Manufacturing & Technology News articles from September 2003

Manufacturing & Technology News archives from September 2003

A seething political anger rises in America's industrial-heartland.
September 3, 2003... A host of grass-roots manufacturing lobbying associations is springing up across the country, driven by a growing sense of despair over small manufacturing companies' inability to compete with cheap imports and the sustained loss of large...

United States is low on list of ISO 9000 and 14000 certificates.(International Organization for Standardization)(Brief Article)
September 3, 2003... The ISO 9000 quality standard and 14001 environmental standard continued to grow vigorously throughout the world last year, although growth in the United States has slowed considerably, reports the International Organization of Standards (ISO)....

OMB wants uniform approach to regulatory peer reviews.(Office of Management and Budget)
September 3, 2003... The White House has proposed new rules on how scientific peer reviews are to be conducted by federal agencies proposing new regulations. "Existing agency peer review mechanisms have not always been sufficient to ensure the reliability of...

Semiconductor industry must look to emerging technologies for future growth.(Industry Overview)
September 3, 2003... The semiconductor industry must use its underlying technology and knowledge to help create new industries such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, fuel cells and microelectromechanical systems, says Randy Goodall, associate technical director at...

Hitachi, Matsushita endorse Chinese production strategy.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2003... Hitachi and Matsushita are in the process of shifting a large portion of their production of electronics and electrical components to China. Hitachi has decided to close down its hard disk drive storage manufacturing plant in San Jose, which it...

Manufacturers suffer most from mass layoffs.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2003... Manufacturing workers continue to account for a disproportionate share of layoffs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employers initiated 2,087 mass layoff events involving 226,435 employees in July, says the BLS. The manufacturing...

Senator asks Bush team to address defense 'offsets'.
September 3, 2003... Small- and medium-sized defense manufacturing companies in Connecticut have connected with Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd, asking why the federal government has allowed foreign purchasers of U.S. military equipment to require that parts and...

Retiring Sen. Fritz Hollings gives the country an earful: who is the 'enemy' of the U.S.?
September 3, 2003... Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-S.C.) announced his retirement from the U.S. Senate in August, but he will not depart next year without waging a stern fight for the future of manufacturing in the United States. Speaking both at his press conference...

Manufacturing wins a seat at Commerce Department: upcoming report could boost NIST mfg. programs.
September 3, 2003... President Bush has decided to create a new Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing at the Commerce Department. In a Labor Day speech in Ohio, Bush said: "I want you to understand that I understand that Ohio manufacturers are hurting, that there's...

Indiana to study loss of mfg.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2003... Indiana House Speaker Patrick Bauer has created a new panel of politicians, business executives and labor leaders to study the loss of tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs in the state. "Indiana has been hit hardest because we are--or maybe...

Wisconsin MEP is a good investment.(Manufacturing Extension Center )(Brief Article)
September 3, 2003... The Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Center generated $1.33 million in economic impact last year, according to customer surveys. Companies working with the center said they increased or retained $90 million in sales; invested $19 million in...

Fall calendar of conferences & interesting events.
September 3, 2003... September 8-10 World Nano-Economics Congress, Washington D.C., http://www.iirusa.com/nano/ index.cfm/link=37. September 8-10 Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center Research Review, http://www-bsac.eecs.berkeley.edu/iab/. September 8-11...

Manufacturing crisis exposes chinks in Republican armor.(Industry Overview)
September 17, 2003... The growing agitation felt by U.S. manufacturers getting hammered by cheap imports is beginning to express itself politically in unpredictable ways. The free-trade stance of President Bush and the Republican controlled Senate and House has...

Plastics industry tailspin creates political backlash.
September 17, 2003... The U.S. plastics manufacturing industry is losing ground to overseas rivals and is beginning to flex its political muscle. The nation's fourth largest industrial sector says the Bush administration and Congress must immediately address the...

Bush team responds to manufacturing challenge.(George W. Bush)
September 17, 2003... After traversing the country this past summer listening to a rising chorus of complaints from U.S. manufacturers, President Bush's economic team is putting the finishing touches on a new federal manufacturing initiative aimed at promoting U.S....

Congress tries to legislate Asian currency manipulation.
September 17, 2003... The growing rancor over Asian currency manipulation is beginning to materialize in congressional legislation aimed at forcing China to stop undervaluing its currency and allowing it to float on currency markets. The Bush administration has...

Last remaining U.S. producer of currency authentication equipment warns of consequences of unfair trade.
September 17, 2003... The U.S. industry that makes the equipment to produce, count and authenticate the U.S. currency is almost extinct and its demise should be cause for concern, says the CEO of the only U.S. company remaining. Twenty years ago, there were five...

Congressional China commission to review China's industrial policies.(Brief Article)
September 17, 2003... The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, created by Congress three years ago, is gearing up to address the issue of whether China has an unfair competitive advantage. The commission will hold a hearing on Thursday, Sept. 25...

New global forum for scientists to solve the problems they're creating.(Brief Article)
September 17, 2003... The National Academy of Sciences has created a new international forum that will debate the role of science and technology in creating and solving mankind's many problems. "The explosive progress of science and technology up to the 20th Century...

New tech awards.(National Institute of Standards and Technology selects 44 projects to receive funding)(Brief Article)
September 17, 2003... The National Institute of Standards and Technology has selected 44 projects to receive funding under its Advanced Technology Program. Thirty-five companies and nine joint-venture partnership (including efforts led by General Electric, the...

Gas mileage emerges as issue for car buyers.(Brief Article)
September 17, 2003... Automobile buyers are growing" more concerned again about gas mileage. "Gas mileage is now fifth on the list of reasons new-vehicle buyers reject one model over another, up from 13th place in 2002," says JD Power & Associates in its new Escaped...

Die casting industry initiates PR blitz.(North American Die Casting Association launches campaign to raise awareness of the industry)(Brief Article)
September 17, 2003... Pummeled by cheap imports and an eroding share of the U.S. market, the North American Die Casting Association (NADCA) has launched a $1-million campaign to raise the awareness of its industry. The public relations campaign grew out of a study...

The Association for Manufacturing Technology.(People)(John Byrd appointed president)(Brief Article)
September 17, 2003... The Association for Manufacturing Technology, the McLean, Va-based trade group representing the machine tool industry, has a new president. John Byrd has been named to replace Al Moore, who was serving as interim president after the departure...

The National Association of Manufacturers.(People)(Fred Nichols promoted to chief lobbyist and political director)(Brief Article)
September 17, 2003... The National Association of Manufacturers has promoted Fred Nichols to chief lobbyist and political director. The tirelessly buoyant Nichols will be in charge of NAM's newly formed department of government affairs and will become NAM's chief...

Navy's Manufacturing Technology.(People)(Steve Linder leaves Navy Mantech program during its period of downsizing)(Brief Article)
September 17, 2003... The long-time leader of the Navy's Manufacturing Technology program has left his post. Steve Linder, head of the Office of Naval Research's Industrial and Corporate Programs, has joined the Mantech program at the Missile Defense Agency....

Materials societies will meet to discuss a common agenda.(National Academy of Sciences organizes meeting of principals running the country's largest materials professional societies)(Brief Article)
September 17, 2003... The National Academy of Sciences is organizing a meeting of the principals running the country's largest materials professional societies. The goal is to discuss how they can better work together to articulate their common interests to their...

Stanford creates Web site to inspire kid engineers.(Brief Article)
September 17, 2003... The Alliance for Innovative Manufacturing at Stanford University has created a new Web site that features "How Everyday Things Are Made." The site is intended to provide an online educational experience that can help "build a larger...

Buy American permeates more federal agencies.(Brief Article)
September 17, 2003... "Buy American" provisions aimed at requiring the federal government to purchase products from U.S. manufacturers are beginning to find their way into more federal agencies. An amendment requiring "buy American" was approved on September 12 in...

Cotton & man-made fiber brassieres.(Brief Article)
September 17, 2003... Cotton & Man-Made Fiber Brassieres U.S. Production: thousands of dozens 1998 1998 2000 2001 2002 US Production 28,942 32,079 28,360 24,329 22,695 Change ...

Cotton & man-made fiber brassieres: imports from China and the world 1998 -5/03 dozens.(Brief Article)
September 17, 2003... Cotton & Man-Made Fiber Brassieres: Imports from China and the world 1998 -5/03 dozens) 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 World 33,049,503 38,861,183 39,216,189 36,905,579 44,641,057 China...

How ERP vendor QAD has bucked the industry's downward trend: interview with QAD founder Pam Lopker.(Interview)
September 17, 2003... During the dot-com era, things weren't looking so good for QAD, the Santa Barbara-based manufacturing software firm. The 23-year-old company run by its founder, chairman and president Pam Lopker, was not a trendy builder of electronic trading...

NAM to build a coalition to promote U.S. manufacturing.(National Association of Manufacturers)(Brief Article)
September 17, 2003... The National Association of Manufacturers has decided to create a new group aimed at improving the prospects for U.S. manufacturers. The "Coalition for the Future of Manufacturing" will include a broad cross section of industry-specific...