News Archive

Manufacturing news

April 2007

Dassault Systèmes to Acquire ICEM

Dassault Systèmes, a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, and ICEM, the leading provider of styling, high-quality surface modeling and rendering solutions, today announced an agreement pursuant to which Dassault Systèmes would acquire ICEM, thus extending CATIA leadership to the broad and highly diversified styling communities.
27 Apr 2007 15:58

Indiana Motorsports Ass'n names SME official technical partner

The Indiana Motorsports Association today named The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) as its official technical partner.
27 Apr 2007 15:26

Stanford U: Ethanol vehicles pose significant risk to health, new study finds

from Stanford News, April 26, 2007 Using ethanol-based fuel instead of gasoline would likely increase the ozone-related death rate in Los Angeles by 9 percent in 2020, according to a new study by atmospheric scientist Mark Jacobson.
27 Apr 2007 11:35

Survey: Slowing US economy decreases domestic optimism

PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Q1 Manufacturing Barometer, released this week, reveals that 83 percent of industrial manufacturing executives are optimistic about the global economy over the next 12 months, compared to 69 percent last quarter. However, the continued slowing of the US economy is leading to a decrease in domestic optimism among these executives, with 57 percent expressing optimism, down 7 percentage points from the previous quarter.
27 Apr 2007 19:18

Continental Alloys & Services announces acquisitions

Continental Alloys & Services (formerly Continental Casing Ltd.) has acquired the businesses of Alloy & Oilfield Pte. Ltd. (formerly Alloy & Oilfield Machining Pte. Ltd.) and Oilfield Machining Services Pte. Ltd., Singapore.
26 Apr 2007 22:03

NAM: US workforce talent falls short of industry needs

National Association of Manufacturers President John Engler is issuing a call for renewed investment in homegrown talent in public appearances this week.
26 Apr 2007 22:04

Strategy: Out-innovate your competitors and win

"85 percent of CEOs have innovation on a short list of strategic priorities. But then they put it off," said Tom Kelley, the featured speaker at Arizona State University's 2007 Design Excellence Dinner. "In principle, everybody's for innovation, but in practice innovation gets put in the important-but-not-urgent pile."
26 Apr 2007 11:22

There is no Execution without Integration: MES Adoption Drives Performance

To quote a just-released study by Aberdeen Group, "manufacturers today are getting caught on the wrong side of a technology adoption wave that is quickly gaining momentum."
26 Apr 2007 14:18

Official: The car in front really is a Toyota

Now it’s official, the advertising slogan that irritated every non-driver of Japan’s most famous manufacturing and marketing product has come to pass. The car in front really is more than likely to be a Toyota.
25 Apr 2007 14:41

Acsis opens solution center in support of SAP solutions

Acsis, Inc., a leader in connecting people, devices and supply chains with enterprise business systems, today announced the Acsis Solution Center in support of the SAP Manufacturing solution and the SAP Supply Chain Management application.
24 Apr 2007 12:00

Rolls Royce pulls out of Sudan, cites Darfur crisis

British power systems and engine maker Rolls Royce will withdraw operations from Sudan in reaction to "increasing international humanitarian concerns".
24 Apr 2007 12:22

AstraZeneca to buy MedImmune

AstraZeneca announced plans to buy U.S. biotech firm MedImmune for $15.6 billion, writes Forbes, in a bid to boost its stable of high-priced protein and cancer drugs. The deal would seem to cement Astra's focus on cancer drugs after high-profile failures in neurology and cardiovascular disease.
23 Apr 2007 19:19

Dutch alternative energy leader produces biodiesel from algae

BioKing Green Energy NV, a European leader in alternative energy production, is claiming to have developed new, high performance and continuous photo-bioreactors for algae for the purpose of producing biodiesel.
23 Apr 2007 20:06

Honeywell to Integrate Novell's Identity Management Solution

Novell today announced that Honeywell is integrating Novell's flagship identity management product into Honeywell's access control security platform to help organizations better safeguard their physical and logical assets.
23 Apr 2007 19:01

Pres. Bush declares Small Business Week

Following is a proclamation just released by the White House:
23 Apr 2007 20:15

Technology Service Professionals awarded

Dallas-based Technology Service Professionals Incorporated (TSP) has been awarded the coveted Texas Instruments 2006 Supplier Excellence Award (SEA) for the second year in row.
23 Apr 2007 20:21

WIPO Presents Two Awards at Geneva Inventions Fair

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) presented on Friday evening, April 20, 2007, two awards to inventors at the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions as part of the Organization's commitment to promoting innovation and recognition of inventors worldwide.
23 Apr 2007 20:23

Dow Chemical cans executives for talking too much

The Dow Chemical Company took decisive action against two execs this week.
20 Apr 2007 11:21

Ford, Glass Products reach MOU for sale of Ford glass ops

Ford Motor Company and Tulsa-based Glass Products have reached a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlining a framework for the sale of the Automotive Components Holdings’ Glass Operations.
20 Apr 2007 11:40

Inland Northwest building manufacturing workforce

As rural “on-shoring” becomes an increasingly viable option for companies wishing to remain competitive in the global economy, the Inland Northwest region—comprising Eastern Washington and North Idaho—is seeking to meet the growing demand for a strong manufacturing workforce through strategic partnerships and initiatives. Both rural and urban communities throughout the region are focusing efforts on building skills for the factory floor as well as awareness among non-college-bound students about career opportunities in manufacturing.
20 Apr 2007 12:06

Jungheinrich moves to larger US headquarters

The Jungheinrich Lift Truck Corp. has announced a move of its US corporate headquarters to a new, much larger location not far from its previous site in Richmond, VA. The new building has an additional 70,000 square feet of floor space and accommodates a 20 percent increase in headcount.
20 Apr 2007 12:49

Pelion Systems and JCIT International merge

Pelion Systems, a leader in lean manufacturing operating systems, and JCIT International, the pioneer of Demand Flow Technology (DFT), have entered into an agreement to merge companies and create a new organization focused on enabling Demand Flow Fulfillment for customers. The combined entity will be known as DemandPoint; terms of the deal were not disclosed.
20 Apr 2007 13:26

Report: China and India to lead growth in mobile market by 2011;

Global Insight has announced the findings of the inaugural report produced by its new Telecoms Intermodal Forecasting Service. The report concluded that China and India will remain the world's growth engine for wireless services, accounting for 60 percent of the 1.2 billion predicted new mobile subscribers over the next five years.
20 Apr 2007 13:52

The Dow Chemical Company took decisive action against two execs this week.

Dow Chemical took fast action against two executives, late last week.
20 Apr 2007 11:23

Sasol Technology and Avantium announce strategic research collaboration

Sasol Technology and Avantium Technologies have announced a strategic research collaboration in the area of Fischer-Tropsch chemistry to convert coal and natural gas to liquid fuels. Under the collaboration scientists of Sasol and Avantium Technologies will work together to develop new catalyst technologies to optimize Sasol's production of liquid fuels from coal or natural gas.
17 Apr 2007 13:47

Chinese Oil Giants Move to Biofuels

, CHINA--April 16, 2007--Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). China National Offshore Oil Corporation - CNOOC Limited (NYSE:CEO) (Hong Kong) announced recently that a biodiesel plant with an annual output of 60,000 tons will be built within the year in Dongfang City, Hainan Province. Plans also include planting 100,000 mu (about 25.7 square miles) of jatropha curcas (a tree whose seeds and nuts can be processed to produce biofuel) in Hainan to provide raw material for the biodiesel plant in the future.
16 Apr 2007 13:38

Container Tracking Pilot Highlights the Benefits of RFID Standards in Port Management

Industry thinktank ABI Research reports that a recent EPCglobal pilot project using active RFID (radio frequency identification) tags along with software from Oracle and Savi Technology has highlighted the importance of common standards in maximizing the benefits RFID can bring to port operations.
16 Apr 2007 13:35

Indian steelmaker buys North American gateway

Forbes is reporting that India’s Essar Steel has agreed to acquire Canadian steelmaker Algoma for $1.63 billion US in cash.
16 Apr 2007 13:44

Senator John Thune Tours Knight & Carver’s South Dakota Facility

HOWARD, SOUTH DAKOTA – Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) toured Knight & Carver’s Wind Blade production facility April 10 and encouraged the further development of wind power generation throughout the state and the country.
16 Apr 2007 20:49

APL security chief to shippers: Get involved

MEMPHIS, March 21, 2007 – Congress’ recently enacted SAFE Port Act affords plenty of opportunity to help shape supply chain security. Now it’s up to shippers and transportation providers to get involved. That was the message delivered today by a leading container shipping security expert.
12 Apr 2007 20:17

ESAB & ABB Enter Agreement to Develop & Market

Florence, SC – ESAB Welding & Cutting Products has signed an agreement with the Robotics Division of ABB, Inc. to jointly develop and market robotic welding packages and systems.
12 Apr 2007 21:19

Guest editorial: Viewing Supply Chains Through the Human Capital Lens

by Ng Buck-Seng, Manufacturing Insights A broadly accepted view of supply chain management (SCM) today is that it involves managing three important flows along the chain of operational activities bringing products to consumers: materials, information, and financials. Whilst there has been plenty of visibility and recognition with regard to managing the flow of materials or goods, information and finances along manufacturing supply chains, scant attention had been paid to managing the human capital aspects of supply chains.
12 Apr 2007 22:14

Mobile Broadband-Enabled Consumer Electronics Will Reach 50 Million Shipments by 2012

NEW YORK - April 12, 2007 - No sooner has the market for consumer electronics devices incorporating Wi-Fi begun to gain real traction than another, based on high-speed connections via 3G cellular technologies or mobile WiMAX, is starting to take shape.
12 Apr 2007 21:44

Puma to "marry up" to Gucci, Laurent

Luxury meets athleticism, as French retailer PPR makes a $7.1 billion bid to marry Puma to PPR's Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent fashion brands.
12 Apr 2007 23:02

UPS and Shanghai Announce First-Ever U.S. Air Hub in China

SHANGHAI, April 12, 2007 - UPS and the Shanghai Airport Authority today conducted a formal signing ceremony in another step toward construction of the UPS International Air Hub at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai. Presiding over the ceremony were U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters and Vice Mayor of Shanghai Yang Xiong.
12 Apr 2007 21:14

Commentary: Fast growth at new and old properties -- an architectural look

by Mark Langan, vice president and a senior project architect with Smith Consulting Architects. Perception might be that manufacturing and distribution is planned far in advance, but with the speed of current business and the need to capitalize on rapidly changing fads and consumer interests, short-range views and flexibility become equally important to if not more than long-range planning.
11 Apr 2007 14:38

Editorial: Beating the Cycle -- Going for Sustained Growth in the Industrial Products Industry

by Paul Loftus, a managing partner at Accenture, Inc. How do you maintain sustainable growth in an industry segment that is known for its cyclicality? This is the issue that’s keeping more than one executive in the heavy equipment, electrical, consumer durables, controls, power, building and/or components markets awake at night. Last week the Manufacturing Institute of Supply Management suggested a slowdown in the manufacturing sector citing weaker than expected numbers for the month of March.
11 Apr 2007 14:24

L'Oreal USA Earns OSHA Honor for Sixth Manufacturing Facility

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today awarded L'Oreal USA's Florence, Ky., manufacturing plant the agency's highest safety and health award: a Voluntary Protection Programs' (VPP) "Star" flag.
11 Apr 2007 14:51

Logistics Provider Hermes Implements Motorola Equipment to Improve Delivery Times

Continental kudos to Motorola, Inc. and its commercial offerings (which it gained in its acquisition of Symbol Technologies). Motorola has announced that Hermes Logistics Group, Germany’s largest independent logistics provider, is replacing its existing data capture system with 23,000 MC3090s mobile computers to help streamline the delivery process and improve delivery times.
11 Apr 2007 15:04

Supply-Chain Council Announces 2007 Supply Chain Excellence Winners

(Washington, DC – April 10, 2007) – The Supply-Chain Council (SCC), an international not-for-profit industry association and owner of the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR®) Model, named its 2007 Supply Chain Excellence winners:
11 Apr 2007 14:07

Toyota Boshoku America to Locate in Northern Kentucky

COVINGTON, Ky.--Gov. Ernie Fletcher joined the Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corporation (Northern Kentucky Tri-ED) and Toyota Boshoku America today in announcing that the company will locate its North American home office in the CirclePort Business Park in Erlanger, Kentucky.
11 Apr 2007 14:47

Aberdeen: Process industry reworking supply chain

WILMINGTON, DEL. – April 10, 2007 – According to a new study released this week by Aberdeen Group, and co-sponsored by Supply Chain Consultants ( www.supplychain.com ), three-quarters of all process industry companies surveyed are focusing on supply chain transformation in order to address and contain manufacturing and logistics costs. The report, entitled “ Supply Chain Cost-Cutting Strategies: How Top Process Industry Performers Take Radically Different Actions ,” also found that Best in Class companies are strikingly ahead of their peers in achieving their transformation goals, and are much more aggressive in adopting supply chain technology as part of their improvement initiatives.
10 Apr 2007 14:13

Grassroot U.S. Industrial Plant Construction Increases 33% in 2007

SUGAR LAND--April 10, 2007--Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). Since a similar study was conducted in October 2006, the total investment value (TIV) of grassroot industrial plants currently under construction in the U.S. has increased by about 33%, from $60 billion to $88 billion. Correspondingly, the number of plants under construction has increased from 601 to 656 during this time period. For details see - Grassroot U.S. Industrial Plant Construction Surpasses $60 Billion.
10 Apr 2007 13:14

Job openings and labor turnover, Feb 2007

On the last business day of February, there were 4.1 million job openings in the United States, and the job openings rate was 2.9 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.
10 Apr 2007 15:22

MES best with ERP, says Aberdeen Group

As a just-released study from Harte Hanks AberdeenGroup concludes, best-in-class manufacturers are 52 percent more likely to use manufacturing execution systems (MES) than their peers. The study found that the best performing companies at 61 percent more likely to have integrated MES and ERP systems.
10 Apr 2007 13:39

New Federal Partnership Helps Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturers Cut Energy Use

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute for Science and Technology (NIST) announced the creation of a partnership to help small and mid-sized manufacturers reduce energy consumption. DOE’s university-based Industrial Assessment Centers (IAC) and NISTs Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) are working together to improve the energy efficiency, environmental performance and global competitiveness of these plants.
10 Apr 2007 13:46

U.S. Employment Report Soothes Growth Fears

According to industry thinktank Global Insights, employment growth improved in March, helped by the boost to construction payrolls from a return to normal weather. The report serves as a welcome counterweight to the recent bleak reports on business capital equipment spending. Businesses are still hiring, the unemployment rate has fallen again, and labor earnings growth remains solid.
10 Apr 2007 13:30

CEO Survey Shows Large Profitable Companies Look at Pricing; Others Don’t

Woodland Hills, Calif. (March 22, 2007) — Atenga, a leader in price optimization, conducted their first quarterly Pulse of the CEO survey in February 2007, which focused on capturing the concerns and issues that influence an executive’s decisions regarding their company’s profitability.
09 Apr 2007 19:44

Guest editorial: If Good Ethics is Good Business, What's the Problem?

Though the number of cases of ethical scandals in corporate America continues to increase, some companies are still not deterred. It takes as little as one employee's action to create a major ethical breech. Yet, some company leaders still do not understand.
09 Apr 2007 16:43

Guest editorial: Retain Your Best Workers - How to Recognize the Stars in Your Organization

By Daisy Saunders Editor's note: The skills gap being what it is, and the dearth of young talent to replace older talent, keeping a good employee is the wisest hiring strategy. Ms. Saunders has delivered her ideas at NASA, EPA and other government organizations - can't see why these good ideas wouldn't translate to NGOs and industry.
09 Apr 2007 15:59

Motorola introduces Enterprise Digital Assistant handheld computer

ORLANDO, Fla - The new enterprise mobility business from Motorola, Inc. has introduced the MC35 Enterprise Digital Assistant (EDA), what Motorola calls "an all-in-one communication device that harnesses the voice and data applications people expect from an office setting and delivers them in the form of a durable and compact handheld mobile computer."
09 Apr 2007 15:41

Sandisk v. STMicroelectronics - licensing in the post-MedImmune age

by Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. intellectual property and technology attorney David Fox On March 26, 2007, the Federal Circuit applied the Supreme Court’s MedImmune decision (MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc., 127 S. Ct. 764, 166 L. Ed. 2d 604 (2007)) to patent licensing negotiations, and effected “a sweeping change in [Federal Circuit] law regarding declaratory judgment jurisdiction” with potentially “no practical stopping point short of allowing declaratory judgment actions in virtually any case in which the recipient of an invitation to take a patent license elects to dispute the need for a license and then to sue the patentee.” SanDisk Corp. v. STMicrosystems, Inc., 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 7029, *37 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (Bryson, concurring).
09 Apr 2007 17:13

U.S. Steel forms nat gas pipe ventures with S. Korea companies

According to an Associated Press report, United States Steel (or U.S. Steel) has formed a $93 million joint venture with two South Korean companies to build a production plant for spiral welded pipe, used in the natural gas industry.
09 Apr 2007 17:34

Accenture Wins $252 Million Defense Logistics Agency Contract

RESTON, Va.; April 5, 2007 – Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has been awarded a contract by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to provide business systems integration, systems engineering and application management services.
06 Apr 2007 15:16

Alcoa Employees to Research Environment as Earthwatch Fellows

Global aluminum giant Alcoa announced today that 14 of its employees will assist in scientific field research expeditions around the world this year, through a partnership with Earthwatch Institute.
06 Apr 2007 14:07

Automakers, high-techs, outsourcing more aggressively

HOUSTON (April 5, 2007) – Driven by the pressures of global competition, companies in the automotive, manufacturing, and high-tech industries are more aggressively outsourcing their back-office information technology (IT) and business processes in order to reduce costs and improve their performance.
06 Apr 2007 15:34

Bio-Rad opens first ASIA-pacific plant in Singapore

SINGAPORE, 4 April 2007 - Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., a multinational manufacturer and distributor of life science research and clinical diagnostics products today held the grand opening of its first manufacturing plant in the Asia-Pacific region. The new Bio-Rad plant is located in Singapore.
06 Apr 2007 15:19

Cardiff Business School proves history is bunk about Henry Ford

Henry Ford has long been heralded as the father of modern mass automotive production.
06 Apr 2007 15:23

NAM, Alliance of Auto Manufacturers, demand due process from Supreme Court

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 4, 2007 - Joining with the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers in an amicus brief filed today, the National Association of Manufacturers urged the U.S. Supreme Court to ensure that product liability laws provide "fair notice" before imposing punitive damages.
06 Apr 2007 16:09

Supreme Court Supports EPA Clean Air Act Interpretation Against Duke Energy

First appeared April 4, 2007 as an advisory by the Energy Department of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.
06 Apr 2007 15:48

Daimler CEO to POd shareholders: Yes, we'll sell Chrysler

DaimlerChrysler chief executive Dieter Zetsche has confirmed that yes, the company is in talks to offload the Chrysler Group. This at its annual shareholders meeting in Berlin.
05 Apr 2007 14:13

Short-Circuited: Cutting Jobs as Corporate Strategy

Published: April 04, 2007 in Knowledge@Wharton, http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu Layoffs. Downsizing. Rightsizing. Job cuts. Separations. Terminations. Workforce reductions. Off-shoring. Outsourcing.
05 Apr 2007 14:04

Quality Float Works receives US Chamber of Commerce small business award

SCHAUMBURG, IL –The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has given Quality Float Works, Inc. a “Small Business Blue Ribbon Award” for 2007 recognizing its achievements.
04 Apr 2007 15:44

Boeing Will Install Class 3 Electronic Flight Bag on Japan Airlines' New 777s

SEATTLE, April 03, 2007 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Japan Airlines International today announced that the airline will install Boeing's Class 3 Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) on two new 777 airplanes to be delivered beginning this year: a 777-200 scheduled for delivery in May and a 777-300ER scheduled to join the fleet later in the year.
03 Apr 2007 18:53

Chrysler Group Statement Regarding U.S. – Korea Free Trade Agreement

Auburn Hills, Mich., Apr 2, 2007 - "The Chrysler Group is disappointed with the recent details coming out of Seoul on the free trade agreement signed by the U.S. and Korea last night," said the company in a sstatement.
03 Apr 2007 20:51

Europe Takes Global Leadership in Printed Electronics

Surprisingly, Europe has been pulling ahead of the rest of the world in many aspects of printed and potentially printed electronics just lately and this will be revealed by the following organisations and others at the forthcoming conference Printed Electronics Europe April 17-18 at Cambridge University UK. Remarkable advances from Korea, Japan and the US will also be presented.
03 Apr 2007 14:58

Goodyear sells Engineering Products division

Global private equity firm The Carlyle Group (Washington, DC) has agreed to acquire the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company’s Engineered Products Division in a transaction valued at $1.475 billion in cash, according to an article in Material Handling Management.
03 Apr 2007 21:54

Market Potential of Biodiesel

Phoenix, AZ - March XX, 2007 - Energy Business Reports,the energy industry think tank and research center, writers that ethanol and biodiesel are the most widely recognized biofuel sources for transport sector. Commercial production of biodiesel in the United States began in the 1990s.
03 Apr 2007 18:56

Supreme Court Rebukes EPA on Climate Change Regulation

By Craig Gannett and James P. Walsh, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, published in DWT's April 2 Advisory Bulletin On April 2, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, pushed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the direction of regulating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from new motor vehicles.
03 Apr 2007 20:54

UPS survey: Asia Business Leaders Foresee Nothing But Growth

ATLANTA, April 3, 2007 - A key segment of Asia's business leaders believes their region's economy will continue to enjoy strong growth in 2007, but many are more excited about the growth of India than they are China, a new survey shows.
03 Apr 2007 18:59

Colubris Networks Names Rob Scott as President and CEO

Waltham, Mass. – April 2, 2007 – Colubris Networks, the leading global provider of intelligent wireless LANs (WLANs) for enterprises and service providers, today announced the appointment of Rob Scott as president and chief executive officer.
02 Apr 2007 17:56

Dow Launches Epoxy Plant in China and Major Polyurethane Expansion in Europe

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA --April 2, 2007--Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). Dow Chemicals has launched a spate of new projects and major production expansions at locations in China and Europe.
02 Apr 2007 13:39

GM Names UGS Supplier of the Year for the Second Consecutive Year

PLANO, Texas and DETROIT – Kudos to UGS Corp., a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services, which today announced that General Motors selected UGS as a 2006 Supplier of the Year.
02 Apr 2007 17:58

NAM comments South Korea Free Trade agreement

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 2, 2007 – Following today’s conclusion of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement negotiations, the National Association of Manufacturers commended Ambassador Susan Schwab, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Karan Bhatia, Chief Negotiator Wendy Cutler and the entire U.S. negotiating team for their work in completing the complex agreement.
02 Apr 2007 23:04

Manufacturing news