U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez announced that Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing and Services Al Frink, the first to hold that position, has resigned his office effective January 31.
The Association For Manufacturing Technology (AMT, McLean, VA) Exhibitions Department has named Monica Haley to the new position of marketing administrator. In this role, Haley will be a key member
MILWAUKEE-Rockwell Automation introduced its OEM Accelerator program that provides engineering services and tools to help life sciences machine builders and process equipment providers reduce their development costs and time to market. As a result, OEMs can provide their customers with predefined interfaces that can reduce risk, lower cost and speed integration time.
MCLEAN, VA-October 2006 U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $368.62 million, according to The Association For Manufacturing Technology (AMT), and the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association. This total, as reported by companies participating in the United States Manufacturing Technology Consumption (USMTC) program, was down 9.9% from September, but up 41.4% from the total of $260.6 million reported for October 2005. With a year-to-date total of $3,188.07 million, 2006 was up 27.9% compared with 2005.
TOLEDO, OH-Auto parts maker Dana Corp. said it plans to close eight U.S. plants and downsize three others in North America. Dana, which filed for bankruptcy protection in March 2006, also said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission it would eliminate health benefits for retirees and attempt to alter labor contracts at its unionized plants.
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Structural costs for domestic manufacturers have increased from 22.4% to 31.7% since 2003 compared to nine major trading partners, according to a study released by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), The Manufacturing Institute and the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI. “The sharp rise in these non-wage costs represents a significant and long-term problem for our nation’s manufacturers and America’s economy,” says John Engler, NAM president.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL-The confidence of U.S. workers in manufacturing industries showed further signs of improvement in the third quarter of 2006, according to the latest Spherion Employment Report survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Spherion Corp. The third quarter Industrial, Manufacturing and Construction Employee Confidence Index increased by 1.3 points to 54.7-the largest gain in three quarters.
WASHINGTON, D.C.-President George W. Bush and Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez announced three organizations as recipients of the 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest presidential honor for organizational performance excellence.