Manufacturing & Technology News articles from September 2006

Manufacturing & Technology News archives from September 2006

Trade imbalances could cause financial upheaval; MAPI analyst implores U.S., IMF to act now.
September 5, 2006... China's surging trade surplus this year, driven by continued increases in high-tech exports, "constitutes a major challenge to U.S. global competitiveness," declares the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI. If the issue is not addressed and the trade...

Panel proposes changes to government purchases of commercial services.
September 5, 2006... The Acquisition Advisory Panel, created in the Services Acquisition Reform Act of 2003, has proposed sweeping changes in the way federal agencies purchase commercial services. The panel says many commercial services are not, in fact,...

Asia faces a massive task of creating hundreds of millions of new jobs.
September 5, 2006... An estimated 250 million more workers will be looking for jobs in Asia over the next decade, according to the United Nation's International Labour Organization. While Asia has made big gains in reducing poverty, there are still more than 1...

Record pace for global M&As.
September 5, 2006... Worldwide mergers and acquisitions are on pace to break the record set in 2000, according to the Association for Corporate Growth and Thomson Financial. During the first half of 2006, mergers and acquisitions worldwide increased by 41 percent...

DOE funds hydrogen generation from nukes.
September 5, 2006... Teams headed by Electric Transportation Applications (ETA) and GE Global Research have won contracts from the Department of Energy to study the production of hydrogen from nuclear power plants. ETA will partner with DOE's Idaho National...

Bush's economic team is puzzled by America's sour mood; says a better PR campaign is needed.
September 5, 2006... There is little rationale for America's gloominess about the economy, according to President Bush's top economic advisors. "Americans are clearly better off as a result of strong economic growth and job creation," the newly appointed Secretary...

NAM ends sponsorship of National Mfg. Week.
September 5, 2006... The National Association of Manufacturers will no longer be the lead sponsor of National Manufacturing Week. The show was recently sold by Reed Elsevier to Canon Communications. NAM, which sponsored the event for 15 years, was not included in...

National Academy of Engineering addresses offshore outsourcing.
September 5, 2006... The National Academy of Engineering is holding a two-day meeting to discuss the extent and implications of offshore outsourcing of engineering. "During the past few years, engineers and policymakers have raised concerns that offshoring may be...

Executives, economists tell Chicago fed that U.S. auto supply industry is in trouble.
September 5, 2006... The U.S. auto supplier industry is in "shambles," said industrialist Wilbur Ross, speaking before a recent conference held by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Almost half of the 50 largest North American companies in the sector lost money...

India creates a 'Mission for Manufacturing Innovation'.
September 5, 2006... India wants to reposition itself from being a low-cost provider of contract manufacturing to engaging in innovative product development. Surinder Kapur, who chairs the Mission for Manufacturing Innovation of the Confederation of Indian Industry...

EADS will hire 2,000 in India.
September 5, 2006... India has scored big in its effort to attract new foreign direct investment --and the infrastructure, know-how, and jobs that go with it. The European aerospace giant EADS last week announced it will open technology center in India that is...

More players seek national system for electronics recycling.
September 5, 2006... The haphazard national and international system of requirements for recycling electronic products could be impacting the competitiveness of the U.S. technology industry, according to a report from the Commerce Department's Technology...

EPA creates Mfg. plant energy efficiency standards.
September 5, 2006... The Environmental Protection Agency has released a series of energy standards aimed at improving the efficiency of manufacturing plants. The new energy performance indicators (EPIs) are aimed at specific industrial sectors. The latest are aimed...

Intangible assets located overseas can serve as basis for term loans.(Guest Editorial)
September 5, 2006... "There's nothing like distance to disinfect dividends," goes a saying that dates back to the era of the Robber Barons. Today, American companies that outsource manufacturing to other countries might rephrase that to read, "There's nothing like...

Railroad industry.(Some Industries Are Hot; Some Are Not)
September 5, 2006... The railroad industry set a new record for shipments of containers during the week ending Aug. 26. Intermodal container shipments increased by 7 percent from the same week last year to 253,981, according to the Association of American...

Central air conditioning and heat pump industry.(Some Industries Are Hot; Some Are Not)
September 5, 2006... The central air conditioning and heat pump industry has gone into a slump. Factory shipments of central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps for July totaled 644,300, down 28 percent compared with shipments from the same month last year,...

Sports products industry.(Some Industries Are Hot; Some Are Not)
September 5, 2006... The U.S. sports products industry had a good year in 2005, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. Wholesale sales of equipment, apparel and athletic footwear rose 10 percent to $57.6 billion. Sporting goods equipment rose...

Plastics resins.(Some Industries Are Hot; Some Are Not)
September 5, 2006... U.S. production of plastics resins increased by 7.2 percent during the month of June over the same month in 2005, to 7.1 billion pounds, reports the American Plastics Council. Year-to-date production through June was up 1.4 percent.

Book publishing industry.(Some Industries Are Hot; Some Are Not)
September 5, 2006... The book publishing industry had a good year in 2005. Total sales increased 9.9 percent to $25.1 billion, according to the Association of American Publishers. Sales of trade books increased 9.1 percent to $7.8 billion in 2005. Sales of...

Amarr Garage Doors.(New Plants In The U.S.)
September 5, 2006... Amarr Garage Doors, one of the world's largest makers of residential and commercial garage doors, will open a new 109,000-square-foot manufacturing plant 30 miles west of Winston-Salem, N.C. The facility will supply the company's growing East...

Honda.(New Plants In The U.S.)
September 5, 2006... Honda is building a new $550-million automobile assembly plant near Greensburg, Ind. The facility will employ about 2,000 people and begin production in late 2008 with an annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles. The plant will be Honda's sixth auto...

DENSO Corp.(New Plants In The U.S.)
September 5, 2006... DENSO Corp., the Japanese automotive supplier, will more than double the size of its 80,700-square-foot Kentucky automotive fuel pump and fuel filter plant, at a cost of $27 million. The company hopes to add another 150 jobs at the facility by...

Wood Stone Corp.(New Plants In The U.S.)
September 5, 2006... Wood Stone Corp., the world's largest producer of stone hearth cooking equipment, has begun a 52,500-square-foot expansion of its plant in the Port of Bellingham in Washington. The company will hire 30 new manufacturing workers.

Hercules Inc.(New Plants In The U.S.)
September 5, 2006... Hercules Inc. plans to double the capacity of its synthetic refrigeration lubricant manufacturing plant in Louisiana. The expansion is part of a long-standing manufacturing agreement with New Castle, Del.-based Uniqema, a unit of ICI Americas....

Advanced Micro Devices.(New Plants In The U.S.)
September 5, 2006... Advanced Micro Devices, the world's second largest maker of microprocessors, will build a new $3.2-billion foundry in New York. The plant will begin production in 2010 and will double the company's manufacturing capacities. New York State has...

Medrad, Inc.(New Plants In The U.S.)
September 5, 2006... Medrad, Inc., a medical imaging company and winner of the 2003 Baldrige Quality Award, will build a new manufacturing plant in Pittsburgh, Penn. The 120,000-square-foot facility is expected to create at least 500 jobs over the next five years....

Toyota Motor Manufacturing.(New Plants In The U.S.)
September 5, 2006... Toyota Motor Manufacturing has purchased 50 acres of land adjacent to the company's Buffalo, W.V., four-and six-cylinder engine plant. The company says it has no immediate plans to increase production at the site.

Kraft Foods.(New Plants Overseas)
September 5, 2006... Kraft Foods has announced plans to build a $40-million cheese and powdered beverage manufacturing plant in Bahrain. The company will begin construction of the 60,000-square-meter facility this month, with initial production planned for late...

Kennametal.(New Plants Overseas)
September 5, 2006... Kennametal has opened a $31-million manufacturing plant in China. The 160,000-square-foot plant in the Tianjin Economic Development area will employ 200 people, but could grow to 450,000 square feet with 400 employees, according to the company....

Eastman Kodak.(New Plants Overseas)
September 5, 2006... Eastman Kodak will outsource its entire digital camera manufacturing capability to Flextronics, the Singapore-based electronic manufacturing services company. Flextronics will also manage digital camera design and development, and operations...

SanDisk Corp.(New Plants Overseas)
September 5, 2006... Milpitas, Calif.-based SanDisk Corp. and Toshiba have begun construction of a $2.6-billion, 382,120-square-foot flash memory plant in Yokkaichi, Japan. The memory devices will be used in mobile phones, MP3 music players and memory cards. The...

Dow Epoxy.(New Plants Overseas)
September 5, 2006... Dow Epoxy, will invest more than $200 million over the next five years in manufacturing and research and development facilities in China. The company will build a 100,000-million-tons-per-annum (mtpa) liquid epoxy resin plant at its existing...

Intel Corp.(New Plants Overseas)
September 5, 2006... Intel Corp. has opened a $2 billion semiconductor fab in Leixlip, Ireland, the company's third factory using 65nm process technology and the industry's first factory in Europe producing 65 nanometer chips on 300mm wafers.

Honda.(New Plants Overseas)
September 5, 2006... Honda is considering building its second manufacturing plant in India to produce its Civic sedan. The company wants to increase production in India to one million units by 2007, instead of its planned goal of 2010.

Gome.(New Plants Overseas)
September 5, 2006... Gome, a Chinese home appliance retailer, has purchased a 51 percent stake of Idall Technology, a company that specializes in manufacturing audio and video products. Gome wants Idall to help it design home appliances for sale in international...

Neopco LLC.(New Plants Overseas)
September 5, 2006... Neapco LLC., a Pottstown, Penn.-based maker of drivetrains, has announced plans to open a new manufacturing plant in Saltillo, Mexico. The 35,000-square-foot facility will hire 100 new workers.

Cissell Manufacturing.(Plants Closing Down)
September 5, 2006... Cissell Manufacturing, the Ripon, Wisc.-based manufacturer of commercial laundry machines, is closing its plant in Louisville, Ky., and laying off 125 workers.

Best Manufacturing Group.(Plants Closing Down)
September 5, 2006... Best Manufacturing Group, the country's largest maker of table linens and nappery for the healthcare industry, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey. The company says it plans to move most of its production to Cambodia,...

Sparta Manufacturing.(Plants Closing Down)
September 5, 2006... Sparta Manufacturing, a foundry with 70 employees based in Sparta, Mich., is closing due to competition from China and India, the company says. The 50-year-old maker of cast iron cylinders for cars and small engines will close in November.

Owens-Illinois.(Plants Closing Down)
September 5, 2006... Owens-Illinois, the manufacturer of packaging and containers used by hundreds of companies, will close its 300,000-square-foot machine parts plant in Godfrey, Ill. The company expects to save money by outsourcing its manufacturing of parts for...

Belden CDT.(Plants Closing Down)
September 5, 2006... Belden CDT, a St. Louis-based manufacturer of cable, has decided to close manufacturing plants in Tompkinsville, Ky., and Fort Mill, S.C. A majority of production will be moved to a new manufacturing plant in Mexico.

Venture capital money is flowing freely into fledgling companies.
September 5, 2006... The venture capital industry is getting back on track. The industry invested $6.3 billion in 856 deals during the second quarter of 2005, according to the Money Tree report by the National Venture Capital Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers....

Profits are tough to find in forest product industry.
September 5, 2006... The global forest paper and paper-packaging industry is growing modestly, but profits are not, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. In its annual survey of the industry, the company says global industry sales increased last year to $340...

Europe hopes to repatriate researchers.
September 5, 2006... The European Union wants to keep 100,000 European researchers living in the United States abreast of research funding opportunities in Europe. The so-called "ERA-Link" information service "has been established in recognition of the asset,...

Small business gets $80 billion in fed $s.
September 5, 2006... The federal government awarded $79.6 billion in prime contracts last year to small companies, an increase of $10 billion from 2004, according to the Small Business Administration. "The contracts represent 25.4 percent of federal prime...

Power shift: what happens if democrats win the house.
September 22, 2006... The House of Representatives has a good chance of changing hands this November, flipping from Republican to Democratic control. If Democrats become the majority, they will assume leadership of every committee. They will schedule hearings,...

Product delays take a bite out of the bottom line.
September 22, 2006... Companies that have stumbled in introducing new products have suffered financially with decreased profitability, reduced revenues and increased costs, according to research conducted by Vinod Singhal, professor of operations management at the...

Manufacturers' letters to the editor.(Letter to the editor)
September 22, 2006... With regards to the story "Trade Imbalances Could Cause Financial Upheaval" (MTN Sept. 5, 2006), I thought you might be interested in a personal report from the trenches. We lost an order to China this week for a molded rubber part. That...

Agricultural biotechnology industry success depends on a vibrant & transparent global regulatory framework, says advisory panel.
September 22, 2006... The agricultural biotechnology industry faces a number of growing challenges in the next decade, but many opportunities, according to the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology & 21st Century Agriculture, a group created by the United States...

A big year for auto industry layoffs.
September 22, 2006... The U.S. automotive industry has announced the layoff of almost 90,000 workers so far this year, and this year's total could top the 110,000 announced layoffs made last year, according to Challenger Gray & Christmas. "Suppliers may be the next...

Democrat's election playbook stresses 'ordinary' citizens' pocketbook issues.
September 22, 2006... Democratic candidates in five industrialized states should pay attention to economic issues that will drive voters to the polls this November, according to a survey conducted for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers...

Guest editorial: can universities help save the U.S. industrial belt?(Editorial)
September 22, 2006... Countless observers have suggested that the role of higher education in a knowledge-driven economy has never been more critical as innovation and human capital are seen as keys to future economic growth. For mature regions such as the Midwest,...

University tech transfer offices provide big dividends.
September 22, 2006... University investment in licensing and technology transfer has a big payoff, according to the Milken Institute. "For each dollar invested in an office of technology transfer (OTT) staff, the university receives more than $6 in licensing...

Worthy Washington events.
September 22, 2006... The federal government's request that technology companies retain individuals' Internet usage data is the subject of a one-day event in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 27, delving into the policy and technology implications of such a mandate....

WTO can't figure out what a subsidy is.
September 22, 2006... The global growth of merchandize exports last year surged by 11 percent, and exceeded $10 trillion for the first time, according to the World Trade Organization. Nevertheless, the EU, Japan and United States all recorded "a particularly strong...

Lack of global job growth has 'profound' implications.
September 22, 2006... The most buoyant global economy in 30 years is producing record profits for companies, but it isn't helping the world's workforce, according to Juan Somvia, director general of the United Nation's International Labor Organization (ILO). Global...

U.S. firms in China are profitable and optimistic about their growth.
September 22, 2006... The majority of large U.S. companies operating in China are profitable there, and 97 percent say they are optimistic or somewhat optimistic about prospects for their Chinese business operations over the next five years, according to the members...

Companies shift more R&D to India & China.
September 22, 2006... The majority of big multinational companies locating R&D centers in emerging economies--particularly in India and China--are doing so to be close to a growing market and generally are not shifting R&D resources out of their home markets,...

Atomic bomb agency will seek and share technology.
September 22, 2006... The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will hold a two-day conference in Washington, D.C. in October to highlight future trends in defense and materials technologies, analysis and enterprise transformation....