April •  May 2007 • Vol. XXV No. 4 • An Arnold Publication

Industry  News • Executive Hotline

Executive Hotline

Aerojet Launches Missile Defense System Work

Aerospace company Aerojet will start production of boost motors for the new missile defense system as part of a contract with Lockheed Martin.

Rancho Cordova CA. based Aerojet, a division of GenCorp Inc.  will play a major role in the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, said Charlie Meraz, Aerojet’s THAAD program manager. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the project.

The contract “marks the beginning of THAAD production in Sacramento and will provide production through at least 2009,” he said.

Aerojet did not detail the dollar value of the contract or the number of jobs created though the program.

Benaroya Sells Tech Center for $40M in Oregon

The Benaroya Co. said it’s sold its Oregon Technology Center in Hillsboro, Ore., to SolarWorld AG of Germany for $40 million.

Benaroya and partner Real Property Investors bought the property in September for $22 million.

The property includes 400,000 square feet of building space on 46 acres. It was a state-of-the-art silicon wafer manufacturing plant when it was completed for $450 million for Komatsu Silicon America. The complex, west of Portland, sat vacant for all but a few months since its opening.

“We are excited about the effect the sale of Oregon Technology Center will have on the Hillsboro area, by bringing hundreds of jobs to the community,” said Larry Benaroya, principal of the Benaroya Co., in a statement.

SolarWorld AG plans to develop a factory that will produce solar silicon wafers and solar cells by the end of 2009. The company’s Vancouver, Wash.-based production facilities will move to Hillsboro.

DHL Buying Six Boeing 767 Freighters

German shipping company DHL said it’s buying six Boeing Co. 767-300 extended-range freighters, valued at $894 million at list prices.

DHL is owned the third-largest shipping company in the United States.

The order comes on the heels of Atlanta-based United Parcel Service Inc.’s  order last month for 27 of  Boeing’s  767-300ER freighters. That deal was worth an estimated $3.9 billion.

The Everett-Washington built 767-300ER freighter can carry 24 containers on its upper deck and seven containers in lower cargo compartments. It has a maximum payload of 132,200 pounds and a range of 3,000 nautical miles.

Boeing Receives Order From Alafco

Boeing Co. said recently that Kuwait-based Alafco Aviation Lease and Finance Co. signed a deal to buy 18 airplanes with a total listing value of $2.26 billion.

The transaction includes 12 787-8 Dreamliner airplanes and six 737-800s.

“Both the 787-8 and the very popular Next-Generation 737-800 are strategic investments for Alafco, and this order will move the company closer to the realization of our ambitious growth plan,” Ahmad Alzabin, chairman and CEO of Alafco, said in a statement.

Alafco, which became a publicly traded company in October, is the first Middle East customer to finalize its order for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.

Since launch in April 2004, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner has logged orders from 37 customers for 470 airplanes. Rollout and first flight of the 787 is scheduled for later this year, followed by entry into service in 2008.

Outside Supplier for Boeing Moves Inside

In a move that doesn’t sit too well with the Machinists’ union, Boeing has leased a 25,000-square-foot building inside its Everett jet plant to Messier-Dowty, which provides the landing gear for the new 787 Dreamliner.

Messier-Dowty will make parts in England and France, assemble the main structure in Montreal, Canada, then ship everything to Everett to complete the landing gear and add wheels and tires.

The work, in Boeing’s 40-05 building, should provide jobs for 20 people, says Messier-Dowty spokeswoman Alison Joly.

 Lockheed Martin to Provide Missile Support Under $135M Contract

Lockheed Martin has received a $135 million contract from the Navy to support a missile program.

The Bethesda-based company’s Lockheed Martin Space Systems unit will work on the Trident II ballistic missile program to extend the life of the missile.

The work will be performed in Sunnyvale, Calif., where the space systems unit is based, and should be completed by September 2008, according to the Navy.

Esterline Completes $335 million  CMC Electronics Purchase

The Bellevue Washington aerospace company announced in February that it was buying the Montreal, Canada-based aerospace/defense avionics company to expand its existing avionics and controls business.

The purchase of CMC “is a natural evolution following Esterline’s successful performance as a Tier 1 supplier to Boeing (Co.) for the 787 cockpit overhead panel system,” said Robert Cremin, Esterline CEO, in a statement.

Washington State Keeps Adding Manufacturing Jobs

The state of Washington added 10,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector last year, according to a trade group study.

The number of manufacturing jobs increased 3.5 percent from February 2006 to February 2007, the third year in a row the manufacturing sector has grown in Washington, according to a study by Manufacturers’ News Inc. of Evanston, Ill.

The group’s research indicates the state ranks No. 23 in the United States by the number of jobs in manufacturing, and No. 19 in the number of plants. The state has 7,065 manufacturers, and the industry employs 306,757 people.

Redmond employs the most people in the manufacturing sector, at 38,337, followed by Seattle with 36,174. The aircraft and related parts and equipment sector of manufacturing employs the most people — 33,174.

“Washington’s gains were among the largest seen in the U.S. over the past few years,” said Howard Dubin, chairman of Manufacturers’ News, in a statement.

Applied Materials Plans Biggest U.S. Corporate Solar Power Installation

Applied Materials Inc. on in early March  said it will install what it believes is the largest solar power installation on an existing corporate facility in the United States.

Santa Clara-based Applied Materials plans to  install more than 1.9 megawatts of solar power generation capability at its Sunnyvale research campus in three phases.

Once completed in 2008, the system is expected to generate over 2,330 megawatt hours annually - the equivalent of powering 1,400 homes.

Strong Job Market Expected in Denver

Denver-area employers expect to hire at a strong clip in the second quarter of 2007, although sentiment was not quite as positive as in the first quarter, according to a survey released in early April by Manpower Inc.

About 42 percent of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees between April and June, while 12 percent expect to cut payrolls, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. Forty-three percent foresaw no change, and 3 percent said they didn’t know.

Beckman Buyout Target Gets Rival Offer

San Diego’s Biosite Inc., set to be acquired by Fullerton-based Beckman Coulter Inc. for $1.55 billion, has received a competing bid from Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. of Waltham, Mass.

Inverness, a maker of diagnostic medical tests, already owns 5% of Biosite.

The company is offering $90 per share for Biosite, versus Beckman’s $85 a share offer announced on March 25.

Inverness’ offer is a 7% premium from Biosite’s Wednesday close. Beckman’s offer was a 53% premium from where Biosite was trading before the announcement.

Beckman, which makes instruments and chemicals for medical testing and research, said it is sticking with its offer and could close a deal within 30 days.

Raytheon Holds in No. 5 Spot on Pentagon Contractors List

The parent company of Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems, Southern Arizona’s largest employer, ranked fifth among the Pentagon’s top 10 contractors in 2006, according to figures released in April

Lockheed Martin Corp. increased its Pentagon orders 37 percent to $26.6 billion in 2006 and remained the Pentagon’s largest contractor, say the annual rankings by the U.S. Defense Department.

For the second year in a row, the top six contractors were the same, the Defense Department said. Boeing Co. was ranked second, with $20.3 billion in awards, an increase from $18.3 billion in 2005. Northrop Grumman Corp., General Dynamics Corp., Raytheon Co. and Halliburton Co. rounded out the first six positions.

Industry News

Walter USA, Inc.,  Appoints W. Douglas Ewald  as Marketing Director

Douglas Ewald brings more than 20 years of experience to the organization.  Most recently, he served as comprehensive services manager for Kennametal Inc. In 1984, he earned a BS degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Materials Engineering and in 1995, an MBA from the University of North Carolina.

Ewald’s experience includes Engineering, Sales Development, Product and Technical Services Management, Global Marketing Management and Global Key Account Management.

In his new role with Walter USA, Ewald will report directly to Muff Tanriverdi, president and CEO.  He will be responsible for the development and implementation of all marketing strategies in relation to International Corporate objectives. Additionally, he will oversee and direct all marketing efforts for North America, including Canada and Mexico.  This includes advertising, PR, corporate relations, presentations, collateral, pricing and industry trade shows. 

40% Growth Wins Vizion Delcam Sales Partner Award

California-based Vizion Technologies has been presented with Delcam’s North American Sales Partner of the Year award after producing 40% sales growth during 2006. 

“Vizion performed remarkably well last year,” commented Delcam’s managing director Hugh Humphreys. “To record such exceptional growth would be extraordinary at any time.  To do it at such a challenging time for North American manufacturing industry is a real achievement.”

Vizion’s success has been an important part of Delcam’s general expansion in North America.  Business for the company has grown by around 65% in the region over the past three years.  “North American companies are now aware that they must improve their productivity in order to prosper in the face of international competition,” commented Mr. Humphreys

Vizion was founded in 1998 by Jerry Saunders as a full-service support organization to provide state of the art manufacturing software solutions and ensure customer success with the products.  The company remains committed to optimising manufacturing processes by supplying the best software products and customizing these tools to its customers’ applications.

GibbsCam,  Support of Tornos TB-Deco Machine Tools Announced

Gibbs and Associates, developer of GibbsCam software for programming CNC machine tools, has announced  that GibbsCam now supports the entire product line of Tornos Deco machine tools, including the innovative TB-Deco model.  This recent accomplishment was realized through the combined efforts of Gibbs, Tornos and Productec, the GibbsCam Reseller located in Switzerland. 

“GibbsCam MTM is an ideal programming environment for multi-task machine tools,” observes Francois Steulet, Productec’s CEO, “but the Tornos TB-Deco’s unique style of programming uses pulses instead of G-codes, which requires extremely specialized post processors to be developed. Fortunately, we had the necessary post processor and GibbsCam DTK experience and were able to work closely with Tornos to develop a solution.”

Mori Seiki and PartMaker Partner to Provide Programming Solutions for the Mori NT Turn-Mill Center

PartMaker Inc. and Mori Seiki have partnered in an effort to provide Mori Seiki users a seamless, well-proved programming solution for the new Mori Seiki NT Turn-Mill center.  PartMaker CAD/CAM software, in addition, supports the full line of Mori Seiki multi-axis lathes including the Mori Seiki ZT, MT, NL, DL and SL models among others.

As part of the cooperation between PartMaker and Mori Seiki on the new NT model, Mori Seiki engineers have tested NC program output generated by PartMaker for programming various machining scenarios on the Mori Seiki NT.  These machining scenarios include various turning and milling operations, canned cycle routines and synchronous machining combinations using the machine’s articulating B-axis head and lower turret.

“The collaboration between Mori Seiki and PartMaker is a unique one, because it allows Mori Seiki NT users to have a high degree of confidence in the results they can achieve with PartMaker even though the Mori Seiki NT model is still a relatively new model in the field,” says Hanan Fishman, PartMaker Inc. President. “Mori Seiki has shown tremendous vision in making a proactive investment in testing PartMaker output for the NT machine so its users can be assured of the results they achieve when implementing PartMaker for this machine.” 

Jet Edge Appoints Marketing Manager

Jet Edge, Inc., a leading manufacturer of ultra-high pressure waterjet and abrasivejet systems for precision cutting, coating removal and surface preparation, announced   that it has promoted Nancy Lauseng to the newly created position of marketing manager, reporting to Tom MacGibbon, VP sales and marketing.

“This new role marks an important advancement for Jet Edge,” MacGibbon said. “The demands for innovative ultra-high pressure waterjet technologies are many and growing as industries around the world are searching for opportunities to improve their production processes and reduce costs, which UHP waterjets offer.”

Lauseng will provide the leadership required for “getting Jet Edge’s story out” to all market segments and  strengthening Jet Edge’s market-leading position as a high-quality UHP waterjet manufacturer. She will manage and coordinate all media relations, trade exhibitions, product marketing materials, website and company information.

Lauseng joined Jet Edge in February 2006 as marketing development specialist.

Mark Saalmuller CMTSE Becomes Regional Account Manager for The Robert E. Morris Company

Before becoming Morris Company’s regional account manager for southern Connecticut, Mark Saalmuller oversaw North American sales and marketing efforts for Tornos Technologies while simultaneously serving on the Precision Machined Products Association’s (PMPA) Board of Directors.  There he worked tirelessly to recognize and promote best practices to member companies.

Prior to his employment with Tornos, Mr. Saalmuller served as product manager at Mitsui Machine Tools, and as an applications engineer at Okuma.  He began he career in the metal working industry in his teens and gained valuable shop floor experience working in various contract shops.

Gibbs and CGTech Announce Collaboration Agreement

Gibbs and Associates, developer of GibbsCam® software for programming CNC machine tools,  and CGTech, developer of Vericut software for simulating CNC machine tools, announced recently a collaborative agreement between their two companies.

As part of this collaboration, the two companies will provide seamless integration between their products allowing CNC programs developed by GibbsCam to be simulated and optimized using Vericut.  In addition, GibbsCam users will be able to directly utilize Vericut’s existing library of CNC machine models and controls, which they claim is the largest collection available in industry today.

 “Today’s machine tools have reached a level of complexity and cost that necessitates accurate simulation,” observes Bill Gibbs, founder and president of Gibbs and Associates.  “This is especially true with advanced multi-tasking machining centers and 5-axis simultaneous milling machines.  CGTech not only provides an excellent machine tool simulator with Vericut, but it also provides the service and support that users rely upon. Users who already have Vericut in use in their facility will be able to take advantage of the GibbsCam/Vericut integration to validate their CNC programs.”

Quatech, Inc and Refresh Your Memory Connect CNC/DNC Buyers with Solutions 

Quatech, Inc. and Refresh Your Memory, Inc.   feature device networking hardware and software solutions. 

Quatech, a wholly owned subsidiary of DPAC Technologies Corp and a leader in 802.11 wireless machine-to-machine (M2M) connectivity solutions, designs and manufactures secure 802.11 embedded wireless device server modules, boards and external device servers to enable remote data collection and control.  Refresh Your Memory offers communication software, hardware and solutions to the Direct Numerical Control (DNC) market.  By providing comprehensive DNC solutions that work, RYM provides a full complement of communication related products such as wireless connectivity, Behind the Tape Reader (BTR) adapters and monitoring software. 

As technology evolves and the need for better networking solutions increases, CNC and DNC professionals are faced with limited options due to the extreme environments and meticulous communication specifications that are necessary to function – including low latency and heavy duty device servers.   

With a number of ways to connect machine tools to networks, RYM understands the importance of choosing the right networking technology to simplify life on the shop floor.  Quatech and RYM  teamed up at EASTEC to offer CNC and DNC attendees the opportunity to network-enable their machine floor devices without running lengthy cables or wires by using Quatech Wireless Device Servers. 

Quatech Wireless Device Servers offer a simple and integrated configuration process with an embedded 802.11b wireless radio that offers superior power and receive sensitivity. Combined with one  of the industry’s best processors, these models incorporate a world-class architecture that ensures compatibility with market-leading wireless infrastructures, boosts throughput and reduces latency to the lowest levels possible, allowing a broader range of serial devices to communicate over a wireless Ethernet network without modifying host software designed to use COM ports.

From file transfer and drip feed software to RS-232 to Ethernet hardware solutions, RYM offers an array of industry services for manufacturing specialists.   Quatech provides high performance, lowest latency Wireless Device Servers and highly-acclaimed technical support team.

Vanessa Dennison joins AMT as Membership Manager

Vanessa L. Dennison has joined AMT-The Association For Manufacturing Technology as Membership Manager. She will be responsible for retention of existing members and expansion of the Association membership. She will also supervise production of membership related products and publications and manage the AMT Scholarship Program.
Dennison has prior experience in membership functions at a large, Washington, D.C. association where she was responsible for recruitment and retention projects, and involved in the business, marketing and database requirements of an association’s membership department. She has management experience in membership database issues.

“We are delighted to welcome someone with Vanessa’s skills and experience to AMT,” said Robert W. Gardner, AMT Vice President-Public Relations. “We look forward to continued growth in the Association’s membership under her leadership.”