Xiamen, China. The company is also creating a new technical applications group there to provide support to customers in China and the Asia...

Renewable Energy Corporation (REC).(NEW PLANTS IN ASIA & THE MIDDLE EAST)
January 24, 2008... Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) of Hovik, Norway, has completed a global site selection of 200 possible locations and decided to build a new solar manufacturing complex in Singapore. The factory will incorporate wafer, cell and module...

Abu Dhabi Basic Industries.(NEW PLANTS IN ASIA & THE MIDDLE EAST)
January 24, 2008... Abu Dhabi Basic Industries (ADBIC) has announced plans to invest up to $23 billion in new manufacturing projects, including aluminum smelters and petrochemical plants. The company will build a 700,000-ton-per-year aluminum smelter at a cost of...

Whitepath Fabtech.(NEW PLANT IN MEXICO)
January 24, 2008... Whitepath Fabtech, a supplier to the heating and cooling equipment industry, will open a Mexican production facility in order to supply its major customer, the Carrier Corporation, with control panels for HVAC systems. Whitepath has contracted...

Intermet Corp.(PLANTS CLOSING IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Intermet Corp. will shutter its Pulaski, Tenn., facility. The Fort Worth, Texas-based company, one of the world's biggest manufacturers of cast-metal automotive components, will lay off the staff of 105 workers. "The closing of Pulaski is in no...

Albany International Corp.(PLANTS CLOSING IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Albany International Corp. will close its fabric manufacturing facility in Montgomery, Ala., and lay off 90 employees. "This planned action is a business necessity, driven by existing and expected market conditions, and in no way reflects on...

Cavalier Homes, Inc.(PLANTS CLOSING IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Cavalier Homes, Inc. plans to "idle" its home manufacturing facility in Winfield, Ala. The decision reflects "our ongoing review of Cavalier's overall capacity in light of continuing market challenges in our HUD-code home manufacturing...

FreightCar America Inc.(PLANTS CLOSING IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... FreightCar America Inc. has announced plans to close its Johnstown, Penn., manufacturing plant and lay off almost 400 employees. The company said it would take a write off of $34 million to complete the restructuring. Production will continue...

Mueller Water Products, Inc.(PLANTS CLOSING IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Mueller Water Products, Inc. will close its ductile iron pipe manufacturing plant in Burlington, N.J., by February and lay of 180 employees. "To be globally competitive in our ductile iron pipe business, we must constantly strive to be the...

Pfizer Inc.(PLANTS CLOSING IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Pfizer Inc. will outsource as much as 30 percent of its manufacturing capacity, mostly to Asia, Martin MacKay, head of the company's R&D group said in a investor briefing in Hong Kong. The New York-based company currently outsources 15 percent...

Applied Materials.(PLANTS CLOSING IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Applied Materials plans to reduce its workforce by 7 percent, or by 1,000, mostly in its semiconductor equipment and services businesses. The workforce reduction is expected to result in savings of $150 million per year, but the company will...

Rolls-Royce.(PLANTS CLOSING IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Rolls-Royce has announced plans to lay off up to 2,300 managers, professionals and clerical staff in company facilities in the United States, UK, Germany, the Nordics "and other countries where the relevant functions are located," the company...

Clairant.(PLANTS CLOSING IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Clairant has announced plans to stop all manufacturing at its plant in Coventry, R.I., by the end of next year and move the work to Mexico and Germany. The Switzerland-based company says its North American headquarters for pigments and...

Ralcorp Holdings, Inc.(PLANTS CLOSING IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. will close its manufacturing facility in Billerica, Mass., and move production to Dotham, Ala. The plant produces oil roasted and dry roasted snack nuts. The closure will impact 90 employees.

Intermatic Inc.(PLANTS CLOSING IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Intermatic Inc. has announced plans to close its manufacturing plants in Spring Grove and Richmond, Ill. The family-owned maker of landscape lighting and energy control systems plans to lay off 400 workers due to low-priced competition, rising...

Ball Corp.(PLANTS CLOSING IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Ball Corp. will close its aerosol can manufacturing plants in Commerce, Calif., and Tallapoosa, Ga., and exit the custom and decorative tinplate can business. Ball makes custom and decorative tinplate cans in its facility in Baltimore, Md.,...

Alcatel.(PLANTS CLOSING IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Alcatel has announced plans to close its Columbus, Ohio, manufacturing plant and lay off 230 workers. The company purchased the East Broad Street facility in 2006 from Lucent Technologies. When Alcatel completed its purchase of Lucent last year...

Texas Instruments Inc.(PLANTS CLOSING IN THE UNITED STATES)
January 24, 2008... Texas Instruments Inc. it will consolidate its manufacturing operations in Tucson, Ariz., and eliminate about 300 jobs, half of its workforce in the area. The company will consolidate its Tucson manufacturing operation to Sherman, Texas.

Prestowitz: the dollar's continued fall could impoverish Americans.
January 24, 2008... There is going to have to be a massive swing in exports if the United States hopes to get back on track economically, says Clyde Prestowitz, president of the Economic Strategy Institute. "We are going to have to go the other way on trade," he...

U.S. carbon emissions decrease.
January 24, 2008... Both carbon and sulfur dioxide emissions are declining in the United States. In 2006, greenhouse gas emissions fell by 1.5 percent, due to more energy being generated by natural gas, the least carbon-intensive fossil fuel, higher energy prices...

Wastewater infrastructure needs $202 billion.
January 24, 2008... The United States needs to invest $202.5 billion nationwide to control wastewater pollution over the next 20 years, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The agency's national survey on the needs of publicly owned wastewater...

NASA will soon depend on Russia for Space travel.
January 24, 2008... When the Space Shuttle is retired in 2010, it will be at least five years before the United States has a replacement launch vehicle. During that time, the United States will rely on the Russian Soyuz launch vehicle to bring Americans, equipment...

R&D Alliance issues 14-Point plan.
January 24, 2008... The Alliance for Science and Technology Research In America (ASTRA) has issued a "14-Point Innovation Action Agenda" aimed at reinvigorating the United States economy. The United States faces a "transformed competitive landscape" that...

Dept. of Labor issues apprenticeship rules.
January 24, 2008... The Department of Labor has proposed new rules for a national apprenticeship program that will "set up a more flexible and user-friendly approach for apprentices and employers and make updates and changes affecting state apprenticeship agencies...