The Leading Source for Manufacturing News & Insight
Reinvesting In American Manufacturing Conference
June 17, 2013 4:17 pm | EventsThis two-day, executive-level event will feature 200 executives from manufacturers strongly considering, or even in the middle of, moving major projects back to the U.S. from overseas. Taking place in the Omni Galleria, in Houston, Texas, the Reinvesting in American Manufacturing Conference will feature dozens of sessions on every topic critical to understanding and making the business case to re-shore manufacturing assets.
EU Official: Trade Deal With U.S. A 'Game-Changer'
June 17, 2013 2:12 pm | News | CommentsThe top official with the European Union's executive arm says a free trade deal with the United States would be a "game-changer" for the global economy. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso made the statement Monday ahead of a formal launch of the trade effort at the Group of Eight Summit in Northern Ireland.
J&J To Buy Aragon For At Least $650M
June 17, 2013 2:08 pm | News | CommentsJohnson & Johnson said Monday that it has agreed to buy Aragon Pharmaceuticals Inc. for at least $650 million in cash, boosting its position in prostate drug development. The privately-held San Diego, company is focused on the development of drugs to treat hormonally-driven cancers.
Whey From Greek Yogurt Used To Produce Power
June 17, 2013 2:07 pm | by Michael Hill, Associated Press | News | CommentsAt the Gloversville-Johnstown wastewater plant west of Albany, it's pipelined from the nearby Fage yogurt plant, where it goes into a 1.5 million-gallon tank filled with anaerobic bacteria, called an anaerobic digester. The resulting methane gas becomes combustible fuel that generates nearly enough electricity to power the plant.
Nuclear Weapons Plant To Improve Fire Safety
June 17, 2013 1:52 pm | News | CommentsThe new construction comes after the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board raised safety concerns earlier this year about more than a decade of delays in completing improvements to an aging fire protection system at the West Texas facility, the Amarillo Globe-News reported Sunday.
Hundreds Sickened In Bangladesh Garment Factory
June 17, 2013 1:50 pm | News | CommentsSeveral hundred garment workers were sickened at their factory outside Bangladesh's capital on Sunday, apparently after drinking water there. Police official Mohammad Jahid said many of the workers were treated at various hospitals after the incident at East West Factory in Gazipur district.
MAPI: Rebound In Production, Modest To Moderate Growth
June 17, 2013 12:19 pm | News | CommentsStrong industrial activity in early 2013 softened somewhat recently but the sector should have enough momentum to continue growth, according to the quarterly Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation U.S. Industrial Outlook (EO-124), a report that analyzes 27 major industries.
Company Recalls Weight Loss Supplements
June 17, 2013 12:12 pm | News | CommentsFlorida Dolphin Intertrade Corp. announced Friday that these products have been found to contain undeclared Sibutramine, which was a previously approved controlled substance for the treatment of obesity. It was removed from the U.S. market in October 2010 for safety reasons.
Court: Pay To Delay' Generic Drugs Can Be Illegal
June 17, 2013 11:38 am | by Jesse J. Holland, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Supreme Court ruled Monday that deals between pharmaceutical corporations and their generic drug competitors, which government officials say keep cheaper forms of medicine off the market, can be sometimes be illegal and therefore challenged by federal officials in court.
Dorner’s DTools Conveyor Configuratior Now Tablet-Optimized
June 17, 2013 11:07 am | Product Releases | CommentsDorner Tools has optimized its DTools online conveyor productivity applications for use with tablet computers. The company says that with the most recent upgrade, users will better be able to configure their own conveyor system on the go, with all the design tools needed to fully configure a new belt conveyor.
Retaining Your Number One Asset: Employees
June 17, 2013 10:19 am | by Maria Ferrante, Vice President, Education & Workforce Development, PMMI | Articles | CommentsThere is one absolute that applies to every company, independent of industry: You cannot expect to operate efficiently without dedicated and skilled employees. When looking at the manufacturing industry specifically, finding a highly skilled workforce has proven to be one of the greatest challenges. With such a limited amount of talent in the applicant pool, companies are left to compete for the best employees.
Chinese Supercomputer Named World's Fastest
June 17, 2013 9:58 am | News | CommentsThe semiannual TOP500 official listing of the world's fastest supercomputers released Monday says the Tianhe-2 developed by the National University of Defense Technology in central China's Changsha city is capable of sustained computing of 33.86 petaflops per second. That's the equivalent of 33,860 trillion calculations per second.
GE Aviation Plans To Open New Plant In NC
June 17, 2013 9:47 am | News | CommentsA company that specializes in jet engines and aircraft system production plans to break ground this year on a parts factory near Asheville. GE Aviation's new facility is being built next to an existing GE machining plant. The company says the new plant will produce engine components made of advanced ceramic matrix composite materials.
Why Big Data Is Meaningless
June 17, 2013 9:40 am | by Michael Rothschild, Founder and CEO, Profit Velocity Solutions | Articles | CommentsVendors, managers and bloggers often cite the benefits of “big data,” though most miss the mark in understanding exactly what it is used for, and how it is analyzed. By itself, big data is just raw material, and without a focus on bottom-line results, it is not only meaningless — it can actually be harmful, diverting resources away from a company's core mission.
ABB Names Ulrich Spiesshofer As Next CEO
June 17, 2013 9:05 am | by ABB | News | CommentsThe Board of ABB has unanimously appointed Ulrich Spiesshofer, the head of its Discrete Automation and Motion (DM) division, as Chief Executive Officer. He will succeed Joe Hogan in this role in an orderly transition on September 15, 2013. He has led a doubling of the division’s revenues by organic and inorganic means, and the integration of Baldor – ABB’s largest ever acquisition.
Google Begins Launching Internet-Beaming Balloons
June 17, 2013 8:39 am | by Martha Mendoza and Nick Perry, Associated Press | News | CommentsEighteen months in the works, the top-secret project was announced Saturday in New Zealand, where up to 50 volunteer households are already beginning to receive the Internet briefly on their home computers via translucent helium balloons that sail by on the wind 12 miles above Earth.
Chrysler Freezes Some Pension Plans
June 17, 2013 8:36 am | by Sarah Skidmore, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsU.S. companies in general have moved away from traditional, or "defined benefit," pensions due to the cost. General Motors made a similar move last year when it froze traditional pension benefits for 19,000 salaried workers hired before 2001. Such pensions guarantee a specific payment to retirees.
Police: 1 Dead, 7 Hurt In 2nd La. Plant Blast
June 17, 2013 8:22 am | News | CommentsState Police Trooper Jared Sandifer said Saturday officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were coming to the CF Industries facility as soon as the site was safe. Sandifer said the state police's hazardous materials unit was at the plant overnight.
Elan Shareholders Vote Down 3 Deals
June 17, 2013 8:16 am | News | CommentsShareholders of Irish drugmaker Elan Corp. PLC have potentially ended a takeover bid from Royalty Pharma by voting in favor of an Elan share buyback plan. The Dublin-based company's shareholders also rejected at a Monday meeting three separate deals that the Elan board has pushed instead of the Royalty takeover bid.
Pa. Company Recalls 165,000 Baby Recliners
June 17, 2013 8:15 am | News | CommentsBaby Matters LLC of Berwyn, Pa., announced the recall of its Nap Nanny and Nap Nanny Chill infant recliners as part of a settlement with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Since 2009, the commission said it received at least 92 incident reports involving the products.
