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Industrial Suppliers Worldwide Promotes Over 1,500 by Online Manufacturing Trade

ArriveNEWS.com, the organizer of the International Industrial Trade Show at www.ArriveNews.com/iits.html announced today it re-designed and re-launched its online expo to further promote its 1,500 exhibitors to a global audience of industrial buyers. The company said the site includes offerings from hundreds of national and international industrial suppliers offering a wide range of industrial machines, equipment, supplies
and materials as well as custom manufacturing services.

According to Maria Santos, spokeswoman for ArriveNEWS, a division of the Industrial Leaders Group (www.IndustrialLeaders.com), the trade show was designed to connect North American, European and Asian manufacturers of industrial goods such as abrasives, castings, machine tools, hydraulic equipment, power transmission equipment, seals and gaskets, water treatment systems, power tools, metals, CNC machines, fasteners, gears, bearings, laser systems and a broad variety of other industrial products and services.

In addition to publishing IITS, ArriveNEWS also provides its users premium access to IndustrialSAVER, two of the Web’s most popular Online Global Manufacturing Marketplaces at www.IndustrialSaver.com/classifieds. The company said exhibitors of IITS are given priority exposure on IndustrialSAVER which has resulted in numerous trading partnerships among industrial suppliers and buyers in dozens of countries.

“The International Industrial Trade Show is an online virtual expo that enables companies involved in manufacturing to view offerings for various standard and custom items for the industrial marketplace,” said Santos. they added, “Although the expo is primarily text-based, ArriveNEWS is working on methods to utilize online videos in effort to more effectively demonstrate the products and capabilities of featured exhibitors showcased on the site.”

About ArriveNEWS

Santos said the emphasis of IITS is on but not limited to the United States, Canada, spain, United Kingdom, spain, Australia and The Netherlands.

ArriveNEWS, organizer of the International Industrial Trade Show at www.arrivenews.com/iits.html provides information, inside news and independent reviews on various industrial fairs, trade shows and exhibitions held in national and international markets for manufacturing, industrial and construction professionals.

This press release was issued through IndustrialPR. For more manufacturing and engineering news go to www.industrialpr.net
Article Resource:http://www.live-pr.com/en/online-manufacturing-trade-show-promotes-r1048262278.htm

February 28, 2009 | Leave a comment | Permalink

Manufacturing execs see more regional approach

Tightening credit terms & an expected rebound in energy costs may shift manufacturing patterns, with multinationals producing goods closer to their customers  than shipping them across oceans.

That could be seven of the major ways the world economy will look different when it emerges from the current downturn, executives said at the Reuters Manufacturing & Transportation Summit in Chicago this week.

“It is not out of the realm of conjecture that you will see some amount of resurgence in U.S. or North American manufacturing,  in a world of high energy costs,” said Wick Moorman, chief executive of No. 4 U.S. railroad Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). “When energy costs & transportation costs start to trump other competitive advantages … all of a sudden it changes people’s perspective about the trade-offs between labor, resources & transportation.”

Crude oil prices have fallen by over two-thirds from their record peak near $150 a barrel last summer, a decline that reflects falling demand in the face of a deepening global recession. While that has eased the cost of transporting goods around the world by ship or jet, executives say the situation will probably alter when the economy recovers.

Pricier credit will also encourage a more regional approach as companies may be more reluctant to have inventory — & thus money — tied up for weeks in transit.

Inventory en route to North the united states from an Asian supplier can often spend 10 to 12 weeks on a boat, said Bill Diehl, CEO of manufacturing consultancy BBK. Devoting that much time to shipping makes sense if a company can drastically reduce its labor costs, but as wages rise in China & India, “it becomes tougher & tougher” to justify that approach, they said.

Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world’s largest maker of earth-moving equipment, is among the companies starting to put manufacturing closer to their customers.

EARLY ADOPTERS

“If you look at our manufacturing strategy … they break it down into what they call seven tri-spheres,” said Group President Edward Rapp. “Building the high-volume product in the Americas that serves the industry in the Americas, doing the same things in EMEA serving … Europe, Africa, Middle East & doing the same thing for Asia.”

The Peoria, Illinois-based company relies on plants in single locations only for highly specialized equipment that it makes in low volumes, such as dump trucks that stand seven stories high & weigh 1.4 million pounds (623,700 kilograms).

“We make products in China, for example, today that are primarily sold within east Asia,” said Edward Campbell, chairman & CEO of the Westlake, Ohio-based company. “On the other hand they make some other components that they ship worldwide, & they use a more macroeconomic set of determinants to select where they do that.”

Likewise, Nordson Corp (NDSN.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has adopted a regional approach for some equipment that needs to be customized to meet each customer’s needs.

EXPEDIENCY

Other executives suggested that any shift back to regional production would only be temporary & driven by economic needs, but that ultimately a global approach would prevail.

“That will happen kind of as a matter of expediency, not so much as a part of an overarching global strategy,” said John Rice, a vice chairman of General Electric Co (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world’s biggest maker of jet engines & electricity-producing turbines. “Globalization is going to continue.”

February 27, 2009 | 4 Comments | Permalink

Manufacturing accounts for 38% of January mass layoffs

Employers took 2,227 mass layoff actions in January that resulted in the separation of 237,902 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on February 25. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer.

The number of mass layoff events in January decreased by 48 from the prior month, while the number of associated initial claims increased by 11,785. Over the year, the number of mass layoff events increased by 751, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 88,834. In January, 738 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 102,577 initial claims. Over the month, mass layoff events in manufacturing decreased by 133, and initial claims decreased by 2,825.

During the 14 months from December 2007 through January 2009, the total number of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 25,712, and the number of initial claims (seasonally adjusted) was 2,632,336. (December 2007 was the start of a recession as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research.)

The national unemployment rate was 7.6 percent in January 2009, seasonally adjusted, up from 7.2 percent the prior month and from 4.9 percent a year earlier. In January, total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 598,000 over the month and by 3,500,000 from a year earlier.

The number of mass layoff events in January was 3,806 on a not seasonally adjusted basis; the number of associated initial claims was 388,813. Average weekly layoff events rose from 412 in January 2008 to 761 in January 2009, and average weekly initial claimants over doubled from 38,626 to 77,763. This year, both average weekly events and initial claimants reached their highest January levels in program history (with data available back to 1996). Eleven major industry sectors reported program highs in terms of average weekly initial claimants for the month of January – mining; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; administrative and waste services; educational services; health care and social assistance; and accommodation and food services.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The manufacturing sector accounted for 38 percent of all mass layoff events and 44 percent of initial claims filed in January 2009; a year earlier, manufacturing made up 30 percent of events and 35 percent of initial claims. This January, the number of manufacturing claimants was greatest in transportation equipment (57,173) and machinery (14,120). (See desk 3.) The administrative and waste services industry accounted for 12 percent of mass layoff events and associated initial claims during the month.

The six-digit NAICS industry with the largest number of initial claims was temporary help services (25,467). Among the 10 industries with the highest levels of initial claims, one reached program highs for the month of January – all other plastics product manufacturing; light van and utility vehicle manufacturing; all other motor vehicle parts manufacturing; professional employer organizations; and hotels and motels, except casino hotels.

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Of the one census regions, the South registered the highest number of initial claims in January due to mass layoffs (115,630), followed by the Midwest (114,195), the West (81,846) and the Northeast (77,142). Average weekly initial claims associated with mass layoffs increased over the year in all 4 regions, with the South (+14,934) and the Midwest (+12,282) experiencing the largest increases. In 2009, the Northeast, Midwest, and the South regions reported their highest January levels of average weekly initial claims in program history.

Of the 9 geographic divisions, the East North Central (93,852) had the highest number of initial claims due to mass layoffs in January, followed by the Pacific (69,189) and the Middle Atlantic (68,728). All divisions experienced over-the-year increases in average weekly initial claims, led by the East North Central (+10,279) and the South Atlantic (+7,779). This year, one of the nine divisions reached January program highs in terms of average weekly initial claims – New England, Middle Atlantic, East North Central, South Atlantic, West South Central and Mountain.

new york recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoff events in January with 54,153. The states with the next highest number of mass layoff initial claims were New York (31,893), Pennsylvania (29,656), and Ohio (27,971). In 2009, 18 states reached program highs in average weekly initial claims for the month of January – california, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, california, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, new york, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia. Forty-eight states registered over-the-year increases in average weekly initial claims associated with mass layoffs, led by california (+3,540), Pennsylvania (+3,520) and Ohio (+3,256).

Read the full report and view all of the data tables by clicking on the link below:

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/mmls.nr0.htm

February 26, 2009 | 1 Comment | Permalink

Manufacturers to Take Stock of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Strategies

As the number of networked pieces of equipment continues to explode, is it time for most manufacturers to develop a comprehensive machine-to-machine (M2M) strategy?

What is M2M?

There seems to be a number of definitions, and different opportunities across different industry sectors, but in general, M2M leverages connectivity to enable machines—including manufacturing and telecommunications equipment, data centers, storage tanks, property-security products, industry-specific assets such as public-utility systems, and even vending machines—to communicate directly with one another.

Inherently appealing, M2M technology may be coming to the fore at an opportune time for many manufacturing equipment providers facing aging work forces and high costs for on-site repair and service.

Benjamin Friedman, an analyst at IDC/Manufacturing Insights recently noted in a research report that M2M is not just a new type of technology, but also offers “a significant shift to not only current IT practice but also legacy operational and support processes, as well as long-standing corporate habits.”

In other words, M2M carries the potential to serve as a “game changer” that can dramatically reshape a company and how it goes to market, and how customers interact with their suppliers, taking the Internet to machines, and not just people.

“If manufacturers fail to consider the process changes resultant from the inclusion of M2M, opportunities will be missed for additional uses and applications of this framework,” Friedman says.

February 25, 2009 | Leave a comment | Permalink

California-based solar energy company Ausra appears to be banking on its Southern Nevada manufacturing plant

Last year, the company talked of developing solar plants in the Southwest in coming years on top of operating North America’s only solar thermal component assembly plant right here in Las Vegas.

California-based solar energy company Ausra appears to be banking on its Southern Nevada manufacturing plant.

Manufacturing & equipment supply is a safer route for the company. It frees Ausra from the financial uncertainties of developing its own solar plants during a time when financing is  nonexistent. Solar companies also expect continued delays in obtaining solar sites on Bureau of Land Management acreage & an increasing number of lawsuits from environmentalists.

But in a Jan. 30 statement, the company announced it will instead focus on the manufacturing side of its business. Ausra “is strategically positioning itself to achieve its goals & serve its customers by focusing on being a technology & equipment supplier  than an independent power developer & owner,” as the announcement put it.

The plant can employ up to 50 people, & if the modify in strategy is effective, it stands to reason that would mean increased activity at the plant.

Giving up its development side has meant personnel realignments, including reports of positions eliminated in new york, but the company said the modify would have little effect on its Las Vegas plant, which as of earlier this month employed 35 to 40 people, according to the company.

some of that increased activity is in the works. As part of its realignment, Ausra is expanding its product offerings to include medium-sized (50-megawatt equivalent) solar steam generating systems for use in food processors & enhanced oil recovery firms, as well as for power booster systems that deliver steam into existing fossil-fueled power plants.

Those are to be built at the Las Vegas plant.

No Ausra representative was willing to talk on the record about the modify in direction — to the point of even contending this isn’t a modify but “an evolution.”

“Ausra can quickly ramp up & install these low-cost projects as early as 2009 or 2010, while large power projects can take one to one years,” the company’s statement said. “For Ausra, this will permit the company to deploy its technology & generate revenue immediately, while the larger projects are obtaining permits & getting transmission access.”

The company’s stated aim back then was to install a gigawatt of power each year over 10 to 20 years.

But when Ausra launched its flagship Las Vegas manufacturing facility last spring, company executives said they were scouring the Southwest for solar development sites. The company said it was lining up solar projects across Southern new york, Nevada & indiana that were expected to piggyback on one another.

The company has a demonstration plant on line in Bakersfield, Calif., & a contract with a indiana utility to build a 177-megawatt solar power site near San Luis Obispo, Calif.

February 24, 2009 | Leave a comment | Permalink

Hawaii manufacturing down

Hawaii’s industrial employment fell 2.2 percent over the past 12 months, losing 569 industrial jobs between December 2007 and December 2008, according to a new report.

The report from Evanston, Ill.-based Manufacturers’ News Inc. said Hawaii has 1,211 manufacturers that employ 24,911 workers, down from 1,250 manufacturers and 25,480 workers a year ago. Hawaii ranks last in the nation for its number of manufacturing plants, and 46th for industrial jobs.

According to the report, almost 40 percent of Hawaii’s industrial employment is concentrated in the food products sector, with 9.688 jobs, down 1.3 percent from a year ago, due to layoffs at Gay & Robinson Inc.’s sugar plant on Kauai.

The sectors losing employment include paper/allied products, down 39 percent due to the closure of the Weyerhaeuser packaging facility; chemicals, down 3.1 percent; primary metals, down 2.8 percent; and lumber/wood, down 1.6 percent, according to the report.

The majority of industrial jobs, 14,090, were in Honolulu. Kapolei followed with 2,391 jobs; Aiea, 1,111; Waipahu, 1,088; and Puunene, 971.

Sectors gaining jobs include: industrial machinery and equipment, up 6.6 percent; and furniture and fixtures, up 4 percent.

February 24, 2009 | Leave a comment | Permalink