Executive Hotline - Industry News

Surprise AZ. Brentwood Industries Deal Could Bring 40 Jobs
The Surprise City Council is expected to approve a development agreement that could bring manufacturing jobs to the city.
The council will consider an agreement with Pennsylvania-based Brentwood Industries. If approved, the company will build 125,000-square-feet of manufacturing and assembly space. That would create 40 full-time jobs.
The city expects to waive approximately $80,000 in plan review and building permit fees in order to facilitate Brentwood’s selection of Surprise as its business site.
Brentwood would manufacture filter media and plastic medical packaging at two facilities inside the Southwest Railplex. The property is located northeast of Litchfield Road and Peoria Avenue.
Phase II would feature a 75,000-square-foot facility for the manufacture or assembly of packaging for medical devices. The facility would be open within 60 months of the effective date, according to the draft agreement.
Solexant to Build Solar Plant in Oregon
Solexant Corp. executives announced the company’s plan to build a solar module factory in Gresham, Ore., east of Portland.
News of San Jose-based Solexant’s plans first emerged in late May when its request for a $25 million loan came before the Oregon Department of Energy.
The location of its planned manufacturing plant, however, remained a question.
Volkswagen Electronics ReSearch Lab Expanding, Hiring, in Bay Area
Volkswagen of America is expanding its Bay Area research lab -- where researchers "design the cars of the future" -- with plans to move from Palo Alto to a larger, 157,000-square-foot office building in Belmont, and hire 25 or more engineers, reports the San Mateo County Times.
Boeing Announces More than $10 Billion in Orders
Boeing Co. announced more than $10 billion in new plane orders, including orders for 30 777-300 extended range planes from Emirates Airlines, 40 737-800s from GE Capital Aviation Services and Norwegian Air Shuttle exercising purchasing rights for 15 737-800s.
Boeing said the Emirates order, worth between $7.7 billion and $8.6 billion at list prices, included 18 of the Everett-built 777s that were previously attributed to an unidentified customer on its website. Dubai-based Emirates already flies 86 777s and has another 16 on order.
The 737 order from GE Capital Aviation Services, is valued at about $3 billion at list prices. Boeing builds its 737s in Renton.
The 737 order from low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle is valued at $1.15 billion at average list prices. The Norwegian airline is exercising purchase rights from a 2007 order for 42 737s.
Raytheon Gets $368 Million Navy Contract in Tuscon, Arizona
Raytheon Co. received a $368 million contract from the U.S. Navy to produce the Standard Missile-6 for three years.
The extended-range, anti-aircraft missiles will begin delivery in early 2011. Raytheon whose missile division is based in Tucson, also will handle parts and system design engineering under the contract.
Boeing Says Bigger 787 Final DeSign Done
Boeing Co. said it’s done with final designs of its new 787-9, a bigger version of the 787 it’s currently assembling in Everett.
The aerospace giant said the first 787-9, which seats up to 290 people and has a range of up to 8,500 miles, will be delivered in late 2013.
“Firm configuration means the airplane’s structural, propulsion and systems architectures are defined and not changing,” said Mark Jenks, vice president of 787-9 development, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, in a statement.
Boeing said it collaborated with airline customers and others to determine the “opti
Air China Buying 20 Boeing 737-800s
Air China said it will buy 20 Boeing Co. 737-800 airplanes that the Chinese airline expects to receive between 2013 and 2015.
In a statement, Air China said the deal is worth about $1.4 billion but added that “Boeing has granted ... significant price concessions” for the Renton (WA) -built airplanes.
CoorsTek to Buy Advanced-Ceramics Business of Saint-Gobain
CoorsTek Inc., which makes technical ceramic and specialty material components, said it has agreed to buy the advanced-ceramics business of France's Saint-Gobain SA.
The deal is valued at $245 million.
Under the agreement, Golden Colorado based CoorsTek said it will acquire certain business properties held by Saint-Gobain Ceramic Materials, including advanced-ceramic facilities in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Saint-Gobain's advanced-ceramics business reportedly employs some 1,100 workers at 14 sites and posted 2009 sales of $165 million. One of its ceramics plants is at 1225 Aeroplaza Drive in Colorado Springs.
CoorsTek -- a descendant of a business that was spun off by the Adolph Coors Co. in the early 1990s -- was taken private by a Coors family trust in 2003.
Vestas’ Colorado Plants Will Get Work From Canada Order
Vestas Wind Systems said it’s received an order for 79 wind turbines, capable of generating 142 megawatts of power, from Capital Power Corp. for a wind farm in British Columbia, Canada, and the turbine maker’s Colorado plants will be involved in filling the order.
Capital Power, a power company based in Edmonton, Alberta, ordered 44 V100-1.8 megawatt turbines and another 35 V90-1.8 megawatt turbines for the proposed Quality Wind Project, Vestas said. The turbines will be delivered in 2012 and the order includes a 10-year service and maintenance agreement, the wind turbine manufacturer said.
Vestas’ manufacturing plants in Colorado — its blade plant in Windsor, a nacelles plant in Brighton, and a towers plant in Pueblo — will get work from the order, said Vestas spokeswoman Aili Jokela via email.
Schilling Takes Orders for New Deep-Sea Robot
Schilling Robotics LLC in Davis, CA, has developed a new, more compact remotely operated deep-sea vehicle for use by the inspection, maintenance, and repair industries as well as drill support and medium-duty construction markets.
Schilling, which makes deep-ocean robots used for science, technology and industry, has sold two of its new HD Remotely Operated Vehicle systems to a customer for delivery in August, a news release said.
Tesla Projects Vans, SUVs to Follow Sedan
Tesla Motors showed plans for a van, cabriolet and SUV that may be built on the same frame as the Model S sedan it expects to roll out in 2012.
Tesla Motors Inc. has shown potential investors "freaking bad ass" plans for electric SUVs, cabriolets and vans to follow its planned sedan.
Unlike the company's only existing electric car that it has actually delivered, the Roadster, the sedan and other models shown in the road show would be completely built by Tesla. The sports car body and frame is now produced by Lotus, whose British factory is closing for renovations before Tesla can produce its sedan, causing a gap during which the company will be delivering no cars.
Sunbelt-Turret Steel, Inc. opens California Service Center
Sunbelt-Turret Steel, Inc is a distributor of special bar quality carbon and alloy hot rolled and forged rough turned bar stock in sizes up to 28” diameter. The facility has high-production, close tolerance saws providing unlimited cutting capacity for one off pieces or thousands of cut to length blanks.
Centrally located in Dos Palos, this new 100,000sq ft facility has brought a familiar name to the local manufacturing community. A regional sales office for the Pacific Northwest was also opened in Portland, Oregon.
Raytheon Receives $97M Contract for Air Decoys
Raytheon Co. received a third contract from the U.S. Air Force for production of miniature air-launched decoys. The work is valued at $96.7 million and will be based out of the company’s Tucson, AZ. missile unit.
The decoy flight vehicles weigh less than 300 pounds and has a range of 575 miles.
Solexant Plans Massive Oregon Solar Plant
Solexant Corp.’s loan request will be reviewed by an advisory committee to the Oregon Department of Energy’s state Energy Loan Program.
If approved, it would be the largest loan in the program's roughly 30-year history.
The company plans to build the plant in stages. The first phase would have about 100 megawatts of module manufacturing capacity per year.
When the company first applied for the loan in November it listed an address in Fairview at 3256 N.E. 230th Ave. in which it would occupy an initial 126,000-square-foot building.
A news release from the state said the company is considering sites near Gresham, which could include Fairview, and near Wilsonville.
Privately held Solexant is a four-year-old, venture-backed developer of what it refers to as “ultra-thin-film solar cells."
The company has raised $22.5 million in two investment rounds, according to the Gartner report, but remains in what it called “semi-stealth” mode and hasn’t provided details of its manufacturing process of module performance.
Tesla to Buy NUMMI Plant, Build Cars With Toyota
Toyota is investing $50 million in Tesla and the partnership will produce 1,000 new jobs in the short term. Telsa President Elon Musk said over the long-term he thinks the partnership will create 10,000 jobs.
The deal was announced a much-anticipated news conference at Tesla's Palo Alto headquarters.
Musk said the state is providing a sales tax abatement of about 10 percent on capital equipment purchasing — or somewhere around $20 million over the next couple years.
Tesla will produce its Model S sedan in 2012 at NUMMI and hopes to ramp to 20,000 vehicles within 12 months. But Tesla plans to produce many different types of vehicles using its drive train technology.
Boeing Signs 20-year Lease At Renton Airport In Washington
Boeing Co. has signed a 20-year lease agreement at Renton Municipal Airport, a symbol of commitment to the 737 amid recent rumors the company may be developing a new jet.
The aerospace giant and city officials said the deal includes two 10-year options.
Boeing management has been moving toward decisions about whether it will re-engine the current 737 with more efficient engines to compete against new competing aircraft from Embraer and Bombardier, or build an entirely new narrow body aircraft.
While most analysts have expected Boeing to re-engine the 737 as an interim step, on the grounds that even 787 technologies don’t seem to offer enough efficiency gains over the current 737 designs to warrant the cost and risk, at least one analyst recently suggested Boeing may be “leaning” toward a new design.
Boeing is the largest manufacturing employer in Renton, accounting for about 12,000 jobs, or 30 percent of the city’s total, 9,000 of them at the 737 plant, according to a December 2009 story about the airport and Boeing.
Robotics Company Curexo Raises $13.2M
The Fremont, CA. company, which makes a surgical robotic system for total joint replacements, also said its technology has received FDA clearance for orthopedic surgery.
Boeing Starts Production Line For A160 in Mesa, AZ
Boeing Inc. has started production of a new aircraft, the A160T remote-piloted helicopter, at its Mesa facility.
Work has started on one of the five test planes and while the company awaits orders for the multi-use aircraft.
“We have plans to build more in the future,” said Tony Ham, Mesa site leader and operations director for Boeing.
The project has about 40 employees pulled from Mesa’s Apache line and other Boeing facilities to work on the A160.
Boeing plans to sell the aircraft only in the U.S. and expects to gear up production and hiring once the orders come in, but that may still be months away, Ham said.
Seattle-Area Industrial Outlook Improves a Tad
The Seattle area’s industrial real estate market showed a bit of an improvement in the first quarter compared with the last quarter of 2009, according to a real estate firm.
According to the Seattle office of Jones Lang LaSalle, there were only about 113,000 square feet of industrial space available at the end of the first quarter of 2010, compared with more than 208,000 sq Ft available at the end of the fourth quarter 2009.
Rolls-Royce Oakland Facility Wins $6.2M Navy Contract
Rolls-Royce Engine Services-Oakland, the repair and overhaul facility of the British engine maker’s aerospace defense unit, won a modified $6.2 million Navy engine repair contract.
ReVolt Gets $5M, Could Build Portland Factory
Swiss battery-maker ReVolt Technology LLC received a $5 million federal stimulus grant which the company will use to move forward on its plans for a Portland manufacturing and research center.
Amkor Technology Sees
Revenue Skyrocket
Amkor Technology Inc. saw first-quarter revenue increase by 66 percent and posted net income of $44 million, easily besting last year’s numbers.
Chandler-based Amkor posted net income at 24 cents per share for the quarter, compared to a loss of about 12 cents for the same time last year when the semiconductor industry was being hammered by lack of demand.
The company, which makes semiconductor assembly machines and offers testing services benefited from growing demand as manufacturers geared up in computers, telecommunications and consumer electronics, officials said.
Vestas Restarts Production at Windsor Plant, Lands Big Order
The Vestas Americas wind turbine blade plant in Windsor, CO. has restarted production after work halted earlier this year due to the global recession, a company spokesman said.
And the Danish parent company -- Vestas Wind Systems A/S, announced it has signed the largest single order in company history.
Vestas said it had signed a "Master Supply Agreement" to build, deliver and maintain wind turbines capable of producing up to 1,500 megawatts of power in 2011 and 2012. The order includes an option for expansion to another 600 megawatts that can be exercized in 2010 and 2011, Vestas said.
Orion Spacecraft Still a Go
Speaking at NASA’s space launch center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., President Obama said the Orion spacecraft being built by Littleton, CO.-based Lockheed Martin Space Systems will become a U.S. rescue vehicle for the International Space Station (ISS). Orion’s technologies will likely be involved as the U.S. sends astronauts deeper into space.
“We will build on the good work already done on the Orion vehicle,” Obama said.
The news means hundreds of Lockheed Martin Space Systems employees and subcontractors will continue working on the $8.2 billion capsule, despite NASA planning to cancel the Constellation manned-space program. Orion was part of the Constellation program.
Aerojet Gets $50M NASA
Contract
Aerojet is a subsidiary of Rancho Cordova, CA. based GenCorp
The space propulsion systems to be developed and delivered include cryogenic and electric propulsion for spacecraft.
Arizona Solar Company Sets Lp Manufacturing in Santa Clara
Arizona-based First Solar Inc., a publicly traded maker of thin-film solar modules, is expanding its Bay Area presence by opening a manufacturing and research facility in Santa Clara, according to public records.
The company has submitted plans with the city of Santa Clara to renovate 110,025 square feet for office and a manufacturing facility, as well as an equipment yard, at 1025 and 1035 Walsh Ave.
Boeing Ramps up 777, 747 Production
Boeing Co. said it will speed up production of its Everett-built 777s and 747s, citing “increasing customer demand in the recovering airplane market.”
Boeing said it will accelerate the 777’s production rate to seven planes per month from the current five and increase 747 production to two planes per month from the current 1.5.
TriQuint Plans $60M in Capital Spending, Eyes Strong 2010
TriQuint Semiconductor Inc. entered 2009 much like every other high-tech manufacturer — with uncertainty.
It ended the year on a major growth spurt.
Now, the Hillsboro,Oregon based chip-maker is planning $60 million in capital spending this year. Of that, $20 million will be directed at the company’s Hillsboro fab for new manufacturing equipment and a gas handling facility for additional cleanroom space.
Arizona Structure Technologies Scores Three Contracts
Arizona Structure Technologies has landed three out-of-state contracts totaling $140,000.
The Phoenix-based company, which specializes in steel structures such as pedestrian bridges, received an $85,000 contract to provide steel to Steel Placement LLC of Phoenix for a project in Fort Riley, Kan.
The company also has received a contract from Structures Inc. from Englewood, Colo.That project was for $32,000.
The final contract, for $23,600, was with Salls Brothers Construction Inc. of Albuquerque.
Lockheed Wins $36.8M Apache Contract in Arizona
Lockheed Martin has won a three-year, $36.8 million U.S. Army contract for work at its Arizona Support Center in Gilbert on advanced targeting and piloting systems used on AH-64 Apache helicopters.
Specifically the contract calls for Lockheed personnel to provide support, such as refurbishing and modification, for the Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor and Modernized TADS/PNVS systems.
Boeing Tanker Deal Worth 12K Washington State Jobs
If Boeing Co. gets the contract to build the U.S. Air Force’s new tanker refueling aircraft, it will create up to 71,000 jobs in the U.S., including some 12,000 new jobs in Washington state, according to U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell.
The Democratic senator from Washington cited a report by Sonecon LLC, which said that if Boeing develops and produces the tanker, it should lead to the creation of up to 70,706 U.S. jobs over the life of the contract.
Cantwell said she’s been assured by management of Boeing that the “bulk” of the tanker work would be done in Washington state.
Boeing Develops Phantom Eye Surveillance Aircraft
Boeing is working to broaden the offerings of its Unmanned Airborne Systems division through development of a surveillance aircraft — powered by a hydrogen-fueled Ford compact truck engine — that will be able to loiter at high altitudes for up to four days.
The Phantom Eye prototype, now being assembled by Boeing Phantom Works in St. Louis in collaboration with the Kent, Washington-based Unmanned Airborne Systems unit, is to fly in early 2011, said Phantom Works spokesman Chris Haddox.
The project is internally funded, and is part of an effort by Boeing to catch up in the unmanned aircraft market, currently dominated by Northrop Grumman and General Atomics.
The demonstrator will have a 150-foot wingspan, and will carry a payload of as much as 450 pounds up to 65,000 feet in altitude.
Boeing Plans Oregon Expansion
Boeing Co. plans to pump at least $100 million into its Gresham, Ore., plant in the next three years, creating up to 152 new jobs.
The Chicago-based aircraft manufacturer has filed an application to receive the benefits of an existing enterprise zone; the company could receive up to 15 years of property tax deferrals on some investments.
Boeing Portland already employs more than 1,500 people in Gresham.
The majority of the investment will fund a 60,000-square-foot expansion of a chemical processing plant.
Boeing uses the suburban Portland plant as a milling operation. Workers there are responsible for critical machined metal components used in the company’s commercial aircraft, including the new 787 Dreamliner. Work includes making gear boxes, engine mounts, carriages and flight control systems.
Blended Winglet Boast: 2 Billion Gallons of Fuel Saved
The makers of the blended winglets you see at the tips of some airplanes are boasting that the world’s airlines have saved 2 billion gallons of jet fuel by using their product.
Seattle-based Aviation Partners Boeing, which is a joint venture between Boeing Co. (and Aviation Partners Inc., of Seattle, said the winglets are now used on more than 3,700 airplanes and 21 types of planes.
Company officials said they’re adding winglets to planes at the rate of more than 400 planes per year. The winglets are installed on new planes and are also retrofitted onto existing planes.
Benchmade Knife Goes Out on the Cutting Edge
Military troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan are issued a spartan cache of equipment.
But many receive a utility knife -- a large number of which have been produced by an Oregon City-based manufacturer.
Orders to fulfill demand from U.S. military and law enforcement agencies amounted to almost half of Benchmade's 2004 production, leading the company to record revenue.
Government sales, however, have sharply since 2005, but that doesn't worry Benchmade officials. "We lost the amount we anticipated losing from government sales. But nongovernment business is up almost 100 percent year-to-date," said Greg Mooney, Benchmade marketing and sales vice president.
Eighteen-year-old Benchmade Knife is owned by founder Les De Asis. The company makes about 50 different styles of knives.
Since January 2004, the company has boosted its employment roughly 30 percent, to 178.
The company's knives are made in the Oregon City manufacturing facility, in the shops of metro-area contractors and from suppliers across the United States.
" At the same time, the company is looking for ways to boost production here. "Our goal is to make the best use of our assets here and not to have to shift [production] somewhere else in the world," he said.
New Manufacturing School Aims to Combat Worker Shortage
Hoping to build a steady supply of skilled recruits, several Oregon manufacturers are backing a new charter high school.
The Clackamas Academy of Industrial Sciences opens next fall on the campus of Oregon City High School. The four-year school has space for 50 freshmen and 50 sophomores from across the region.
It is sponsored by the Oregon City School District and Clackamas Community College, but is administered by several large manufacturers: ESCO Corp., Benchmade Knife Co. Inc., Oregon Iron Works, Miles Fiberglass & Composites Inc., and Pioneer Pump Inc., among others.
“We want the work force of the future,” said Rick Murphy, Benchmade’s director of finance and a board member of the new charter school. “For us, it’s imperative we get students, workers, as young as possible to get thinking about what we want to do.”
The Oregon Manufacturing Workforce Strategy says the state needs 53,000 skilled workers in the next 10 years. Most of those will replace retiring baby boomers.
Manufacturing employs more than 200,000 workers across Oregon.
Kyocera Solar Chooses San
Diego For First US Plant
Kyocera Solar has decided to locate its first U.S. manufacturing facility in San Diego.
The Scottsdale-based division of the electronics manufacturing company announced plans for the move as it attempts to move toward global production of 1 gigawatt a year.
The company expects manufacturing to begin at its Balboa Avenue facility by the middle of this year. The 30-megawatt plant will cater to large-scale solar implementation.
Hurco Direct Continues to Expand in Southern CA.
Hurco Companies, Inc. selected Randy Flores to lead the company’s direct sales initiative in Southern California. As the owner of D&R Machinery in Arizona, Flores has represented Hurco for 10 years and has accumulated 20 years of industry experience.
Flores recently hired two sales engineers, Paul Parducci and Dennis Thackery, who will help Flores reintroduce the value of Hurco technology to machine shops throughout Southern California. Hurco has significantly expanded its product line in the last five years with significant research and development resources devoted to 5-axis and multi-tasking technology. Hurco continues to develop software features that advance the capabilities of job shops.
Hurco opened the Southern California Technology Center and Showroom in March of 2009 and immediately assumed direct responsibility of sales, service, and application support throughout the region.

Scott Anthony is National Sales Manager at Rem Sales
Rem Sales, exclusive North American importer of Tsugami Swiss-type automatic lathes, has appointed Scott Anthony as national sales manager. Bradley Morris, president of Morris Group, Inc., made the announcement recently at a company meeting. Morris Group is the parent corporation of Rem Sales.
“Scott has over 20 years experience in technical sales and marketing management,” said Mr. Morris. “He has a thorough understanding of the selling process through a national distribution network, and with a strong emphasis on customer care. We are pleased to have him on board to manage our Tsugami line.”
Scott Anthony held various sales and sales management positions at Gerber Scientific, Naiad Marine, and Magnatech LLC, all manufacturers of motion control systems.

Metris USA Changes Its Name to Nikon Metrology.
Following the announcement in late October of Metris becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nikon Corporation, the corporate name of Metris USA has now changed to Nikon Metrology, Inc. Under the Nikon brand, Nikon and Metris will synergize their respective strengths with regard to a strong brand and cutting-edge technology, and together will offer products that feature innovative technology and a broad range of functions.
Nikon Metrology, Inc. uniquely blends Metris’ innovation leadership in metrology with the globally recognized Nikon brand.
“We are delighted to be able to join forces under the flag of the powerful Nikon brand”, states Myles Richard, managing director of Nikon Metrology, Inc. “Together, we will grow our leadership position as an optical metrology innovator, leveraging the strengths of our highly skilled technology teams. By continuing to pursue product development, Nikon Metrology, Inc. will enhance its superior technological position, and provide its customers and business partners with strong, well-balanced, sales and service organizations.”

Marubeni Citizen-Cincom Inc. and Hartwig, Inc. Announce Strategic Partnership
Hartwig, Inc. of St. Louis, MO, the largest distributor of CNC machine tools in the central and mountain United States, and Marubeni Citizen-Cincom, Inc. a supplier of Swiss-type turning centers, signed an agreement to form a strategic partnership taking effect January 1, 2010.
The six states in the mountain region including Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho will become authorized distributors of Citizen’s Swiss product lineup for the Hartwig organization. The Mountain Region will join Hartwig’s current territory representation for the Citizen line in the states of Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

Accurate Grinding & Manufacturing Achieve ISO 9001:2008 and EN/JISQ/AS9100: 2004
Accurate Grinding & Manufacturing Corporation recently announce they achieved ISO 9001:2008 and EN/JISQ/AS9100: 2004 certification.
Accurate Grinding & Manufacturing Corp. has continued to grow on all fronts: technology, personnel, equipment, processes, manufacturing space, production volume and has now achieved the ISO 9001:2008 certification. Accurate Grinding & Manufacturing Corp. has demonstrated its commitment to quality and the manufacturing of products for its U.S. manufacturing operations by achieving this goal.
In accepting the registration certificate, David Nilsen, director of quality assurance for Accurate Grinding & Manufacturing Corp. “The achievement of ISO 9001:2008 reflects our continuous effort and commitment to achieve superior product quality and reliability for our current customer base and new client prospects.”

Jim King to be Sr. Vice President of Sales for Okuma
Jim King has joined Okuma America Corporation as thesenior vice president of sales. Mr. King will be responsible for leading the Okuma sales team and spearheading the relationships with the Okuma distributors in North and South America. He brings to Okuma nearly 30 years of experience working in industrial markets, including automation and control software.
Mr. King comes to Okuma from Siemens Energy and automation where he served as the director of strategic channel development. While at Siemens, he was successful at bringing discipline and structure to the distributor network, resulting in significant sales increases.

Methods Announces Installation of Three Kiwa HMC’s in Arizona
Methods Machine Tools Inc., announced that they recently delivered and installed three Kiwa-Japan KH-41 horizontal machining centers at the Prescott, Arizona Manufacturing Facility for Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Each of the Kiwa systems includes a 40-tool ATC and a full 4th axis.
Sturm, Ruger & Company is using the Kiwa machining centers to machine the slide for their Ruger® SR-9® striker-fired pistols. “The new Kiwa HMCs replaced older twin spindle VMCs,” says Mr. Mike Scoggins, chief manufacturing engineer at Sturm, Ruger & Company. “We have received multiple benefits since putting the HMCs in production including the ability to combine operations, improve part quality, reduce cycle time by 20% and minimize part changeover time from 1 day to under 5 minutes.”
Mark Lang, group vice president at Sturm, Ruger & Company, added, “Due to the compact size of the Kiwa KH-41, we have been able to increase our manufacturing efficiency by allowing us to have one operator run three machines because the distance the operator has to walk between machines is minimal, as well as this equipment supports our Lean Manufacturing initiatives.”
The KH-41 has a simple, compact, efficient design that’s only 60.2” wide. Despite its small size it can handle a wide variety of work pieces, providing an ideal entry-level factory automation solution. The high performance KH-41 has a full rotary B-axis and can be installed in the same space as a vertical machine. With a 400mm pallet machine, this HMC can accommodate large work pieces up to 21.7” x 33.5”.

NTMA Sets Date for Irvine, CA Purchasing Fair
The National Tooling & Machining Association has announced it has selected two sites for Contract Purchasing Fairs for 2010. The fairs will be co-sponsored by the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA).
For the first time a theme has been chosen for the fairs: “Bringing Work Back to the U.S.A.” The organizers will put heavy emphasis on attracting customers that have sent work to other countries, in hopes of convincing them to attend the fairs and meet U.S. metalworking vendors that can make their products back in the U.S.A.
These fairs are part of a bigger picture that the NTMA and PMA are working on through their One Voice Legislative Advocacy Coalition to get the federal government to lower government mandated costs that hurt U.S. companies’ ability to compete. The overall goal is to help U.S. companies compete in a global market and help U.S. manufacturers increase their sourcing of work in the U.S.
U.S. companies that have capabilities in all kinds of metalworking sectors and looking for potential new customers should take a serious look at attending one of the events. U.S. companies with a need to find U.S. metalworking vendors should also investigate attending. More information on the fairs will be released later but the sites for the fair is: May 12, 2010, Hyatt Regency Hotel Irvine California.

Omax Names Arnie Ruiz Regional Sales Manager
Omax recently introduced Arnie Ruiz, their new regional sales manager for Louisiana and southern Texas. Arnie comes with 20 years of experience as a Class A journeyman in the tool and die industry. Throughout his career, he developed and built automated systems and robotics for machinery processes and trained operators on how to use various equipment. He was a tooling and automation supervisor for Steelcase, an international office furniture manufacturer. For 15 years, he worked for an Omax distributor in southern California and was responsible for activities ranging from application to installation to sales.

Okuma Technology Institute Opens at Utah’s Davis Applied Technology College
Okuma America Corporation, Hartwig, Inc. and Davis Applied Technology College (DATC) formally opened the new Okuma Technology Institute with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a 3-day celebration of manufacturing technology. The 3-day event was attended by representatives from local businesses and manufacturing facilities from 8 states.
The event kicked off with a presentation on the State of U. S. Manufacturing by Peter Borden, president of the American Machine Tool Distributor Association. Mr. Borden discussed challenges faced by manufacturers across the US and in Utah, as well as a general forecast of future manufacturing activity.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was led by DATC president Michael Bouwhuis who recognized Larry Schwartz, president and COO of Okuma America and Gary Hartwig, president of Hartwig, Inc. President Bouwhuis thanked them for their vision and their contributions to education and manufacturing, stating that, “In my career, this is the most exciting partnership we’ve ever created.”
Throughout the three days manufacturers and students were treated to machining demonstrations and seminars on productivity improvement, including lean manufacturing and automation. Representatives from members of Partners in THINC were on hand to discuss manufacturing technology and peripheral equipment including gaging, tooling, work holding and software.
The Okuma Technology Institute will help educate and train DATC students to become CNC programmers and machinists. The facility also serves as a showroom for Hartwig, Inc. to demonstrate Okuma technology.

California Gubernatorial Candidate Poizner Addresses LA/NTMA
at TCI Precision Metals
TCI Precision Metals (TCI), announced that TCI hosted over 130 members and friends of the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Association (LA/NTMA) . The attendees heard California gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner speak about the crucial need to cut personal and business taxes to improve and maintain a healthy economy, as well as job creation and quality of life. With the economy showing few signs of improvement and the threat of more and higher taxes, the message resonated well with members.
“The way to job creation and improving government health is through cutting both business and personal taxes, which will increase demand, allowing businesses to grow and increase employment,” Steve Poizner says. “The 10-10-10 plan we’ve designed will improve the business climate and put the state back on a solid footing.”
“The manufacturing sector has always been key to creating prosperity and higher living standards,” says John Belzer, president, TCI Precision Metals. “Small to mid-size companies are the most responsible for job creation, growing the economy, generating wealth, paying taxes and inventing the future. California is at a critical juncture and must work toward improving manufacturing’s ability to compete and prevent the loss of jobs to other states and countries.”

Methods Holds Multitasking Machining Seminars
Methods Machine Tools Inc., held two Multitasking Machining Seminars on December 16, 2009 at their Sudbury, Massachusetts Technology Center. The complimentary seminars showcased new multitasking strategies for machining precision parts and were well received by over 100 manufacturing professionals.
The first seminar featured the Nakamura Super NTMX .
Attendees learned how the NTMX’s unique twin ATC design makes it easy for all levels of operators to take advantage of the latest in B-axis machining technology.
At the second seminar, named The Tools You Need to Succeed, participants viewed live machining demonstrations and learned how to reduce setup time by 50% or more on their current multitasking machines. Attendees were also able to review their own prints and parts with Methods’ applications experts.
In addition to the seminars, attendees were able to view demonstrations on Nakamura’s latest turning centers, including 3-turret, 3-Y axis machining on the new Super NTY3-Jumbo, high speed thread whirling on the Super NTY3 and quick-change tooling demonstrations on the WT-100.

Utah Distributor Celebrates 50 Years in Machine Tool Industry
Mazak Corporation congratulates Smith Machinery Co., Inc. as it celebrates 50 years of business in the machine tool industry. Founded by Edward and Tracy Smith in 1960, the Salt Lake City company has been the exclusive distributor of Mazak machine tools in Utah, Montana, western Wyoming and Idaho (excluding the panhandle) since 1977.
The Smith family has served the manufacturing industry in the mountain states for four generations. Its long history in the region has allowed it to develop a customer first philosophy where focus is placed not on sales but on providing total manufacturing solutions. In addition to installing, integrating and servicing advanced machine tools, the company also provides on-site personnel training and applications support.
“The secret to Smith Machinery’s continued success over the last 50 years is its commitment to the customer,” says Brian Papke, president, Mazak Corporation. “By placing an emphasis on establishing strong partnerships with manufacturers and job shops, Smith Machinery is able to provide the expertise and equipment that customers need to increase profitability and expand operations.”
Smith Machinery’s focus on the aerospace (commercial and defense), energy and medical industries has helped it develop a strong understanding of the complexities behind multitasking technology, 5-axis machining applications and Palletech, Mazak’s pre-engineered automation system. It has used this knowledge to increase the capabilities of its customer base.

Hardinge Appoints New Distributors in the US
Hardinge Inc. has announced an alliance with three US distributors: Gosiger, Inc., Hartwig, Inc. and Morris Group, Inc. These three groups will have exclusive sales and support responsibilities for Hardinge products in virtually all of the United States. Over a transition period of the next few months they will replace current Hardinge distributors and direct sales and service support groups.
“We are honored to be working with this caliber of companies that will sell and support our products in the US market,” says Rick Simons, president and CEO of Hardinge Inc. “All three distributors bring at least 50 years of history and a team of well-trained sales, service and applications people to assist in future sales and provide service support on existing Hardinge equipment in the field. Adding our brand names take these three companies back to the roots of machine tool representation where they each began decades ago. Their reputations as capable, comprehensive, and professional organizations make for a perfect fit with Hardinge.”
“Hardinge is a strong company with strong brand names of Hardinge, Bridgeport, Kellenberger, Hauser and Tschudin. We have a loyal customer base who appreciates the benefits of buying machines and accessories with our brand names. We are confident in entrusting our customer relationships to this group and are also pleased that these three top-level distribution companies have confidence in Hardinge. We believe our products complement their existing strong machine lines,” continued Mr. Simons.

MCAM NorthWest Becomes Value-Added Reseller for Autodesk
MCAM NorthWest Inc., a leading provider of CAD/CAM-related products, services and training, announced it is becoming an authorized value-added reseller (VAR) for Autodesk, a world leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering and entertainment software.
With the addition of Autodesk’s broad range of digital design software solutions—including AutoCAD software, its flagship design and documentation solution—MCAM NorthWest now is able to offer its current and potential customers a much more broad range of CAD options as a compliment to its line of Mastercam CAM products.
Tim Rowley, the co-founder of MCAM NorthWest, expects the addition of Autodesk to double his company’s sales by 2012.
“MCAM NorthWest is dedicated to offering our customers the very best CAD/CAM solutions and services available in the marketplace,” he says. “The addition of Autodesk’s fine array of products to our current offerings is proof of our commitment to excellence.”
Earning the distinction as an Autodesk VAR means MCAM NorthWest’s staff demonstrates in-depth technical and industry knowledge and a commitment to customer service. It also has proven that it
provides its customers with the world’s leading 2D and 3D digital design software solutions, as well as the highest-quality training and support.

Flow International Receives Multiple Orders for Aerospace Projects
Flow International Corporation a leading developer and manufacturer of industrial waterjet machines for cutting and cleaning applications, has announced receipt of approximately $11 million of orders for several new projects in its Advanced segment. These orders are for Composite Machining Center abrasive waterjet and routing machine tool systems to be completed over the next 12 to 18 months. The majority of the purchase orders are from Airbus supplier partners working on multiple Airbus programs.
These new orders are in addition to the previously reported backlog of approximately $20 million, as of the second quarter ended October 31, 2009, for Flow’s Advanced segment.

SME and IMTS Unveil Plans for IMTS 2010 Emerging Technology Center
Showcasing the most innovative technological developments for the manufacturing industry, The International Manufacturing Technology (IMTS) Show 2010 will present the Emerging Technology Center (ETC) in partnership with the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME).
The ETC made its debut at IMTS 2004 and is the place where the manufacturing community gathers to view the future of manufacturing technology. The theme for the 2010 ETC is “Knowledge-Based” or applying knowledge-based management across the full spectrum, including technology, manufacturing, people, and business. Past innovations featured in the ETC include nanotechnology, now commonly used throughout the industry, as well as the 2008 debut of MTConnect®, a series of open standards that address manufacturing systems interoperability on the shop floor.
“We are very excited to have SME on board as a partner,” says Peter Eelman, vice-president, exhibitions & communications for IMTS. “SME is well-known as a primary resource for independent education and dissemination of technology. We look forward to again opening the window on future technology developments that will interest all of our visitors.”
Throughout IMTS 2010, the Emerging Technology Center will be located in the North Building lobby of McCormick Place.

Machine Tools Supply Announces Pending
Acquisition of Cutting Edge Tool & Supply
Machine Tools Supply recently announced the pending acquisition of Cutting Edge Tool & Supply, of Chatsworth, California, as a wholly owned subsidiary of MT Supply Inc.
Growth by MTS in the San Fernando Valley over the past year has led them to seek the best possible platform for providing the highest levels of services to this market area.
“We have successfully implemented several AutoCrib based inventory management systems in the valley,” states George Ponce, president of MTS. “And with that success we knew that an acquisition of this nature would further establish us in this territory and position us for continued growth.”
Since their inception only six years ago, CET has become established as a premier customer service based organization in the San Fernando Valley. Mr. Ponce also stated, “Cutting Edge Tool & Supply, as a leading industrial distributor in this market, now being enhanced with the value added services and products offered by MTS, will be a stronger business partner to their customer’s going forward.”

Methods Machine Tools Appoints Phil Janiszewski As Marketing Manager
Methods Machine Tools, Inc., a leading supplier of innovative precision machine tools, has appointed Mr. Phil Janiszewski as marketing manager.
“We’re pleased to have Phil on board,” commented Mr. Jamie Hanson, director of corporate development at Methods Machine Tools, Inc. “He brings over thirty years of experience in the manufacturing, machine tool and tool accessories business and will be a valuable addition to our team.”
Prior to joining Methods, Mr. Janiszewski spent seven years as marketing manager at Koma Precision, Inc., a supplier of rotary tables, angle heads, and live tooling. In his role there, Mr. Janiszewski managed all areas of marketing from database design, advertising, brochure / catalog design, to web site design and tradeshow layout / coordination. Before his marketing career, Mr. Janiszewski worked in outside sales for fabrication and machining services, metal stamping and injection molding equipment, EDM machinery, and high speed vertical machining centers.

Applied Materials Buys Semitool for $364M
Applied Materials Inc. said it has agreed to pay about $364 million in cash to buy Semitool Inc.
Semitool supplies electrochemical plating and wafer surface-preparation equipment.
Applied CEO Mike Splinter said the acquisition will help the company make smaller, more powerful devices.
Semitool will be operated as a business unit of Applied’s Silicon Systems Group. No mention was made in the announcement about whether Semitool Chairman and CEO Ray Thompson would continue with the company.
In the most recent fiscal year ended Sept. 30, Semitool posted a net loss of $11.4 million, or 35 cents per share, versus net income of $6 million, or 19 cents per share, last year. Revenue dropped 42 percent to $139 million.
Applied expects to start the offer soon and projected the deal to close by the end of year.
The company on Nov. 11 said it plans to cut its work force by up to 1,500 positions, and reported fourth quarter net income of $138 million, or 10 cents a share, a 40 percent drop from the previous year. Revenue dropped 25 percent to $1.53 billion in the quarter.
The Semitool purchase is the second of the month for Applied after acquiring substantially all of the assets of Advent Solar Inc. for an undisclosed cash amount on Nov. 6. Albuquerque, N.M.-based Advent Solar develops technology for crystalline silicon photovoltaics.

Arizona Lands Solar Manufacturing Facility
Arizona received its first official announcement of a solar manufacturing plant since putting up manufacturing incentives when Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. announced it would locate a facility in the state.
The plant, expected to have an initial production capacity of 30 megawatts, will begin production of the solar panels in the third quarter, Suntech officials said.
"Bringing manufacturing jobs to the U.S. is part of Suntech's vision to grow the solar market in every corner of the world," said Suntech's Chairman and CEO Dr. Zhengrong Shi. "We are eagerly watching growing markets and see the potential of bringing manufacturing capabilities to other markets where we see the combination of rapid local market growth and manufacturing cost competitiveness."
The plant will initially employ about 75 people with the potential to double that within the first year.

Aerojet Wins NASA Contract For Lunar Lander Propulsion System
Aerojet has been awarded a contract to continue developing a propulsion system for NASA for potential use on lunar landers.
Aerojet is a subsidiary of GenCorp Inc, based in Rancho Cordova, California.
The design work is for NASA’s Constellation Systems Program.
The contract’s scope is to develop and complete the project, which is a multicircuit liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen injector.
The company will design, build, test and deliver the injector.
This funding for the contract is part of the Propulsion and Cryogenic Advanced Development project of NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program.
“Aerojet is committed to providing innovative propulsion solutions for NASA and we are very excited to have this opportunity to work with the PCAD team on the Deep Throttling Injector,” Linda Andersen, Aerojet’s director of Space Programs, said in a news release.

Tesla Gets Tax Break from California
Tesla Motors Inc. and California reached a tax incentive deal that will save the electric-car company sales tax on $320 million of manufacturing equipment and help create up to 1,400 new jobs.
State Treasurer Bill Lockyer announced the deal, which is also expected to save California-based Tesla nearly 10 percent of equipment purchases.
A state agency will hold title of $320 million of Tesla's equipment temporarily, freeing Tesla up to build the facility for its sedan production somewhere in California.
Earlier this year Tesla received approval for about $465 million in low-interest loans from the U.S. Department of Energy and said it will use $365 million for production engineering and assembly of the Model S, an all-electric family sedan that carries seven people and travels up to 300 miles per charge.
The Model S has an anticipated base price of $49,900 after a $7,500 federal tax credit, and Tesla said it expects to start Model S production in late 2011.
Tesla also confirmed earlier that it plans to lease 350,000 square feet of property once occupied by Agilent Technologies in Stanford Research Park.
The company said it will move its headquarters from San Carlos to the Palo Alto park and build a power train plant there.

Wash State Taps $1.5M for AeroSpace Training
Gov. Chris Gregoire announced in November that Washington state will tap $1.5 million in federal Workforce Investment Act funds to support aerospace training programs.
“We know we have two fundamental challenges in keeping our competitive edge in the aerospace industry,” Gregoire said at Paine Field in Everett. “We have to recruit new workers, and we have to make sure both our current and incoming workers have cutting-edge skills. To accomplish that, we must invest in our education and training system.”
Of the $1.5 million, $600,000 will go to developing aerospace centers in Snohomish County and Spokane for joint industry-college training. The rest will go toward training equipment, career guidance and other programs in the state.

Todd Shipyards to Build Additional Ferry for Washington
In early October Todd Shipyards Corp. was the only bidder on two 64-car ferries that the Washington State Department of Ferries Division plans to build. A week later, the state said it’s awarding a contract to Todd to build one additional ferry.
On Oct. 8, the state said Seattle-based Todd bid $114 million to build two ferries; the state’s engineer’s estimate was about $110 million. The last ferry will be either a 64-car ferry or a 144-car ferry, depending on whether the state has enough money to build the larger ferry.
“This contract award is expected to sustain nearly 400 family wage jobs,” said Gov. Chris Gregoire, in a statement. The state requires that the ferry construction take place in Washington, which limits the pool of bidders, but state officials said the requirement keeps jobs in Washington and trains a work force of ferry builders.

Honeywell Lands $125M Army Ship Deal
Honeywell Technology Solutions Inc. received a five year contract from the U.S. Army that could be worth up to $125 million for stocking the military division’s ships.
The contract falls under the Army’s Prepositions Stocks 3 Afloat program, which helps ensure combat readiness.
The Honeywell group, based in Phoenix, signed a similar 10-year, $700 million contract with the U.S. Marine Corps to provide preposition and logistics support.
Under the terms of the contract, Honeywell will manage the ships’ inventory, as well as maintain and service equipment and supplies headed for combat, officials said.

Northrop Wins $3.8B Tanker Support Deal
Northrop Grumman Corp. has been awarded a $3.8 billion contract for maintenance and support on the KC-10 refueling tankers.
The current contract is held by Boeing Co., which has held the contract since 1998. Boeing also makes the KC-10.
Boeing said it will review its options before filing any sort of appeal.
Northrop is based in Los Angeles.

Intellicheck Mobilisa Gets $4.5M Navy Contract
Intellicheck Mobilisa Inc. said it’s received a $4.48 million contract from the U.S. Navy for wireless security buoys that can detect water quality, oil spills and “dirty bombs.”
According to the Port Townsend company, the buoys “provide a high-capacity communications network grid to provide real-time monitoring for marine environments.”
The company began testing the buoy program last year, and was developed in conjunction with the U.S. Dept. of Defense and the University of Washington Applied Physics Lab. Security buoys are already deployed in the North Puget Sound area, according to Intellicheck Mobilisa.

Korean Air Buying Five New Boeing 747-8s
Korean Air Co. said in early December it plans to buy five Boeing 747-8 passenger planes worth $1.5 billion at list prices.
Boeing Co. will deliver the Everett-built planes to the airline between April 2013 and May 2015, Korean Air said in a statement
Korean Air will build parts for the new plane. In October, the airline said its Aerospace Business Division will build the wing structure components for the new Boeing 747-8 aircraft.
According to the airline at the time, “the wide-body commercial Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental has a capacity of 467 seats and features a lengthened fuselage with a new wing design, as well as improved efficiency which aims for a quieter, more economical and increased environmentally-friendly performance.”

Express Manufacturing, Inc. Announces its ISO 13485:2003 Certification
Express Manufacturing, Inc., located in Santa Ana, California (EMI) announced they have received the distinguished ISO 13485:2003 Certification. This ISO 13485:2003 standard is a part of the international ISO organization and sets standards for design and process control including environmental requirements, traceability, record retention, requlatory audits and management practices for medical devices

Taser Gets Order from Colombian Police for 140 Stun Guns
Taser International Inc. received an order for 140 of its X26 electronic stun guns from the Colombian National Police.
The deal’s financial terms were not disclosed, but the company said it will include accessories and was completed through the company’s distributor in Colombia. Scottsdale-based Taser said the order will ship by the end of the year.

Schilling Gets 50th Order

Northern California based Schilling Robotics LLC has received the 50th order for its subsea remotely operated vehicles, used by oil and gas companies looking for deep-water reserves.

“Schilling’s core philosophy is to make our customers successful, and our (remotely operated vehicle) system has helped achieve this by improving the stability, accuracy and ease of ... intervention operations,” Schilling chief executive officer Tyler Schilling said in a news release.

Schilling returned to the company’s top position in July, after its former chief executive officer resigned after 15 months on the job.

Boeing Says Asia Pacific Region Will Need $1.1T Worth of Planes

Boeing Co. said the Asia Pacific region will need nearly 9,000 new planes worth $1.1 trillion dollars over the next 20 years. Asia Pacific is now the largest market in Boeing’s forecast.

That’s an upward revision from just two years ago, when Boeing said the region would need 7,200 planes and was the world’s second-largest market behind North America.

The Asia Pacific region covers Japan, Korea, China, Australia and India and has more than 8,3000 flights and 1.2 million air travelers each day.

“Twenty years from now more than 40 percent of the world’s airline traffic will begin, end or take place within the Asia Pacific region,” said Randy Tinseth, vice president-marketing of Seattle-based Boeing Commercial Airplanes, in a statement.

In the next 20 years, Boeing said it sees 5,600 single-aisle planes and 2,590 twin-aisle planes being delivered to the Asia Pacific region. Boeing builds its single-aisle planes in Renton, Washington and its twin-aisle planes in Everett, WA. Only 330 large planes and 440 regional jet planes will be delivered to the region in the next 20 years.

Raytheon Gets $151M SeaSparrow Missile Contract

Raytheon Co. received a $151 million missile contract from the U.S. Navy’s NATO SeaSparrow program.

The deal calls for the production of 186 SeaSparrow missiles with the option to make an additional 255 missiles for $210 million. The defense weapons are to be used by the U.S. Navy and nine international fleets, officials said in making the announcement Tuesday. The company’s missile division is in Tucson, AZ.

First Solar Taps Honeywell AeroSpace Boss as CEO

Solar power equipment maker First Solar Inc. hired Robert Gillette as its CEO, replacing Mike Ahearn, who stays on as chairman.

Gillette, who was CEO and president of Honeywell Aerospace for four and a half years, started work at Tempe, Ariz.-based First Solar Oct. 1.

Scott Carson Retiring as Head of Boeing Commercial Airplanes

Scott Carson, who has presided over Boeing Puget Sound-based Commercial Airplanes Group since Alan Mullay left to head up Ford Motor Co., will retire at year’s end.

The 63-year-old Carson has headed the commercial airplanes operation during some of its toughest times as the vaunted 787 Dreamliner program faltered from technical and production delays.

Carson’s replacement will be Jim Albaugh, 59, the head of Boeing’s Integrated Defense Systems division. Albaugh’s successor is Dennis Muilenburg, 45. Muilenburg has served as head of Boeing’s Integrated Defense System’s Global Support unit.

WestJet Orders 14 Boeing 737s

Canadian airline WestJet has ordered 14 Boeing 737-700 airplanes valued at between $819 million and $973 million at list prices.

The airline flies the Boeing 737 exclusively, and including the latest offer, it has 54 737s scheduled for delivery.

WestJet also said it plans to reschedule 16 leased and direct-purchase airplanes.

Applied Technology Associates Wins $6M Contract

Albuquerque engineering firm Applied Technology Associates won a three-year, $5.9 million Department of Defense contract to develop technology to improve soldiers’ target-locating capabilities.

Honeywell Aerospace Division Signs Two Engine Deals

A pair of engine deals will bring in up to $485 million for the aerospace division of Honeywell International Inc., company officials said.

The Phoenix-based aerospace division of Honeywell has been awarded an addition option year on its deal with the U.S. Army to improve performance and extend the life of the turbine engine used in the M1 Abrams tank.

Cavco Buys Manufactured Housing Assets From Fleetwood

Cavco Industries Inc. has been named the highest and best bidder for certain manufactured housing assets of Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. which is going through Chapter 11 reorganization.

The winning bid was determined through an auction held by the Riverside, Calif.-based producer of manufactured homes, in consultation with its committee of creditors. A court hearing to approve the sale is scheduled for Wednesday.

Phoenix-based Cavco’s final offer was $21.8 million. In addition, Cavco agreed to buy Fleetwood’s idled Woodland, Calif., plant.

Artex Aircraft to Consolidate Arizona Operations

An Aurora, Ore., avionics company is laying off 113 workers as its parent company consolidates operations in Arizona.

Artex Aircraft Supply Inc., which does business as Cobham Avionics Aurora, announced that it will close its Portland-area facility sometime between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2010.

Artex is a subsidiary of Cobham Plc., a United Kingdom-based aerospace and defense systems company with $2.1 billion in annual revenue.

The facility, along with one in Bothell, Wash., will merge into another Cobham-owned avionics facility in Prescott to create an “avionics center of excellence,” the company said in a news release.

Trompeter Electronics Closing Mesa Plant

Trompeter Electronics Inc., a manufacturer of connectors, adapters, components and jacks for the telecommunications, cable television and aerospace sectors, is closing its Mesa plant with 135 jobs being cut.

Trompeter is a subsidiary of Emerson Network Power, an arm of St. Louis-based Emerson Electric Inc.

The company reported the 135 layoffs, which will occur through the end of the year, to the Arizona Department of Economic Security.

Taser International Scores Contract with U.S. Customs

Taser International Inc. has received a contract from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that could stretch into a five-year deal.

The contract, which calls for an indefinite number of the company’s X26 stun guns to be shipped over a period of time, will be coordinated through Aardvark Tactical Inc. of Azusa, Calif. The company is Taser’s distributor with the U.S. government.

Scottsdale-based Taser said the shipments will start this quarter.

Solyndra Opens Manufacturing Facility in Fremont, Ca.

Solyndra, maker of cylindrical solar panels, got a visit from Energy Secretary Steven Chu in September for ground breaking on the factory that the federal government is supporting with a $545 million loan guarantee. Vice President Joe Biden announced that the guarantee was final in a satellite address broadcast at the facility.

The Fremont factory will have the capacity to produce 500 megawatts worth of panels – enough to power the equivalent of 24,000 average homes. Building the facility will bring in 3,000 construction jobs; Up to 1,000 permanent jobs will be created once the factory is working at full capacity.

Industry News

Heimatec Inc. Opens U.S. Office
Heimatec Inc., has established a U.S. office to serve the needs of the metalworking industry in the U.S.A., Canada and Mexico. Recognized globally for its high precision and long-lasting tools, heimatec opened the doors of its suburban Chicago office on March 1, 2010.
Together with heimatec GmbH Germany, heimatec Inc. USA offers live and static tooling for CNC lathes, right angle heads for CNC machining centers, heimatec’s quick-change system (easy-quick HT), multi-spindle drilling heads and special tools.
“Strategically located in the central United States, heimatec is perfectly positioned to respond to the growing North American demand for heimatec quality products,” stated Preben Hansen, president, heimatec Inc. “We are fully committed and prepared to serve and support the North American market.”

Jack M. Rider of Manufacturing Engineering Magazine Retires
Jack M. Rider the long time west coast sales rep for Manufacturing Engineering magazine recently retired. Mr. Rider was a true professional and was the model of what a salesman and competitor should be.
Jack started his career in the machine tool industry being a rep for the now out of business magazines Tooling & Production and Metalfax. At the time he also had his own very successful magazines for the oil industry.
Jack was working on a part time basis with CNC WEST when the opportunity to get the full time job at Manufacturing Engineering happened. Jack accepted the full time position and helped M E become a force in the industry for national magazines.
He will close down his office in Brea, California and still be in the publishing business by helping his church with their newsletter. The new amount of spare time will let Jack spend more time with his children and grandchildren.

Welltech Machinery Names CNC Indexing Exclusive U.S. Importer
Welltech Machinery Company, producer of disk type oil skimmers, has named CNC Indexing & Feeding Technologies exclusive U.S. importer for their products.
Disk oil skimmers can reduce coolant costs and skimmed waste oil can be recycled for additional savings.

Industry’s Largest OEMs Cooperate to Create imX, An Immersive, Interactive, Experiential Event
Some of the biggest names in the industry are working together to create a new type of event designed to revitalize U.S. manufacturing. Scheduled for Sept. 12-14, 2011 in Las Vegas, the event will combine the best features of a corporate open house, customer training seminars, client appreciation programs and new product launch events.
The seeds of imX were formed more than two years ago, when CEOs from some leading machine tool manufacturers began looking for new ways to engage and educate their customers. These CEOs asked the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association to help create a new kind of event that would bring manufacturers together with decision-making buyers in meaningful and informative ways that would help customers find the best solutions for their manufacturing needs.
Since then, top executives from Mori Seiki, Doosan, Fanuc CNC America, MAG, Makino, Methods Machine Tools, Okuma America and Sandvik Coromant have been meeting with the two industry associations, conducting extensive research into alternative ideas and working together to create a new business model for industry events.
The result is imX. Competing supliers with similar product lines will be located near each other, so that attendees can easily compare all the options available to meet their needs. Product and technology demos, learning labs and other interactive activities will occur on the show floor within the Experience areas, facilitating productive, peer-to-peer knowledge exchange and networking.
“Traditional tradeshows, where booth locations are chosen by the exhibiting company, require the buyer to focus on one product or one manufacturer at a time, delivering information in a piecemeal format. The attendee has to wander from one end of the show to the other to determine which products would work into a solution for his needs,” says Larry Schwartz, president and COO, Okuma America. “We envision that imX, which will group OEMs and their partners, will allow decision makers to see their options in one area, make price and value comparisons and, ultimately, make better decisions.”
ImX will have a strong focus on education. Learning labs — located right on the show floor — have been designed to allow attendees to increase their knowledge through practical, hands-on demonstrations, see new and existing manufacturing technologies, and hear case studies presented by suppliers and customers who have already applied those manufacturing technology solutions.
“I expect imX to be an industry-changing event,” said Don Lane, CEO, Makino. “It is a fresh, new approach, attractive to the host companies as well as customers.”

Blum Names Sales Manager for Western Region
Blum LMT, Inc. has announced Adam Goyer as the new west coast regional sales manager. Goyer will be the main contact for all West Coast customers and will work alongside Marty Caranchini, Blum’s service representative and experienced systems integrator for the area.
Adam’s experience in manufacturing and knowledge of various machine tools dates back to his youth, growing up with continuous exposure to his family’s integration and machine tool repair business.
“The family business has instilled in me an understanding for how critical a manufacturing base is here in this country,” Adam says. “Anything I can do to help your shop, factory, cell, or process run smoother, faster, with more accuracy, precision, or uptime is right up my alley.”
Before joining Blum, Mr. Goyer worked in sales at a fortune 500 company, promoting 3D scanning equipment for reverse engineering and rapid prototyping.

Okuma & Gosiger Named Supplier of the Year by National Association for the Employment of People Who are Blind
The National Association for the Employment of People who are Blind (NAEPB) has named Okuma America Corporation and Gosiger, Inc. as their Supplier of the Year. Okuma and Gosiger were nominated by The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. in recognition of their outstanding efforts to provide accessible CNC machines as well as training for blind operators. The award is presented annually to a supplier that has provided quality products or services to agencies supporting and employing blind individuals, while meeting stringent customer demands.
Okuma, through distributor Gosiger, Inc. provides Seattle Lighthouse with CNC machining centers. These machining centers utilize The Intelligent Numeric Control (THINC), a Windows™-based, open architecture control, equipped with a specially designed API that allows the use of JAWS screen-reading software. This software provides voice commands from the machine tool, allowing blind operators to program, set-up, run and changeover the machines.
Seattle Lighthouse utilizes Okuma vertical machining centers and a horizontal machining center with a Fastems pallet system to provide parts for The Boeing Company and other customers. Operator Loren Schleppy states that the Okuma machines “have opened the door for the blind community,” as he refers to the increased accessibility to the machines.
In addition to machine tools, Seattle Lighthouse purchased a control simulator from Gosiger and Okuma. Machine Shop Supervisor, Tom McCrary wrote a tutorial to run on the simulator, allowing operators to train to run the machines without having to use production time to do so.

Nikon Metrology and Verisurf Team up
Nikon Metrology and Verisurf Software have joined forces to make it possible for manufacturers to drive all Nikon Metrology portable metrology devices from Verisurf’s common software platform. Supported Nikon Metrology devices include the Laser Radar, K-Series optical CMMs configured with scanners and probes, MCA II articulated arm configured with scanners and probes, and the iGPS.
“Verisurf is proud to partner with Nikon Metrology and offer engineers a major breakthrough in measurement and inspection,” said Ernie Husted, president of Verisurf. “Having advanced inspection software that can be used with all of their metrology devices will dramatically increase efficiency. Manufacturers will save countless hours otherwise spent learning and using multiple software interfaces, while significantly reducing software maintenance and technical support costs.”
Verisurf’s new X platform is the latest release of its popular computer-aided inspection and reverse engineering software. The X platform gives engineers unprecedented value with new device interfaces, improved inspection guidance functionality and feature extraction for reverse engineering. An updated VDI has added many new non-contact measurement and automation controls for the Nikon Metrology Laser Radar, enabling this sophisticated metrology device to perform at its highest level.

EDM Wire-Cut Northwest, a local manufacturing company at the forefront of Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) technology for over 30 years was recently purchased by Tolt Machine Works and will celebrate its re-opening at the new production facility 20 miles east of Seattle. Previously based in Kent, EDM Wire-Cut Northwest moves into Tolt Machine Works 30,000-square-foot industrial complex in Carnation, WA and represents the first of several new machining operations planned to open at the complex over the next two years.
Tolt Machine Works is a full service machine job shop specializing in large machining and micromachining that will be fully operational in late fall 2010. Upon completion, Tolt Machine Works capabilities will include; large 5-axis machining, large metrology, laser micromachining and ebeam welding, in addition to its new EDM division.
EDM Wire-Cut Northwest was founded in 1980 by Horst Binde, a well-regarded pioneer in the emerging field of wire EDM machining.

Methods Machine Tools Appoints Paul Hurtig as Feeler Product Manager
Methods Machine Tools, Inc., a leading supplier of innovative precision machine tools, has appointed Mr. Paul Hurtig as Feeler product manager at Methods.
“We’re pleased to have Paul in this new position,” comments Mr. Bryon Deysher, president and CEO of Methods Machine Tools, Inc. “His impressive Methods’ track record and unique mix of experience in various positions including machine tool product development, sales support, service and international logistics make him the ideal candidate for the new Feeler role. He will be instrumental in launching the new Methods-Feeler line.”
Mr. Hurtig has been a Methods’ employee for 29 years and has held various managerial positions. His roles have been in service, product support, technical sales support, and most recently, vice president of operations.
Methods recently announced they are the exclusive importer of Fair Friend Group’s (FFG) Feeler line of machine tools throughout North America.

BIG Kaiser Introduces New Facility and Resources at Grand Opening
BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling welcomed customers and partners to its new headquarters Grand Opening on April 29-30. The event was an opportunity for visitors to see the elevated level of expertise and dedicated resources available to support the extensive line of BIG Kaiser products.
The two-day event showcased the new 33,000 square-foot facility located in Hoffman Estates, IL. Highlights included a 5,000 square-foot product showroom, high-tech training and presentation room, and an in-house repair center.

Ganesh Grows Again Adds More Showroom
Ganesh Machinery was founded in 1985 as a machine tool distributor selling manual lathes and milling machines from a 1200 sq. ft. facility in Chatsworth. The following year Ganesh started doing CNC retrofits of knee mills and added Teach-Lathes to their product line-up. By providing superior customer satisfaction and customized manufacturing solutions with their full line of manual and CNC lathes and milling machines, Ganesh has been able to grow their business into a countrywide provider of sophisticated machine tools.
Business growth has necessitated adding an additional 7000 sq. ft. showroom just to house their extensive manual machine tool line. Ganesh now markets a full line of machine tools from their expanded 22,000 sq. ft. facilities, with headquarters in Chatsworth.
Now celebrating their 25th Anniversary, Ganesh has introduced the new 8-axis Cyclone TTMY-52 CNC lathe for complex 2” diameter bar work that will be displayed at their open house on July 20th

Methods Machine Tools, Inc. Names Bob Russo as National Sales Manager for the New Tooling and Accessories Group.
Methods Machine Tools, Inc., has selected Mr. Bob Russo for the position of national sales manager for its new Tooling and Accessories Group.
“We’re pleased to have Bob on board,” said Byron Deysher, president and CEO of Methods Machine Tools, Inc. “He brings over 35 years of experience in the tooling and accessories business and will be instrumental in selecting tooling and accessory product offerings with the quality and performance customers expect from Methods.”
The newly established Methods Tooling and Accessories Group was organized to provide a single source option for companies seeking to combine their machine tool purchase with the finest the world has to offer in precision tooling and accessories. The Methods Tooling and Accessories Group also offers current customers decades of experience in tooling and accessories selection support.
Prior to joining Methods, Mr. Russo spent 25 years as the northeast sales Manager for Command Tooling Systems.

Advanced Measurement Labs. Inc. Acheives AS 9100 Rev. B Certification
Advanced Measurement Labs. inc, Sylmar, California. a provider of dimensional inspection services of 18 years has successfully completed a stringent quality audit conducted by ISA Registrars to become accredited with AS 9100 Rev. B certification. This is in addition to the ISO 9001:2008 certifications the company already had. AML is ITAR compliant.
Advanced Measurement Labs caters to: aerospace, military, commercial, electronics, medical and automotive industries from their new location at 15840 West Monte St., Ste. B 109,
Sylmar, CA 91342.
Advanced Measurement Labs also serves as an extension of your in-house inspection department; AML performs dimensional inspection with 3D CAD models and conventional drawings to customer specifications using state of the art, contact and non-contact measuring systems.

Hardinge Announces Acquisition of Jones & Shipman
Hardinge Inc., announced recently that they acquired the assets of Jones & Shipman, a UK based manufacturer of grinding and super-abrasive machines and machining systems.
Jones & Shipman is located in Leicester, UK and distributes a range of high-quality grinding (surface, creep feed and cylindrical) machines used by a diverse range of industries The Jones & Shipman business has operated continuously in the UK, under various owners, since 1899.
“This transaction is a solid strategic fit for Hardinge, adding valuable product lines, as well as the strong Jones & Shipman brand name, to our grinding portfolio,” says Rick Simons, president and CEO. “Along with expanding our European-based grinding business, Jones & Shipman products will help us expand our US and Asian market presence” he continues.
Jones & Shipman has become part of the company’s Kellenberger grinding organization and will continue operations at the current Leicester location.
Sales of Jones & Shipman products in the US will be handled by the current Hardinge Inc. technical grinding sales team along with the existing Jones & Shipman technical grinding sales team.

Partners In THINC Welcomes Mastercam as a New Partner
Okuma America Corporation announced that CNC Software/Mastercam, has joined Partners in THINC and is the first CAD/CAM supplier to become a member.
Mastercam offers solutions for designers and NC programmers in a spectrum of industries, including milling, turning, wire EDM, router programming, plasma cutting, lasers, and 3D design and drafting. CNC Software’s customers range from one-person job shops to Fortune 100 manufacturers. The same software that is utilized by corporations such as Boeing, IBM, and Sikorsky is still affordable enough for the small job shop. Mastercam also makes its software available to educational institutions at discounts to ensure a new generation of trained metal and woodworking personnel is available.
“Partners in THINC offers us the chance to work with some of the top people and companies in the industry,” says CNC Software marketing manager Ben Mund. “Partners in THINC exists to help further the cause of manufacturing, and we’re excited to see what new ideas and solutions we can create together.”

Doosan Celebrates 30 Years In North America
Thirty years ago, Doosan Infracore (originally Daewoo) opened its doors in North America for the distribution, sales and service of a family of powerful, high-horsepower machine tools, known then and now as Puma turning centers.
In its first year, the company offered the DSN20, a two axis NC lathe with a top-of-the-line Fanuc 6T controller. Features included a powerful 20-hp, 2000-rpm spindle drive, quick-change aloris tool posts, and rapid traverse that topped out at 400 ipm.
Much has changed during the past three decades. The name changed in 2005 from Daewoo to Doosan Infracore. The line of machines grew from a single NC lathe to now more than 60 horizontal turning centers and mill-turns, 35 vertical and horizontal machining centers, plus boring mills and vertical turning centers. The sales-service network now numbers more than 50 distributors located throughout North, Central and South American and, Doosan, itself, has become one of the Western Hemisphere’s three largest machine tool suppliers.
Looking ahead, Doosan will exhibit a broad selection of advanced turning and machining centers at booth #8100 in the front row booth of IMTS 2010.

Koma Precision Welcomes New Marketing Manager
Koma Precision, Inc. introduces Mary P. Buffum as the company’s marketing manager. Buffum will be responsible for marketing team leadership and internet management, as well as general marketing management responsibilities.
She joins the Koma Precision, Inc. team from Governors America Corporation located in Agawam, MA. Governors America Corp. (GAC) is a leading provider of engine governing and system controls to a worldwide list of equipment manufacturers and power providers. It was there that Buffum served as marGlendale Community College’s Professional Development Center
Joins Haas HTEC
The Professional Development Center of Glendale Community College has partnered with Haas Technical Automation and joined the tool builder’s Haas Technical Education Center. HTEC is a global network that provides advanced CNC education for learning institutions and Haas factory outlets.
The partnership with HTEC will expand CNC training programs at the Professional Development Center for California manufacturers. For twenty-five years, PDC has provided customized state-funded training programs for manufacturers at their Montrose, California, training facility and at company worksites. PDC specializes in hands-on CNC programming, setup, and operation training utilizing fully-tooled CNC machinery. Their inspection lab is equipped with a Haas Mini Mill, SL10 turning center, and a fully automated Brown & Sharpe CMM. The PDC also offers related CAD/CAM training using MasterCAM, SolidWorks, and CATIA V5 from entry level to advanced multi-axis application.

Methods Named Exclusive North American Importer of Feeler Machine Tools
Methods Machine Tools, Inc. announced in April, that they are the exclusive importer of Fair Friend Group’s (FFG) Feeler line of machine tools throughout North America. FFG (Taipei, Taiwan) is one of the largest machine tool manufacturers in the world. Methods has simultaneously introduced a totally new range of Feeler machines that feature extensive engineering by Methods.. The full range of machines encompasses vertical machining centers, turning centers, bridge mills and boring mills.
The Methods-Feeler line of machine tools will be available at Methods Technology Centers and at Methods distributors located across the U.S., in addition to Methods dealers in Canada and Mexico.
“We are very pleased to have the Feeler product line. This new lineup of machine tools is the result of our Methods engineering group working very closely with FFG/Feeler to meet the needs of the U.S. customer” says Bryon Deysher, president and CEO of Methods Machine Tools, Inc. “Feeler will enable us to offer North American manufacturers a wider selection of precision machining solutions and will complement our existing line of high-performance milling, turning, drilling/tapping and EDM systems very well.”

Carl Zeiss Holds Successful Tech Center Grand Opening Event
Carl Zeiss Industrial Metrology celebrated the official grand opening of the West Coast Tech Center (WCTC) in Irvine, California on April 6 and April 7. Set up as a production inspection facility with metrology systems running in a process support role, the two-day metrology event offered visitors a unique experience.
Part measurement on Zeiss systems was displayed in a real-time production environment, and they demonstrated high-throughput palletizing applications, and illustrated in-depth investigative metrology work. Product demos, tours and catered food and refreshments were continuous throughout the two-day grand opening.
“The goal in opening this 3800 square-foot facility in Irvine, California is to get closer to our customers in this region while providing local support in growing markets,” says Drew Shemenski, manager of the West coast tech center. “Not only does this facility allow us to offer traditional hardware support, but it can also help us focus on a higher level connecting machines together through software to manage inspection requirements and data.”
There is a wide range of metrology technology on hand at the Irvine center: optical, touch scanning, CT x-ray, and measuring software. The METROTOM 800 is an x-ray based computed tomography system specifically designed for 3D metrology of small, complex, low-density parts made of plastic, composite materials or ceramic. The O-INSPECT is a multi-sensor system that features both tactile and optical scanning and provides tremendous flexibility for measuring parts that approach the micro range of size.
They have a variety of surface form & geometry systems to really round out their measuring and demonstration capabilities. In addition they also offer in-house measuring services, software training and application support.
The location and contact information for the new Tech Center is:
18 Goodyear, Suite 105
Irvine, California 92618
Matthias Zipperer: Vice President of Finance & Treasurer, John Grzybowski: National Sales Manager, Greg Lee: President, Andrew Sisler: Vice President of Sales for North America, Drew Shemenski: Manager—West Coast Tech Center, Rich Knebel: Vice President of Technical Sales and Software Engineering (left to right).

Smarter Manager and KXLY TV Join Forces
SME Software, Inc., producers of Smarter Manager manufacturing management software, is excited to announce a partnership with Spokane WA. ABC affiliate, KXLY ABC 4 HD, as sponsor of their “Manufacturing Monday” broadcast.
Every Monday morning during Good Morning, Northwest and Good Morning, America, Mark Peterson will be broadcasting from different manufacturing facilities in the eastern Washington and northern Idaho area. Besides broadcasting the local weather forecast, he will also be sharing with viewers about the basic processes that occur in each manufacturing shop.

Harrison Lathes Names MSC Industrial Exclusive Distributor
MSC Industrial Supply has been granted the exclusive distribution rights for the Harrison precision conventional lathe line for the USA and Mexico from the Clausing Industrial 600 Group.
Harrison Lathes, founded in 1900, has manufactured more than 140,000 lathes sold throughout the world. Harrison is known for precision turning accuracy, strength, long-term reliability and universal serviceability. Lathes range from 13” to 21”swing and 25” to 120” centers in gear head and infinitely variable drive machines with constant surface feed.
MSC Industrial Supply brings nearly 70 years of industrial metalworking solutions and quality service to their customers.
MSC distributes approximately 600,000 industrial products that are featured in the Big Book through 4 strategically located fulfillment distribution centers. MSC employs more than 900 outside sales professionals in 97 branch offices with 4000 associates.

Methods Machine Tools Appoints Phil Janiszewski As Marketing Manager
Methods Machine Tools, Inc., has appointed Phil Janiszewski as marketing manager.
“We’re pleased to have Phil on board,” commented Jamie Hanson, director of corporate development at Methods Machine Tools, Inc. “He brings more than thirty years of experience in the manufacturing, machine tool and tool accessories business and will be a valuable addition to our team.”
Prior to joining Methods, Janiszewski spent seven years as marketing manager at Koma Precision, Inc., a supplier of rotary tables, angle heads, and live tooling. In his role there, Janiszewski managed all areas of marketing from database design, advertising, brochure / catalog design, to web site design and tradeshow layout / coordination. Before his marketing career, Janiszewski worked in outside sales for fabrication and machining services, metal stamping and injection molding equipment, EDM machinery, and high-speed vertical machining centers.

Trio Tool & Die Company Receives Supplier Excellence Award from Raytheon Space And Airborne Systems
Raytheon Company presented supplier excellence awards to thirty companies for their exceptional performance in supporting the company’s Space and Airborne Systems (SAS) business during 2008.
The winning suppliers represent less than one percent of SAS’ supply base. They were chosen for meeting demanding standards in the areas of quality and delivery performance, customer satisfaction, and total business and financial health. Evaluations of their performance by the Raytheon buyers and material program managers who deal with them every day were also part of the selection process. Awards were presented at the 3-, 4- and 5-Star level, and Trio Tool & Die Company, Inc. received a 3-Star award.
Hawthorne, CA. based Trio Tool & Die Company is a leading provider of manufacturing services, specializing in prototype machining, short-run production parts, and mechanical assemblies.

GF AgieCharmilles Continues Sponsorship of NTMA/NIMS National Apprentice Competition
GF AgieCharmilles has announced its continued sponsorship of the NTMA/NIMS National Apprentice Competition. The 38th annual contest will be hosted by the NTMA Indianapolis Chapter at Ivy Tech State College in Indianapolis, Indiana from June 10 – 12.
“Manufacturing is the key ingredient to America’s economic recovery,” says Glynn Fletcher, president of GF AgieCharmilles. “The participants in the 2010 NTMA/NIMS National Apprentice Competition will help build the foundations for the country’s future manufacturing success, and GF AgieCharmilles is proud to play an role in their development.”
This is the 19th consecutive year that GF AgieCharmilles has provided the event’s grand prize, which includes up to a $100,000 discount on GF AgieCharmilles EDMs, high speed and high performance milling machine.

Methods Machine Tools Names Jochen Reichert As New Western Regional Technical Sales Manager
Methods Machine Tools, Inc., has selected Jochen Reichert for the position of western regional technical sales manager. He will cover the United States west of the Mississippi River, Mexico and Costa Rica.
“Jochen brings a unique skill set to Methods,” commented Dave Lucius, vp sales at Methods Machine Tools, Inc. “Having been an applications manager specializing in five axis in CNC machining, in addition to owning his own machine shop, he has an in-depth understanding of the manufacturing process for many different applications and can help customers streamline their processes.”
Prior to joining Methods, Reichert spent eight years as applications manager at the North American headquarters for the German-based 5-axis CNC-operated machine tool builder Hermle Machine Company LLC. There he managed all applications projects including turnkeys, time studies, test cuts and training. Reichert specialized in improving manufacturing processes for a variety of turbo machinery products, including impellers, turbines and blisks. Before that, Reichert operated his own machine shop in Alberta, Canada.

Combines Nikon Industrial Instruments with Former Metris to Create Nikon Metrology, Inc.
Nikon announced that it has formed Nikon Metrology, Inc., a new company that combines Nikon Instruments Inc.’s industrial instruments business with the former Metris business, acquired by Nikon Corp. in 2009. Nikon Metrology, Inc., headquartered in Brighton, Mich., will focus specifically on the industrial and manufacturing business markets for precision measuring and industrial microscopy.
“The formation of Nikon Metrology, Inc. strengthens Nikon’s commitment to the industrial marketplace and offers a renewed focus on the company’s industrial business,” says Myles Richard, managing director, Nikon Metrology, Inc. “This new company brings greater product offerings to the market while continuing Nikon’s tradition of top-quality customer service.”

Partners In THINC Welcomes Kuka Robotics As a New Partner
Okuma America Corporation announce that Kuka Robotics, a leading supplier of industrial robots, has joined Partners in THINC
The company’s core competencies include the development, production and sales of industrial robots, controllers, software, linear units and omniMoves™.Kuka robots are utilized in a diverse range of industries including appliance, automotive, aerospace, consumer goods, logistics, food, pharmaceutical, medical, foundry and plastics industries.
As a member of Partners in THINC, Kuka Robotics’ mission is helping companies develop and implement ideas–optimizing their production to be quicker, more efficient and more accurate. In conjunction with the Kuka System Partner Network and Kuka’s wide range of industrial robots spanning payloads from 5 kg to 1300 kg, any integrated solution or application conceivable is possible. All Kuka Robots utilize a common PC-based control platform, enabling them to easily connect to and communicate with the Okuma THINC control.
Kuka Robotics products can be seen and demonstrated at the Partners in THINC facility in Charlotte, NC.

New CompanyDMG And Mori Seiki
Announce Combining Of US Operations
DMG and Mori Seiki, two leading machine tool manufacturers, will join forces in the United States. Mori Seiki Co., Ltd. has agreed with the German machine tool manufacturer, Gildemeister Aktiengesellschaft (DMG), to assume all sales and service-related activities in the United States starting April 1, 2010.
The new DMG/Mori Seiki USA will assume responsibility for all product support, regardless of whether the product is manufactured by DMG or Mori Seiki. Expanded service will be available to DMG users as existing product knowledge and expertise is transferred to Mori Seiki and its nationwide distributor network. DMG / Mori Seiki will also provide after-sales service, spare parts supply, training and engineering support.
Dr. Rüdiger Kapitza, chairman of the executive board of DMG, asserts that the timing for a strategic partnership between DMG and Mori Seiki is now.
“Our joint innovative customer focus allows us to approach the challenges posed by the international economic crisis in a more targeted manner and to overcome them,” he says.
Advantages of the partnership include consolidation of parts inventory (located in Dallas), and an overall increased level of customer service for users of both Mori Seiki and DMG machines. The companies’ complementary resources will create an even stronger organization with a vast product line.

Doosan Sees New
Opportunities in Recovering Economy
The tough economic conditions of the past few years are coming to an end, and it’s time for machine tool builders and their distributors to get back to work with new products, new offerings, and new directions.
That was the message communicated by Doosan at its 16th annual distributor meeting held March 4-7 in Orlando, FL. Representatives from more than 50 distributor organizations located throughout North, Central and South America participated as Doosan developed aggressive programs intended to help customers take advantage of emerging growth opportunities.
Guest speaker Peter Borden, president of the American MachineTool Distributors Association, echoed Doosan’s optimism. His presentation demonstrated America’s dominance in world economics, and reaffirmed the long awaited recovery that’s occurring in the manufacturing segment.
New machines with advanced features were previewed, many of which will be introduced during 2010. Already available is the new Lynx 300, suitable for 3” bar stock, to fill a vital niche in the Lynx family of economical turning centers. Other turning centers and machining centers are targeted for introduction during late Summer and early Autumn.
Although the meeting’s emphasis was the future, there was time also to celebrate the past. Hales Machinery (Minneapolis, MN) received Doosan Infracore Distributor of the Year award for Outstanding Sales Achievement in 2009, based on market share and machine tool unit sales. The award was presented by JY Lee (Doosan Infracore President, CEO, and DIA), Jim Shiner (General Manager), and Tom Klukow (Regional Sales Manager). Tim Hales accepted the award for Hales Machinery (Minneapolis, MN).
Other distributors were recognized for their achievements including Jim Selway of CNC Solutions (Milpitas, CA) Western Region.

Solar Module Maker to Set up Headquarters at McClellan Park
N Solar Inc., a newly incorporated U.S. company and a subsidiary of a Seoul, Korea-based information technology company, has signed a lease for 128,000 square feet at McClellan Business Park, Sacramento, Ca.
N Solar is expected to ultimately bring 150 new jobs to the Sacramento region. N Solar is set to begin operations in September. It was not immediately clear how big the staff will be to start, and when N Solar would ramp up to 150 employees.

Toyota's Passin to Lead Tesla Manufacturing
Electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. said that former Toyota executive Gilbert Passin will lead its vehicle manufacturing operations.
California based Tesla said Passin has 23 years of international automotive experience and has led some of the most high-profile divisions at Toyota, Volvo, Mack and projects at Renault across North America and Europe.

Opus West Suit Says Parent Company ‘Siphoned’ $150M
The debtors in possession of Opus West Corp.’s assets filed a suit against Minnetonka-based Opus Corp. and several related entities, including the Opus Foundation.
Phoenix-based Opus West, which was one of five regional operating Opus companies, claims Opus Corp. used “systematic manipulation and abuse” for the purpose of evading legitimate contracts and debts. It seeks an unspecified amount of money for damages.
During the three years leading up to the filing of Opus West’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the suit claims, Opus’ parent company “siphoned” almost $150 million of Opus West’s earnings.
That action left the subsidiary undercapitalized, inadequately financed and unable to meet its ordinary obligations as a separate business unit, according to the suit.
Since last year, when three of Opus’ regional units filed for bankruptcy, the parent company has tried to distance itself from what it described as independent operating companies.
Opus West disputes that, however, saying the parent “exercised dominant control” over the years and operated Opus West as “an insufficiently capitalized facade for Opus Parent’s individual dealings.”
For example, the suit claims, the parent company had centralized accounting functions and required regular financial reporting of all its dealings. It also supervised Opus West through its common board members.

Tesla Files to go Public for $100M in financing
Electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors Inc. said it plans to sell stock to the public.
The company, based in Northern Calif., did not disclose in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission specifically how much it plans to raise though it listed $100 million as a placeholder figure. The actual amount it raises could be higher.
Tesla also did not give a date for when it plans to launch the IPO, nor did it say how many shares it would sell or at what price.

Amonix Inc. Has Announced it Will Build Two Solar
Manufacturing Plants, One in Arizona and One in Nevada.
The Arizona facility will bring 167 jobs to the state.
Exact locations have not yet been chosen for the California-based company’s projects, but they were part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s tax credit program announced.
Amonix is slated to receive $9.5 million for the two projects through the federal tax credit, which pays up to 30 percent of a facility’s construction. The DOE release shows Amonix’s Phoenix facility listed to receive about $3.6 million.
Amonix’s technology is concentrated photovoltaic power systems that increase the efficiency of PV cells by concentrating sunlight on them.

Suntech Plant Heads to GoodYear, AZ With 75 Jobs
Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. has leased a manufacturing facility in Goodyear, and will bring along about 75 jobs to start. Production of solar panels could begin by the fall.
The company made the announcement at the Arizona Solar Manufacturing Symposium, ending several months of speculation about where its first U.S. manufacturing facility would be based.
The Goodyear location, on Cotton Lane just north of Maricopa County Route 85, offers an existing building and good routes to California, Suntech’s largest sales market, said Steven Chan, the company’s chief strategy officer. Suntech’s relationship with Arizona State University was a factor in the decision, he said.
“This site really stood out because it was a good locale for logistics and it would allow us to expand very rapidly,” he said.
Suntech still could receive $2.1 million in federal tax credits from the U.S. Department of Education, however the application had listed the manufacturing site in Tempe. Chan and other economic development officials said they didn’t believe the choice of Goodyear would hinder the application. DOE officials could not be reached as of press time, but said previously a move could void the credits.
The company plans to invest between $10 million and $15 million in developing the 194,000-square-foot space as a plant for producing 30 megawatts of solar panels annually. That level of production does not qualify for the state’s tax credit, which requires an investment of $25 million and specific job numbers.
The company, however, could expand the facility to a capacity of more than 120 megawatts and earn the tax credits at a later date.

African Airline Orders 10 More Renton Jets
Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines announced Friday an order for 10 next-generation 737-800s. At list prices, the order is worth more than $700 million. Ethiopian is one of Boeing’s better customers, having flown every modern Boeing jet except the 747. The 737 is assembled in Renton, Washington

Arizona Solar Industry Lands Parts Supplier
The Arizona solar industry got another boost with the planned opening of a Tower Automotive facility in the Valley to help supply one of the local solar providers with parts.
The project will bring about 200 jobs to the Valley. The Livonia, Mich.-based manufacturer is still looking at potential sites.
Tower would be doing work for Stirling Energy Systems. That Scottsdale-based company uses a concentrated solar dish technology called SunCatcher, which leans heavily on the auto industry for its technology — including within the engine that produces the electricity.
“Tower Automotive is excited to bring our technology and expertise to the Southwestern United States through the establishment of manufacturing operations in the metro Phoenix area,” Bill Pumphrey, Tower’s president of the Americas, said in a prepared statement. “Through the support of our customer, Stirling Energy Systems, and the state of Arizona, both of which made this possible, we are confident that this is the start of exciting growth opportunities for our company, our colleagues and the communities we support.”

India Interested in Buying 10 Boeing C-17s
The Indian government has submitted a letter of request to the U.S. government expressing interest in ordering up to 10 Boeing C-17 military transport aircraft, The Boeing Co. said.
If India carries through with its interest in the planes, it would join a growing parade of foreign customers for the four-engine, high-wing transport.
The United Arab Emirates just this week ordered six of the California-built airlifters. Britain, Australia, Qatar and a consortium of European nations have C-17s in their inventories.

Aerojet to Supply Warheads for Raytheon
Aerojet was selected as the supplier of the MK 125 warhead for Raytheon Missile Systems, with delivery of the system set to begin this year.
Aerojet is a subsidiary of Rancho Cordova, CA. -based GenCorp.
The missile system provides long-range safety for Navy ships from airborne enemies.
The manufacturing of this component will be at Aerojet’s assembly plant in Camden, Ark.
The MK 125 warhead is the attack component of the SM-2 and SM-6 missile systems.
“The competitive selection of Aerojet to provide this critical warhead is a clear indication that our efforts to cut costs have been effective, while continuing to provide high-quality and on-schedule deliveries. The MK 125 consolidates our position as Raytheon and the U. S. Navy’s major energetic systems provider for the SM-2 and SM-6 missiles, complementing our MK 104 and MK 72 propulsion programs,” said John Myers, vice president of tactical programs, in a prepared statement.

Amkor Technology Raises Outlook
Amkor Technology Inc., seeing the effects of a rising semiconductor market, has announced higher-than-expected revenue in the fourth quarter.
Chandler-based Amkor expects its sales to go up about 6 percent in the quarter over 2008 levels, increasing in its guidance predicting flat revenue, said Ken Joyce, the company’s president and CEO.
Semiconductor companies experienced better news in the second half of 2009 after a dismal start to the year. Some consumer demand has returned, and manufacturers are seeing revenues starting to increase after tailing off at the end of 2008.

All Nippon Airways to Order 10 Boeing jets
Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) is ordering 10 jets from aircraft giant Boeing Co., the two companies announced.The order includes five 777-200ER and five 767-300ER jetliners. The order is valued at approximately $2 billion at list prices.
All Nippon uses aircraft from both Chicago-based Boeing and its European rival, Airbus.

Boeing Sells Two More Next-Gen 737s
Panama's flagship Copa Airlines ordered two more Boeing next-generation 737-800s, the two companies said in a press release.The new orders bring to 15 the number of Boeing 737-800s the airline has ordered this year. The order is valued at $152 million at list prices.
Copa has 29 next-generation 737s remaining to be delivered (including the new order).

ON Semiconductor Buying California Micro Devices
Milpitas, Calif. based Chip maker ON Semiconductor Corp. said it agreed to buy California Micro Devices Corp. for $4.70 per share.
ON Semiconductor said the deal has an equity value $108 million based on common shares outstanding and issued. Based on California Micro's 22.8 million outstanding shares as of Oct. 30, the deal is worth $107.3 million.
Both boards of directors have approved the deal. ON said the acquisition will strengthen its product offerings in markets such as wireless, computing and consumer electronics.
The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter.

Kamsco West Selected by Boeing on Tanker Project.
Lamsco West, Inc. announced it has been selected by The Boeing Company to support its nationwide team to compete for the U.S. Air Force's new fleet of aerial refueling tankers. Based in Santa Clarita, Ca.
Lamsco West, Inc. has been supplying engineered details, standards, laminated sheet and aerospace parts categorized as shims, stampings and flat pattern parts to Boeing for over 40 years.
By joining with Boeing to become part of the United States Tanker team, Lamsco West, Inc. will become eligible to increase orders if Boeing is awarded the U.S. Air Force tanker contract in mid-2010.
Lamsco West, Inc. currently makes engineered details, standards, and laminated sheet for Boeing's 737, 747, 757, 767, 777 and 787 programs.

Over 1,400 Manufacturers Attend Mazak’s R3 Event
Mazak recently announced that over 1,400 manufacturers from North and Central America attended its “Your Manufacturing Future: Refocus, Rediscover and Reinvent” event, which took place at its headquarters campus in Florence, Kentucky. Also known as ‘R3,’ the three-day event introduced new technology and provided innovative strategies to help American manufacturers achieve success.
“We really believed that the manufacturing community would respond strongly to an event focused on positioning themselves for future growth,” said Brian Papke, president, Mazak Corporation. “Our expectations for R3 were already high and we’re absolutely thrilled to have them exceeded. A lot of manufacturers are recognizing that the market has changed and evolution toward a new level of manufacturing productivity is required for continued success.”
Attendees to R3 sat in on a wide variety of seminars, covering topics including automation, MT Connect, multi-tasking, probing and advanced tooling technologies. Manufacturers of tooling, workholding and automation products partnered with Mazak to provide attendees with a comprehensive perspective on optimizing their operations.
In addition to informational seminars, attendees of the R3 event had the opportunity to witness productivity demonstrations on newly introduced machine technologies. Among the 24 featured machines were the Quick Turn Smart 200 and 350, the first machines in an affordable new series ideal for high production runs, and the VT-20. Designed in the U.S. at the Kentucky Headquarters the patent pending Mazak VT-20 represented one of the most unique machines introduced at the event.

THINC Partners Welcome Edmunds Gages
Okuma America Corporation has announced that Edmunds Gages, a manufacturer of precision measurement tools, has joined Partners in THINC.
Edmunds Gages conceives, designs and builds a wide range of gages for dimensional measurement and more. A vertically-integrated manufacturer, providing complete gaging solutions— including tooling, fixtures, heads, readouts and masters—Edmunds Gages also offers calibration services. With a fully accredited sub-millionth gage laboratory, Edmunds Gages products are provided with traceable certifications of size to National Standards, assuring that manufactured products meet part print dimensions and design constraints.
“Partnering with Okuma and the other Partners provides us with an exciting opportunity to help manufacturers realize the full potential of modern day manufacturing,” stated Jack Gaughan, Sales Manager for Edmunds Gages. “Innovating ideas with experts from other companies, allows us to provide manufacturers with the solutions they need to remain competitive and profitable for future growth.”

National Tooling & Machining Association Will Relocate to Ohio
The National Tooling & Machining Association (NTMA) has announced plans to relocate its national headquarters to Independence Ohio. The board of trustees approved the move in a recent conference call vote. In announcing their decision, the 2009 NTMA Executive Team said the relocation is being made to strengthen the association by reducing operating costs, allowing the association to be more accessible to members, and to increase the potential of their “One Voice” for American Manufacturing.
The NTMA has agreed to relocate to the building presently owned by the Precision Metal Forming Association (PMA) in Independence OH. The two associations will maintain their separate identities but share common staff duties. The plan is to create a new organization that will manage common staff duties such as meeting planning, customer service, accounting, clerical and others so both organizations will save on overhead.
The move was made possible when the two organizations joined forces earlier this year on their political advocacy work by creating the new “One Voice” political advocacy coalition. The NTMA executive team believes the success of the One Voice effort has shown us that the two organizations can work together on common issues. They feel that doing more work together will make each organization stronger.

Emuge Named Exclusive North American Agent for Hohenstein Special Purpose Clamping Fixtures
Emuge Corp. announced they are the exclusive North American agent for The Hohenstein Company, one of Germany’s leading designers and producers of work-piece clamping fixtures. This arrangement will combine reliable high-quality, special purpose work piece clamping fixtures from Hohenstein with Emuge’s application expertise in demanding workholding and tooling solutions.
“By adding the specialized clamping fixtures from Hohenstein to our lines, we further demonstrate our commitment to our customers to fulfill their unique application requirements,” commented Peter Matysiak, president of Emuge Corp. “The fixtures are a natural addition, as our precision workholding department specializes in customized solutions where accuracy and repeatability play a major role.”

Waterjet Manufacturer Jet Edge Acquires Calypso Waterjet Systems
Waterjet manufacturer Jet Edge, Inc. of St. Michael, Minn., recently announced that it has acquired Calypso Waterjet Systems of Dallas, Texas.
Founded in 1992, Calypso Waterjet Systems had been a major manufacturer of waterjet cutting systems prior to its departure from the water jet industry in early 2009. Calypso products include waterjet cutting machines, abrasive removal, closed loop water, and automatic height sensing systems; nesting software; plastic water jet cutting bricks; bulk abrasive feeder tanks; and replacement parts for waterjet intensifier pumps, cutting heads, and waterjet tables.
Jet Edge president Jude Lague said he plans to reintroduce many of Calypso’s products under Calypso’s brand names.
“Calypso waterjets provide an excellent entry-level waterjet solution for price-conscious buyers,” Lague noted. “Through our acquisition of Calypso, we will be able to make precision waterjet cutting capabilities available to a much broader range of customers in the growing entry-level market.”

Verisurf Donates $528,000 Worth of Software to Cerritos Machine Tool
Technology Program
Cerritos College Economic Development in partnership with California Manufacturing Technology Consulting (CMTC) attended the WESTEC trade show, in March 2009. Their attendance at this event resulted in a highly lucrative collaboration between Cerritos College Economic Development, their Machine Tool Technology Program, and Verisurf Software, Inc.
Verisurf Software, Inc. is a California based software development company that specializes in computer-aided inspection and manufacturing software for a variety of industries. Verisurf offered a donation of 24 seats of software (valuing a total $528,000) in exchange for Cerritos College paying to have one faculty member trained in the Verisurf software as well as produce a series of hands on training videos featuring the capabilities of the software that students can use as well as other Verisurf customers. Cerritos College instructor, Yannick Real, was selected to attend the training, create videos showing the basics of the program and some hands-on applications as well as assist with the installation process.
Cerritos College Economic Development and the Machine Tool Technology department is very excited that this collaboration will benefit their departments for years to come because their campus has been designated as the beta test site for future trainings through Verisurf. Their students will have the most up to date software and equipment because of the donations they received.

Okuma America Corporation & Hartwig, Inc. to Provide Machines to Davis Applied Technology College in Utah
Okuma America Corporation and Utah distributor Hartwig, Inc. will provide machine tool equipment to Davis Applied Technology College (DATC) for use in their Machine Tool Technology Program. The machine tool lab, soon to be known as the Okuma Institute for Technology at Davis Applied Technology College, will also serve as a showroom for Hartwig in the Rocky Mountain region, providing local manufacturers an opportunity to see, first-hand, the Okuma machines and THINC control technology.
Okuma and Hartwig are collaborating to provide DATC with a working showroom of CNC lathes, vertical machining centers, multi-tasking machines and a horizontal machining center with a Fastems flexible manufacturing system. The equipment will be used to provide students with hands-on training on state-of-the-art equipment for development of CNC machinists, programmers and quality control and inspection specialists. Additionally, local manufacturing companies will have opportunities to visit the facility and see the machines in operation.
Although machines have already been installed and training has begun, the Okuma Institute of Technology at Davis Applied Technology College will formally open on January 12. Grand Opening activities will take place January 12-14, 2010.

Jonathan Saada & Associates Announces Expansion –Adds Complete WIDIA Product Line
Jonathan Saada & Associates, the manufacturer’s representative for WIDIA-Hanita cutting tools in Southern California, recently announcee the company is adding all WIDIA-related brands of cutting tools and related products to its product line, effective immediately. They: WIDIA-Hanita™, world-class end mills, WIDIA-Rübig™, solid-carbide drilling and reaming, WIDIA-Manchester™, grooving and cutoff expertise and value
Other products include WIDIA-Clapp/DiCo™, PCD/CBN custom metalcutting solutions, WIDIA-GTD™ (Greenfield Tap & Die), line of premium-quality taps, WIDIA-Circle™, the proven name for optimum small-bore boring, grooving, and profiling and, of course, WIDIA™, carbide tooling and a world leader in indexable milling, turning, and holemaking applications.
“We’ve been providing technical knowledge and expertise to metalworking end users and distributors for 20 years,” explains Jonathan Saada, president. “With these additions to our products and services, we now represent everything from the spindle to the job to improve a company’s bottom line.”
Along with partner David Buchberger, Saada says he plans to hire more people in the near future for additional service capacity to Southern California manufacturers.

Delcam Establishes California Office

Delcam has established an office in California following its acquisition of the assets and goodwill of its reseller Vizion Technologies. All of the Vizion staff will become direct employees to ensure continuity of service to the many users of Delcam software in the state.

Vizion was founded in 1998 by Jerry Sanders to sell and support Delcam products in the western USA. He was joined by Sheila Cullers in May 2000 to develop further the sales in the region. The company has built up a customer base of hundreds of clients, including internationally-known names in the aerospace, mould and die, medical, dental, consumer products, athletic shoes and sports equipment industries.

Commenting on the decision to move to a direct office, Delcam Managing Director Clive Martell said, “Vizion’s staff have enjoyed considerable success in building up and supporting a large and diverse customer base for Delcam’s products. To expand the organization and achieve even more business in the state, we felt that considerable investment was needed.”

Mazak Announces ISO 9001:2008 Certification

Mazak Corporation has announced receipt of ISO 9001:2008 certification for its manufacturing plant in Florence, Kentucky. The company’s facility previously held ISO 9001:2000 certification, which it had obtained in 2003.

The ISO 9001:2008 certification is very similar to ISO 9001:2000 certification. Several restrictions have been tightened and language has been added or changed to provide additional clarification. Mazak’s ISO 9001:2008 certification applies to its production operations, including the design and manufacture of CNC machines, spindle rebuilds and remanufacturing at its Florence, Kentucky facility.

The Mazak Florence plant produces the Nexus lines of vertical machining centers and turning centers with multi-tasking capabilities. Mazak will introduce 10 new models from this plant in the fall of 2009.

Siemens And Fryer Machine Team Up

Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc., announced that Fryer Machine Systems, Inc. has selected the Sinumerik 840D numerical control, together with Siemens’ ShopMill and ShopTurn software packages, for its job shop milling and turning machines.

By using Siemens CNC solutions, machine tool end-users benefit from decreased machine setup time, a unified control for both milling and turning machines combined with superior performance. Flexibility and ease-of-use were key factors in the decision to select Siemens.

The Siemens solution allows end-users to achieve higher productivity through easy and intuitive features and step-by-step, on-screen programming that enable job shops to quickly respond to customer demands by reducing programming times.

Makino Broadcasts 100th Online Seminar

Makino’s highly acclaimed online seminar series reached a new milestone on June 4, with the 100th seminar broadcast. All 100 seminars are available in Makino’s online seminar library (www.makino.com/library). These online events cover a wide variety of machining solutions, including production machining, micromachining, EDM, die mold, aerospace, and automation.

“It’s really exciting to have shared so much machining knowledge in the last three years,” said Mark Rentschler, Makino’s marketing manager. “When we first started, online video was in its infancy—no one else in manufacturing was doing anything like this, especially without charging people to view the information. We never thought we’d reach the point where we have over 10,000 views of videos that shops use to help their business.”

Makino’s online seminar series is a free service and available to all North American manufacturers. New seminars are broadcasted each month on Thursdays at 11am ET, 10am CT.

Carl Zeiss IMT Announces Opening Of New West-Coast Tech Center

Carl Zeiss IMT has opened a new tech center in Irvine, California.

“We are dedicated to supporting the high-tech industry on the west coast, by providing customers easy access to our most modern and advanced technology,” says Andy Sisler, vp sales at Carl Zeiss IMT. “The new technical center will provide more local resources and support for this fast paced market. It’s an exciting time for us because this is a chance to be even closer to our customers, and show our commitment to customer support after the sale,” adds Sisler.

The new facility is located in a modern technology park. The new site focuses on application support, contract inspection services, software training, and demonstration of Zeiss equipment.

“Providing contract inspection services is an exciting part of what we are building here,” states Drew Shemenski, software and applications manager at Carl Zeiss IMT. “With a full suite of Metrology Systems at this facility, we have the capability to support the inspection needs of everyone from micro-molders, up through traditional CNC job shops, as well as specialists such as gear and turbine manufacturers.”

Niigata Appoints HR Machinery In Northern California

HR Machinery has been appointed the exclusive representative of Niigata Products Group; a division of SNK America Inc. Covering the northern portion of California and Nevada, HR Machinery brings extensive experience to customers interested in Horizontal machining centers and FMS applications.

Jim Fahey, owner of HR Machinery states, “ HR is proud to be associated with a company that produces the quality and reliability that Niigata is recognized for not just in our own competitive Silicon Valley, but throughout the country. Niigata horizontal FMS’ are a mainstay of the Tier 1 vendors to the semiconductor market and like HR Machinery, focuses on customer satisfaction”.

Niigata is a Japanese based builder of both box-way and linear-rail horizontal machining centers, pallet pool and FMS cell systems. HR Machinery is a sales and service based organization offering machining, turning, and quality control solutions for the shop floor.

BTB Transfer Acquires Ottobi Machine

BTB Transfer of Brescia, Italy has completed their acquisition of Ottobi Machine. Ottobi has been supplying the lock cylinder & key manufacturing industry with high speed production systems for more than 30 years. Their operation will be moved into the recently enlarged BTB facility.

Ottobi produces key machines for automotive, residential, padlock, and other security cylinders, including the new tamper-proof security keys with milled slots and conical hole patterns. The lock cylinder lines produce at high speeds up to 5,000 parts per hour. The new Ottobi will benefit greatly from the current BTB infrastructure of advanced technology in electrical controls and a worldwide service organization.

Gosiger Import, a division of Gosiger, Inc. is the importer and distributor for BTB and Ottobi and will introduce the Ottobi product line to the North American market. With more than 100 service techs nationally, Gosiger provides necessary support for the life of the equipment. Gosiger is actively contacting customers who can benefit through the application of Ottobi machine technologies.

In addition to the BTB product line, Gosiger also imports Euroturn multi-spindles, iFP vacuum parts washers and Nomura swiss style lathes. Gosiger has been in business since 1922 and has offices in southern and northern California and Washington.

Dynamic International, Samsung Machine Tool Division Appoints New President

Steve Lesnewich was recently appointed as the new president of Samsung Machine Tool, a division of Dynamic International. The appointment became effective July 6, 2009. Steve is an exceptional leader who will be responsible for introducing the Samsung Machine Tool line to North America. He will use his experience to develop a cohesive, highly motivated distributor network that is an open conduit between customer, distributor, and Samsung Machine Tool.

Lesnewich comes to Samsung Machine Tool with over 30 years of experience in the machine tool industry and brings a vast spectrum of knowledge to Dynamic International. For the past 15 years, Mr. Lesnewich was at Daewoo/Doosan the Korean builder of CNC lathes and machining centers where he became president and COO. Before Daewoo, Lesnewich was the eastern regional manager for SMW Systems where he worked closely with the builders and importers of CNC machine tools on the east coast. Prior to SMW Systems, Steve started his machine tool experience holding various positions with Marubeni Citizen-Cincom the importer of CNC Swiss style lathes.

Valenite Becomes a New Competence Brand For Walter in North America

Walter and Valenite recently announce the following organizational developments in an effort to expand their value proposition for their channel partners and their end user customers.

Starting now, until January 1st 2010, the Valenite brand will be integrated into theWalter brand structure, and shall form the Walter Valenite competence brand. MODCO® will become a technology brand under the Walter Valenite competence per below.

Muff Tanriverdi, President of Walter North America will be responsible for the combined operations.

This integration will bring the best of both organizations together to further expand their role as leaders of innovation and technology.

Verisurf Selected by Spacex as Exclusive Provider of Metrology Software

Verisurf Software, Inc. announced it has entered into an exclusive agreement with Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX). Under the agreement, Verisurf will become SpaceX’s software standard for real time information regarding surface variance on composite tooling, to perform crucial final acceptance inspection, and to create surface deviation reports for the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles, as well as the Dragon spacecraft programs.

Based in Hawthorne, California, SpaceX cited Verisurf’s ease of use, proven industry experience and leadership in expanding the use of 3D CAD data into complex aerospace assembly and inspection processes as the reasons for the exclusive agreement.

“Verisurf’s CAD connectivity, broad 3D device support and powerful measurement functionality are a great compliment to our current programs,” said Chris Thompson, SpaceX vice president of manufacturing. “ These benefits, coupled with its ease of use and reputation as a standard in the aerospace industry, make Verisurf a great choice for SpaceX.”

“Verisurf is proud to be the corporate standard for SpaceX, a company with the highest level of innovation and quality in commercial spaceflight. We will do whatever is necessary to support SpaceX as they strive to develop affordable access to space”, stated Ernie Husted, president and CEO of Verisurf Software, Inc.

Ellison Technologies Expands its Engineering Support

Ellison Technologies, recently announced a new applications engineer, Mr. Nguyen Ho, to its Southern California operation. Nguyen brings 13 years of experience working with multiple CNC control platforms, programming and CAD/CAM software.

“Nguyen is a highly skilled applications engineer,” says Larry Duford, Ellison Technologies’ Advanced Manufacturing Group president. “His experience combined with his enthusiasm to develop new capabilities to support our customers, makes him a great addition to our engineering team.”

As part of Ellison’s engineering support team; Nguyen will provide set-up, programming, and training support to Ellison’s expanding customer base. Nguyen began his career as a 2D & 3D programmer and has since enhanced his skills with a focus in set up and operation of CNC milling machines.