Manufacturing & Technology News articles from July 2006

Manufacturing & Technology News archives from July 2006

Reverse auctions are found to be unethical.
July 7, 2006... Large manufacturing companies are using "coercion" to force their incumbent suppliers to participate in reverse auctions, according to research conducted by Bob Emiliani of the Central Connecticut State University. Reverse auctions "are...

Domestic manufacturers force NAM's big members to take a stand on China.
July 7, 2006... The simmering conflict within the National Association of Manufacturers between smaller domestic manufacturers and large multinational companies with production throughout the world and especially in China came to a head during a two-hour...

Foreign investment is on steady rise.
July 7, 2006... Foreign direct investment (FDI) into OECD countries jumped 27 percent last year to reach $622 billion, up from $491 billion in 2004 and $465 billion in 2003, according to OECD. "These are the highest inflows since 2001 and the near-term...

Slowdown of SUV sales hurts metal powder industry.
July 7, 2006... The U.S. metal powder industry has stopped growing and is headed backward, according to the Metal Powder Industries Federation. Last year, the North American industry experienced a decline in sales, due in large part to the Big Three's loss of...

China seeks self sufficiency in heavy machinery.
July 7, 2006... China wants to become self sufficient in heavy manufacturing equipment, according to the country's Vice Premier, Zeng Peiyan. China will launch a "major equipment manufacturing" program aimed at improving the country's ability to design,...

India sees manufacturing as a 'sponge' to absorb people from agriculture.
July 7, 2006... The Indian government, proclaiming 2006-2015 to be the country's "Decade of Manufacturing," has outlined a strategy for speeding up the sector's growth to an average yearly rate of 12-14 percent over the period, nearly double the 7 percent per...

Energy department issues PV solicitation.
July 7, 2006... The Department of Energy has announced the solicitation for bids for research to reduce the cost of photovoltaics. The department will spend 170 million over three years for cost-shared, public-private partnerships part of its "Solar America...

China: a Reagan--Russia role reversal.(Commentary)
July 7, 2006... Many credit America's victory in the Cold War to the Reagan administration's military buildup: The United States raised the tempo of the arms race and the Soviet Union spent itself into bankruptcy trying to stay in the game. Elements of...

GAO says DOD should scale back on F22A.
July 7, 2006... The Department of Defense has not demonstrated "the need or value for making further investments" in the F-22A fighter aircraft, according to an audit by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The Air Force says it needs 381 F-22As to...

Flextronics.(New (And Old) Plants)
July 7, 2006... Flextronics is investing heavily in India. The company plans on hiring between 1,500 and 2,000 employees at a new plant on 250 acres in Chennai. It will invest up to $100 million in the facility over the first five years, and expects annual...

Bristol-Myers Squibb.(New (And Old) Plants)
July 7, 2006... Bristol-Myers Squibb has chosen the Fort Devens site 35 miles northwest of Boston to build a new $660-million biotechnology plant. The facility will employ at least 350 people and up to 550 people. Massachusetts has pledged to make $34 million...

Sanmina-SCI.(New (And Old) Plants)
July 7, 2006... Sanmina-SCI has opened a new 32,237 square meter factory in Guadalajara, Mexico. The plant will make electronic enclosures to be sold to the company's nearby customers.

Kohler.(New (And Old) Plants)
July 7, 2006... U.S. bathroom components manufacturer Kohler is opening a new plant in India that will provide employment to at least 4,000 people, according to a statement from the Indian government. The facility will make vitrified tiles in Jagadia, India....

Pfizer.(New (And Old) Plants)
July 7, 2006... Pfizer has announced plans to stop manufacturing at its Groton, Conn., plant and lay off as many as 300 workers. "Given what's happened at Pfizer over the last few years with eliminating most of the manufacturing, it wasn't a great big shock,"...

Belden CTD.(New (And Old) Plants)
July 7, 2006... St. Louis-based Belden CTD will close its cable manufacturing plant in Fort Hill, Ky., and move production to a new factory in Mexico. The plant will begin phasing out employees later this year and will close by the end of 2007.

Commerce department report on offshore outsourcing finally sees the light of day.
July 24, 2006... After nearly two years, Manufacturing & Technology News has obtained a copy of the elusive Commerce Department report on offshore outsourcing of high tech jobs in the information technology, semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries. The...

Competitiveness takes back seat to political pork.
July 24, 2006... If competitiveness is in the eye of the beholder, then Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) sees a lot more of it--$20 million more, in fact--in biomedical research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) than he does in the entire Advanced...

Feds spend big bucks on professional services.
July 24, 2006... The market for providing professional services to the federal government is growing at a rapid rate, increasing from $102 billion in 1995 to $167 billion in 2004, according to an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies...

Sandia labs' contract with sharp raises questions about tech. transfer program.('Who Does The Government Work For? Sharp?')
July 24, 2006... A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) signed by Sandia National Laboratories and Sharp Corp. of Japan to develop advanced photovoltaics and fuel cells is raising concern about whether U.S. taxpayers are supporting a Japanese...

Appropriations Committee Chairmen load NIST budget with pork for home states: Alabama and Mississippi.
July 24, 2006... Millions of dollars of pork barrel projects headed to Alabama this year from the National Institute of Standards and Technology's construction account will continue to receive funding next year if the Senate version of the Commerce, Justice &...

Small- to mid-sized manufacturers are not looking overseas for growth, according to survey.
July 24, 2006... Small- to mid-sized manufacturing companies are not taking advantage of burgeoning growth opportunities that exist in overseas markets, according to RSM McGladrey, the Minneapolis, Minn.-based accounting and tax firm. Only 26 percent of the...

Export controls reduce U.S. company sales to China by $10.7 billion.
July 24, 2006... During the first eight months of 2005, the U.S. government denied $10.7 billion worth of exports to China, according to Francis Record, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counter proliferation at the State Department. Total exports...

Small manufacturers make the case for an across-the-board 'surcharge' on imports.
July 24, 2006... The U.S. Business and Industry Council (USBIC) is calling upon the federal government to impose a temporary surcharge on imports as allowed under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, claiming the action would offer "America's only realistic...

Assistant U.S. trade rep says China should not feel threatened by increased trade litigation.
July 24, 2006... U.S. multinational companies that have established operations in China say a more muscular approach to China by the U.S. government could spark a trade war. It's better to use quiet, patient diplomacy in negotiating on issues related to China's...

Rail industry reduces costs, but investment risks are imminent.
July 24, 2006... The performance of the freight railroad industry has improved substantially over the past 20 years, but some shippers are still captive to high rates, according to an analysis by the Government Accountability Office. Railroad industry financial...

Most U.S. firms are not making money in China.
July 24, 2006... The majority of multinational companies that have opened operations in China are losing money there, according to research conducted by Usha Haley, director of the Global Business Center at the University of New Haven. Only about one-third of...