Manufacturing news
August 2006
CPG Heinz Shows Increased First-Quarter Profits
H.J. Heinz Co., which has been fighting billionaire investor Nelson Peltz's attempt to restructure the company, said first-quarter profit rose on higher sales of new products.
31 Aug 2006 17:40
Nashville Electric Service Wins PRSA Award for Website
Nashville Electric Service recently earned top honors from the Public Relations Society of America for its new website designed by Apogee Interactive, Inc.
31 Aug 2006 17:50
Tesla “Signature One Hundred” series sells out
The limited-edition “Signature One Hundred” series Tesla Roadster, the first high-performance electric car manufactured by Tesla Motors, has sold out in three weeks, confirming that the stylish, zero-emissions vehicle is a hit.
31 Aug 2006 18:43
UPS Airline Pilots Ratify New Contract
UPS Airline pilots represented by the Independent Pilots Association today ratified an eight-year labor agreement that runs through 2011.
31 Aug 2006 17:57
CPG: Unilever selling frozen-foods business
The Wall Street Journal reports that consumer-good powerhouse Unilever will sell the majority of its European frozen-foods businesses to the UK/Netherlands private-equity investor Permira, for $2.21 billion.
Unilever will offload such familiar brands as Birds Eye and Iglo
28 Aug 2006 13:21
Energy: Kinder Morgan sells self
Kinder Morgan, the Oil and gas pipeline operator, will sell its operations to an investor group that includes current CEO Richard Kinder. And, the company will go private.
28 Aug 2006 14:12
Baked Apple recalls batteries
Apple Computer has had to recall the lithium-ion batteries from 1.8 million of its laptop computers because a few instances of overheating have led to battery fluids leaking and catching fire.
25 Aug 2006 12:42
Logistics: TNT surrenders logistics, sticks to mail
TNT will offload its underperforming but significantly-sized global logistics unit.
25 Aug 2006 15:19
Medpharm: FDA approves Plan B, who owns it?
Love it, hate it or debate it, the The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved nonprescription sales of the "morning-after pill," called Plan B, to adults over 18. The Wall Street Journal expects this to significantly raise the profile of Barr Pharmaceuticals.
25 Aug 2006 15:10
Parvus Corp. to supply defense computers
Eurotech, a leading designer and developer of high-performance, low-power embedded computing systems, announced that its US subsidiary Parvus has been awarded a contract for US$800.000 with a leading defence firm1, for the supply of NanoPCs. Parvus will deliver in 2007.
25 Aug 2006 17:55
"Made in USA" sells in China
What do blue jeans, DVDs, moisturizer and athletic shoes have in common? They are among the American products that Chinese consumers desire most, according to a UPS survey of 1,200 middle-class consumers in six Chinese cities.
22 Aug 2006 19:16
Ford reduces US/Canada production
Ford Motor Company has announced an aggressive reduction of North American production, describing it as a way to to accelerate the pace of its Way Forward turnaround.
22 Aug 2006 13:57
Leadership & Strategy: Boeing appoints China chief
The Boeing Company has named John W. Bruns as vice president - China Operations, Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA). The posting, effective immediately, makes Bruns BCA's senior in-country executive and underscores the company's long-term commitment to China.
22 Aug 2006 13:51
Automated metering initiative debuts in California
An innovative electricity metering and service device to help customers make informed decisions about power usage, is playing a key role in the development of Southern California Edison's (SCE) Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) initiative.
21 Aug 2006 18:13
New Integration Technology Center opens
Systems integrator World Wide Technology, (WWT), today announced the opening of a 12,000 square foot Integration Technology Center near its corporate headquarters in St. Louis.
17 Aug 2006 16:55
Global contract logistics grows by double digits
Industry thinktank Transport Intelligence reports that the global logistics market grew by 10.3 percent in 2005.
16 Aug 2006 0:07
IT: SOA for 90% of enterprises
According to survey findings by the Aberdeen Group, the overall adoption rate of service-oriented architecture or SOA technology is very robust, with 90 percent of respondents saying they will exit 2006 with experience in SOA planning, design, or programming under their belts.
16 Aug 2006 0:21
New facility for logistics provider
Third party logistics provider Mallory Alexander International Logistics has opened a new office and warehouse complex in Bensenville, IL, near Chicago O'Hare International Airport.
16 Aug 2006 10:28
GM's Camaro - nostalgia + disposable income = turnaround
After a six-year hiatus, GM will reintroduce the Camaro in 2008.
15 Aug 2006 0:03
IT: Cognos BI gets security nod from Symantec
Cognos, the world leader in business intelligence and performance management solutions, has received a thumbs-up by Symantec, after a security evaluation of Cognos 8 Business Intelligence. Cognos 8 BI is designed to standardize BI while increasing enterprise security.
14 Aug 2006 15:51
Milestone for equipment manufacturer
Varian Semiconductor Equipment, based in Gloucester, MA, has announced the shipment of its 250th VIISta single wafer high current system (SWHC) and its 500th VIISta platform system.
14 Aug 2006 14:29
Robot orders decline
Having reached record heights in 2005, new orders received by North American based robotics companies fell 38 percent in the first half of 2006, according to statistics released by Robotic Industries Association (RIA), the industry’s trade group.
14 Aug 2006 14:39
RFID software, services to dip in 2007
Industry thinktank ABI Research has reduced its 2007 market forecast for RFID software and services revenue to $3.1 billion, a downward adjustment of 15% from ABI's earlier estimates.
10 Aug 2006 14:18
What the Pharoahs could tell us about product lifecycle
Not until the mid 19th century, says Canadian author Giles Slade, were disposable products created, including paper shirt collars and disposable razor blades.
10 Aug 2006 14:48
ArvinMeritor to open new hub plant in China
ArvinMeritor will open a new wholly-owned operation in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China. The 300,000 sq ft facility will initially manufacture trailer axles and suspensions for key trailer manufacturers in China, as well as for export of components to North American and European plants.
08 Aug 2006 20:41
Boeing rolls out Growler attack plane
Boeing has unveiled the U.S. armed forces' newest airborne electronic attack aircraft, the EA-18G Growler, on time and within budget.
08 Aug 2006 20:44
GM opens first-ever LEED-Gold certified automobile manufacturing facility
General Motors’ new Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant has received a gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.
08 Aug 2006 20:24
How US goes, so goes world economy
Industry thinktank Global Insight observes that the US economy has decelerated from rapid growth in Q1, and expects the rest of the world economy to follow suit.
08 Aug 2006 12:54
Pavilion Technologies awarded fifteen new patents
Pavilion Technologies, a leader in model-based software, today announced that it has been awarded fifteen new patents in the field of modeling, optimization and control.
08 Aug 2006 12:47
Infor’s ERP feeding frenzy
While news of Infor’s acquisition of rival SSA was still fresh, the company snapped up Extensity, a maker of financial management software.
07 Aug 2006 22:56
Philips offloads semiconductors
Royal Philips Electronics has announced a winner in the bidding war for its semiconductor business.
07 Aug 2006 22:40
Stiles Machinery allies with Trakware Systems
Stiles Machinery has entered into an agreement with Trakware Systems, a manufacturing execution system (MES) provider, for engineer-to-order and project-based manufacturers in the woodworking industry.
07 Aug 2006 23:00
TNT implements worldwide mobile worker comms
TNT Express, the global B2B express delivery company, will install 14,000 extra "Mobile Worker" communication units in delivery vehicles across its global network over the next two years.
07 Aug 2006 23:06
