Manufacturing & Technology News articles from October 2007

Manufacturing & Technology News archives from October 2007

Domestic manufacturers worry about loss of influence in NAM's policy-making process.
October 17, 2007... The National Association of Manufacturers has overhauled its policy-making process and is getting ready to analyze all of its current policy positions and create new ones in every area in which it works. It has created policy committees and...

Is manufacturing in the United States toast?
October 17, 2007... Since the 2000-2001 recession, manufacturing output has grown much more slowly than in any previous recovery, and even that growth might be over-estimated because government data do a poor job of capturing how much more foreign content there is...

Patent Office can't keep enough examiners.
October 17, 2007... The Patent and Trademark Office will have a difficult time whittling away at its patent application backlog because examiners are overworked and are leaving the agency, according to a survey of examiners conducted by the Government...

China has a long way to go in innovation.
October 17, 2007... China has a "long way to go" before it is able to capitalize on its substantial investment being made in science and technology, says the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). "China needs a better return on its...

More manufacturing companies default on their pensions.
October 17, 2007... The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is busy guaranteeing the pensions of workers at defunct manufacturing companies. More than 650 workers and retirees of Best Manufacturing Inc., a Jersey City, N.J.-based maker of uniforms,...

How much money does the Army need to refurbish its worn out weapons?
October 17, 2007... The U.S. Army is spending nearly $13 billion per year to refurbish and replace equipment being worn out in Iraq and Afghanistan, but that amount might be more than what is needed, says the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). "In general, CBO's...

GAO scolds EPA over toxic release disclosure.
October 17, 2007... The Environmental Protection Agency ignored the advice of the Government Accountability Office in 2005 to not change rules requiring companies to disclose the release of toxic chemicals, according to the GAO. Instead, EPA did not follow its own...

Quotable.(Quotation)
October 17, 2007... "If we're going to survive, the rubric is 'innovate, automate, or evaporate.' You can't believe the massive state-of-the-art manufacturing going into South Korea with $2-an-hour labor. Almost every existing industry will be ultimately captured...

Cato's study on U.S. Manufacturing suffers from fatal flaws.
October 17, 2007... On August 28, the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C., published a report, "Thriving in a Global Economy: The Truth about U.S. Manufacturing and Trade." The report confuses a company's offshored products with its import competition and wrongly...

DOD official states clearly the U.S. is not becoming dependent on China for parts.
October 17, 2007... The rise of China's industrial sector poses little threat to the Department of Defense and its supply chains for weapon systems, says William Greenwalt, Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Industrial Policy. "The DOD sees little defense...

DOE funds Bioenergy Centers.
October 17, 2007... The Department of Energy has invested $30 million in three new Bioenergy Research Centers, bringing its total investment in such centers to more than $400 million. DOE will fund new centers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, the...

Permanent Arctic ice isn't.
October 17, 2007... NASA scientists have found a 23 percent loss in the Arctic's thick, year-round sea ice during the past two winters. "This drastic reduction of perennial winter sea ice is the primary cause of this summer's fastest-ever sea ice retreat on record...

Greenies go after marine fleet.
October 17, 2007... A coalition of environmental advocates has filed a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), asking the agency to create new pollution rules for large, ocean-going cargo vessels and cruise ships. Earthjustice, Oceana, Friends of...

Housing decline hurting businesses.
October 17, 2007... Business bankruptcies in the United States are projected to increase by 51 percent this year, due to an economic slowdown, lower profits, high gas prices and an adjustment on behalf of business to the changes in the bankruptcy law enacted in...

Corrupt politicians don't last long in Washington.
October 17, 2007... Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has released its third annual report on the most corrupt members of Congress. The report, called "Beyond DeLay," notes that of the 25 members on last year's list, 10 are no longer in...

New additions to Superfund list.
October 17, 2007... The Environmental Protection Agency is adding seven hazardous waste sites to its list of "Superfund" sites. The sites contain arsenic, barium benzene, beryllium, cadmium, cesium-137, chromium, copper, lead, mercury and a dozen or more other...

Letter to the editor.(Letter to the editor)
October 17, 2007... I loved the interview with John Ratzenberger ("Made in America Show Host Wants Manufacturing On Political Agenda," MTN, Sept. 28, 2007), but of course, some statements are more of a rally cry than fact. What is the definition for American-made?...

Foreign purchases of U.S. companies.
October 17, 2007... The United States economy is being "hollowed out at a near record pace," with foreign firms spending $129 billion through August 2007 buying 785 U.S. companies, according to the group "Economy in Crisis. The numbers "are shocking," says the...

Washington, D.C. defense Mfg. group achieves 'critical mass'.
October 31, 2007... A Washington, D.C. interest group aimed at promoting defense manufacturing technology issues has attracted a robust group of enthusiastic participants. The National Defense Industry Association's Manufacturing Division is pursuing an agenda...

Small manufacturers must concentrate on global strategies.
October 31, 2007... Small- and medium-sized manufacturing companies in the United States are not doing a very good job of taking advantage of fast-growing overseas markets, according to RSM McGladrey. Companies that have a well-defined global strategy, which...

Surge of foreign acquisitions, M&As, keeps DOD busy.
October 31, 2007... The Department of Defense is busy analyzing foreign acquisitions of U.S. companies to determine if they pose security risks to the country. As a member of the federal Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), DOD reviews...

Pentair's implementation of lean should propel its stock price upward.
October 31, 2007... Pentair Corp., the diversified industrial manufacturing company based in Golden Valley, Minn., has crossed an "inflection point" due to its successful embrace of the lean management philosophy, according to Clifford Ransom, independent...

Energy Department puts $197 million into carbon sequestration demo projects.
October 31, 2007... The Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $197 million in contracts to three carbon sequestration projects that will test the capability of storing millions of tons of carbon dioxide in deep saline reservoirs located across the country....

Indian outsourcing firms face rupee challenge.
October 31, 2007... The continued strengthening of India's rupee is beginning to reduce the economic incentive to outsource services to India, according to Alan Rodger, a research analyst at the Butler Group. The rupee's rise of 12 percent against the dollar over...

DOD's top tech official tells secretary gates to boost R&D spending.
October 31, 2007... Reduced spending on research and development by the Department of Defense threatens the nation's future national security, warns the Pentagon's top research official. The Pentagon's budget increased by $42 billion for fiscal year 2008, but its...

TVA submits application to build nuclear plants.
October 31, 2007... The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the NuStart Energy consortium have submitted the second application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the construction and operation of two new Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear power plants. The...

Growth of China's trade surplus--wow.
October 31, 2007... China's manufacturing trade surplus with the entire world is growing at a phenomenally fast rate, from $31 billion in 2001 to $277 billion in 2006 and a projected $400 billion for 2007, according to data compiled by Charles McMillion, president...

The state of China, from its Communist Party leader.
October 31, 2007... The Communist Party of China was busy patting itself on its back for "holding high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics" over the past five years, said Chinese President Hu Juntao, general secretary of the Central...

Treasury official says China currency change won't impact imports.
October 31, 2007... A revalued Chinese yuan will not cause a significant reduction in the U.S. trade deficit with China, says Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs David McCormick. A higher value Chinese currency "will not provide a magic bullet for...

iNEMI heads to China.
October 31, 2007... The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) has opened an office in China as its "logical next step in our phased approach to globalizing iNEMI activities," says consortium chairman Nasser Grayeli, vice president of...