The source for the latest information, news, new products, and opinions about the machining and metalworking industries
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The source for the latest information, news, new products, and opinions about the machining and metalworking industries |
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Economioc Turn-around Beginning to Show for Some Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in December for the fifth consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the eighth consecutive month, according to supply executives in the latest Manufacturing Institute for Supply Management Report On Business®. The report was issued today by the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. The manufacturing sector grew for the fifth consecutive month in December as the PMI rose to 55.9 percent, its highest reading since April 2006 when it registered 56 percent. This month's report is strong as both the new orders and production indices are above 60 percent. The sector may be benefiting from an excessive destocking cycle as indicated by the recent performance of the Customers' Inventories Index. Customers' inventories have been low for nine consecutive months, and this December's index is the lowest reading since the inception of the index in January 1997. Overall, the recovery in manufacturing is continuing, but there are still some industries mired in the downturn as evidenced by the seven industries still in decline: Wood Products; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Plastics and Rubber Products; Chemical Products; Printing and Related Support Activities; and Fabricated Metal Products. Rescue Party A three-alarm fire destroyed Carr Lane Drill Bushing Company's plant in Austin, TX, earlier in 2009. The fire struck overnight and only the outer walls of the plant remained. Carr Lane lost 33 Sunnen honing machines in the disaster – machines critical to producing the company's line of drill bushings. At the time of the fire, representatives from Sunnen heard the news while attending a Houston trade show. "I called (Carr Lane president) Earl Walker in St. Louis," Tom Dustman, international sales director for Sunnen, said. "I told him to let us know what we could do to help." Sunnen and Carr Lane are both based in St. Louis, with their headquarters only a couple of miles apart. Carr Lane's immediate need was to fulfill existing orders for customers, so Sunnen offered use of the machines in its tech center, along with operators to hone the parts. Raw parts were delivered to the Sunnen tech center and finished in a day, letting Carr Lane meet delivery deadlines. Carr Lane Drill Bushing Co. is in a temporary location in Round Rock, TX, while a new facility is rebuilt on the old site. Construction of the new plant is expected to take about a year. Durable Mecco and Manufacturing Soltions Partner for Marking Product Distribution Durable Mecco, Franklin Park, IL, a provider of marking solutions announced a strategic partnership with Manufacturing Solutions Inc., Beaumont, TX. The partnership lets Durable Mecco integrate marking equipment into custom applications by using the technical staff and experience of Manufacturing Solutions. Applications include direct-part marking with traditional marking equipment such as flat or round dies, impact presses, and the latest dot peen and laser technologies. MAG's Janka Elected Chairman of AMT
The AMT represents more than 400 American manufacturers of machine tools, manufacturing machinery and related products. Its goal is to promote technological advancements and improvements in the design, manufacture, and sale of members' products and act as an advocate on trade matters to governments and trade organizations throughout the world. Janka began his career with Cincinnati Milacron's Machine Tool Group in 1984, and was most recently president of MAG Americas prior to assuming his current position of President, MAG Global. MAG Subsidiaries Celebrate Anniversaries MAG’s Fond du Lac and Hebron operations celebrated birthdays 150 and 125, respectively. Giddings & Lewis began in 1859 as a small machine shop serving the sawmills, gristmills and paper mills of Fond du Lac, WI. Within 50 years, it had built the first gray iron foundry in Wisconsin, and began manufacturing industrial steam engines and engine lathes. Today, MAG's Fond du Lac facility builds large machine tools. MAG's Hebron facility traces its roots to the Cincinnati Milling Machine Company, established in 1884. The company completed delivery of 34 machines to Russia for a producer of titanium. Georgia Bestows Safety Award MSC Industrial Direct Company's Atlanta Customer Fulfillment Center received the State of Georgia's 2008 Commissioner's Award for Outstanding Safety Performance. The Georgia Department of Labor annually recognizes the top performing companies in Georgia for outstanding safety performance. One of the key criteria for the award was documentation that the company experienced at least 250 days in the calendar year where no associate missed time due to workplace injury or illness. MSC Industrial Direct is a direct marketer and distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair, and operations supplies to industrial customers throughout the U.S. AMT and NTMA Execs Tour Jet Edge
Jet Edge, Inc., a manufacturer of ultra-high pressure waterjet systems, hosted Douglas K. Woods, the president of the Association For Manufacturing Technology – AMT – and Robert L. Akers, Jr., the chief operating officer of the National Tooling and Machining Association – NTMA during a recent trip to Minnesota. Woods and Akers were in the Twin Cities to participate in a Great Manufacturing Get Together panel discussion regarding the economic recovery. During their visit to Jet Edge, Woods and Akers toured the water jet manufacturer’s 100,000 ft2 manufacturing facility and saw demonstrations of Jet Edge’s 90,000 psi waterjet cutting technology. Woods and Akers discussed the recession’s impact on OEMs with Jet Edge President Jude Lague, and shared their insight on how manufacturers can prepare for the recovery by concentrating on research and development, promoting productivity and cost-saving benefits of their products, and developing export business in growing international markets. |
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Dan
Janka, president, MAG Global, was elected chairman of the Association of
Manufacturing Technology board of directors. Janka was previously elected as a
member of the AMT Board in 2005 and most recently served as vice chairman on the
2008-2009 board and on the association's government relations committee.
