Manufacturing news
April 2005
Cardinal Health profits take a dive
Drug wholesaler Cardinal Health Inc. records a 15 percent drop in quarterly profit.
29 Apr 2005 20:44
Free trade secured with Central America
The new U.S.-Central American and Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) has been hailed as an “unambiguous winner” by the National Association of Manufacturers.
29 Apr 2005 16:15
Ghosn ascends to the top at Renault
Renault's board of directors today appointed legendary turnaround expert Carlos Ghosn as president and CEO of Renault. Ghosn also continues as president and CEO of Nissan, of which Renault owns 44 percent.
29 Apr 2005 19:04
DaimlerChrysler reports profit slump
DaimlerChrysler has reported a 30 percent drop in net profit from this time last year.
28 Apr 2005 17:03
Airbus A380 wings its way into history
The first flight of the giant Airbus A380 ended at an airport in Toulouse, France, after successfully completing a flight that lasted three hours and 54 minutes.
27 Apr 2005 18:43
Durable goods orders plunge
The commerce Department reports March durable goods orders were down an unexpected 2.8 percent, the biggest drop in 2 ½ years.
27 Apr 2005 16:34
U.S. Steel steels itself for new management in US and Europe
U.S. Steel announced that John H. Goodish has been elected executive vice president and chief operating officer, reporting to John P. Surma Jr., U.S. Steel’s president and CEO.
26 Apr 2005 17:17
Air Canada flies with Boeing
Air Canada has announced a major order with Boeing to replace the air carrier’s widebody fleet.
25 Apr 2005 16:08
GM recalls more than two million trucks and SUVs
The world’s largest automaker, General Motors, announced that it would recall more than two million of its vehicles to fix various equipment defects, including faulty seat belts.
25 Apr 2005 17:07
Maxim parts hijacked in Malaysia
Maxim Integrated Products, Inc., has been notified that a truck carrying Maxim parts was recently hijacked in Malaysia. The stolen units, with a market value of approximately US $2,200,000, were untested.
22 Apr 2005 16:12
Motorola grabs new VP from Big Blue
Motorola today announced that IBM executive Stuart Reed has been named its new senior vice president of Motorola’s global supply chain organization.
22 Apr 2005 16:48
Merck feeling pain
Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. reports first-quarter profit fell 15 percent, due in large part to painkiller Vioxx being pulled from the market.
21 Apr 2005 16:41
Unemployment filings hit three-year low
The number of first-time claims for unemployment benefits dropped by 36,000 last week, the biggest drop since 2002, according to the US Department of Labor.
21 Apr 2005 16:58
Caterpillar posts record profit
Caterpillar Inc., has reported first quarter sales and revenues of $8.34 billion and recorded a profit of $581 million.
20 Apr 2005 18:06
Ford drives down a hard road
Big Three automaker Ford today reported income of $1.21 billion for the first quarter of 2005, down 38.5 percent from $1.95 billion in the first quarter of last year, reflecting a sales drop in the Americas, and despite growth in Europe.
20 Apr 2005 14:12
General Motors’ billion-dollar dive
The world largest automaker, General Motors, reported a staggering first-quarter loss of $1.1 billion, due in part to rising health care costs and disappointing sales of new models.
19 Apr 2005 18:17
UAVs to fly with FLIR
FLIR Systems, Inc. announced a contract to outfit the US Army’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with the company’s latest thermal imaging equipment.
19 Apr 2005 14:51
Dreams weaved as Adobe buys Macromedia
Adobe Systems, the maker of Photoshop and other blockbuster software, today announced an agreement to acquire Macromedia, the maker of Flash and Dreamweaver, in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $3.4 billion.
18 Apr 2005 14:39
One hundred percent certified
Advanced Circuits of Aurora, Colorado, has achieved a feat to be celebrated – the certification of 100 percent of its production staff on the technical requirements of PCB manufacturing.
18 Apr 2005 22:33
Vantage to China
As the Asia/Pacific region grows in importance as a manufacturing destination for global manufacturers, the potential for IT providers is growing accordingly. All these new factories need IT systems.
18 Apr 2005 17:21
Environmental Elements accepts Hug
Environmental Elements, a manufacturing equipment provider, today announced the promotion of Donald R. Hug to the position of interim president.
15 Apr 2005 21:22
New CFO for Cardinal Health
Cardinal Health Inc. announced the hiring of a new chief financial officer to replace interim CFO J. Michael Losh.
15 Apr 2005 20:45
Alcoa on a roll in North Carolina
Alcoa has announced plans to open a new manufacturing facility for its Alcoa Subassembly and Logistics business in North Carolina.
14 Apr 2005 21:32
China-US auto parts company appoints American VP
ASIMCO Technologies, one of the largest independent producers of automotive components in China, today announced Robert D. Pyle has joined the company as vice president of corporate development.
14 Apr 2005 21:21
Toyota boosts jobs, investment in Michigan
Toyota’s plan to invest $150 million in a new state-of-the-art research and development facility comes as some relief to a state beset by manufacturing layoffs and plant closings.
13 Apr 2005 15:54
Tyco beefs up its China leadership
Manufacturing conglomerate Tyco International recently appointed two key hires to represent Tyco in China.
13 Apr 2005 21:18
Pfizer finding its way
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has announced a major reorganization in an effort to cut costs and improve profitability.
12 Apr 2005 17:53
Trade deficit again smashes records, textiles frayed
The US trade deficit climbed to a record high of $61.04 billion in February, according to figures released by the US Department of Commerce.
12 Apr 2005 16:16
BAE Systems signs deal with Boeing
Under a new agreement with Boeing Commercial Airplanes, BAE Systems will provide Actuator Control Electronics (ACE) for the Boeing 777.
11 Apr 2005 16:00
Microsoft and Gateway compute $150 million settlement
Computing giant Microsoft and third-largest US PC manufacturer Gateway announced today that they have reached a $150 million settlement of their ongoing legal wranglings.
11 Apr 2005 17:39
Harbin Electric to power Chinese park rides
Harbin Electric, Inc., has been awarded a $3.3 million contract to provide Beijing Jiuhua Entertainment Corp. with linear motors for amusement park rides.
08 Apr 2005 16:39
Sonoco abandons plant after fire
Sonoco, the global packaging manufacturer, announced that it will not reopen its Downingtown, PA, recycled-paperboard mill, following a fire in March that caused approximately $500,000 in damage.
08 Apr 2005 20:02
Boeing to “CONECT” B-52 bombers
The $216.7 million contract calls for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems to begin the system design and development (SDD) phase of the B-52 Combat Network Communications Technology (CONECT) program.
07 Apr 2005 16:32
Pfizer pulls Bextra off market
The US Food and Drug Administration asked pharmaceutical maker Pfizer to withdraw its popular pain medication Bextra from the market because of the risk of heart attacks and hemorrhages associated with the drug.
07 Apr 2005 16:05
Czech airline flies with Airbus
The Czech national carrier CSA Czech Airlines has signed a contract for the purchase of twelve single aisle aircraft manufactured by European aerospace company Airbus, which is US company Boeing’s main competitor.
06 Apr 2005 19:57
Goodrich opens world’s largest landing gear test facility
Goodrich, one of the world’s largest suppliers of landing systems for commercial and military aircraft, today unveiled the world’s largest aircraft landing gear test facility, at its site in Oakville, Ontario, Canada.
05 Apr 2005 20:11
Pfizer to slash $4 billion
The world’s largest pharmaceutical maker, Pfizer, announced a plan to save $4 billion by 2008—approximately 12 percent of Pfizer’s current cost base—after it forecast a six percent drop in earnings for this year.
05 Apr 2005 18:28
GM CEO takes hands-on North American role
General Motors Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner announced a series of senior leadership changes today, including his taking the helm of General Motors North America.
04 Apr 2005 19:06
Intevac receives follow-on order
Intevac, Inc., announced a follow-on order for three of the company’s 200 Lean systems from an existing customer.
01 Apr 2005 19:59
PLM meets MPM: UGS buys Tecnomatix
UGS, a global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services, and Tecnomatix Technologies, a leader in manufacturing process management (MPM) software solutions, today announced that UGS has completed its acquisition of Tecnomatix for approximately $228 million in cash.
01 Apr 2005 22:25
Boeing CEO ousted over tryst
Boeing announced in March that its board of directors asked for and received the resignation of President and CEO Harry Stonecipher on Sunday, following an investigation of a personal relationship between Stonecipher and a female executive of the company.
01 Apr 2005 15:27
Byrd Amendment’s swan song?
A law allowing manufacturers to benefit from the redistribution of special duties collected on foreign imports could soon be repealed.
01 Apr 2005 15:25
Kerik resigns from Taser board
Taser International, a maker of advanced non-lethal weapons, today announced the appointment of former Montana Governor Judy Martz to replace Bernard Kerik, who is resigning from the board to focus on his consulting business.
01 Apr 2005 15:26
New US trade rep nominated
In a Washington ceremony, President George W. Bush announced his choice of US Representative Rob Portman (R-OH) to be the next US trade representative, replacing current rep Robert Zoellick, who is leaving to become US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s deputy.
01 Apr 2005 15:25