Industry News

01/27/2016
The National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS), Fairfax, Va., last year awarded a record number of credentials to individuals seeking to start or further a career in manufacturing, NIMS announced in a Jan. 26 news release. In 2015, NIMS issued 21,420 industry-recognized credentials, with 18,901 of them issued in the United States, the organization reported. Compared to 2014, that's a 20 percent increase in U.S. credentials issued by NIMS.
01/24/2016
Harry Moser, the founder and president of the Reshoring Initiative, an industry-led group out to prove offshoring is not always the best economical decision for companies, takes issue with the recently released 2015 A.T. Kearney U.S. Reshoring Index, which suggested that the reshoring trend was an aberration. A.T. Kearney, a global management consulting firm headquartered in Chicago, reported in December that its reshoring index dropped to -115 in 2015. A negative value is said to indicate net offshoring, according to the consulting firm.
01/21/2016
Okuma America Corp., Charlotte, N.C., recently named Caron Engineering its Partner of the Year, according to an Okuma news release issued Jan. 6. Based on Okuma's annual distributor survey, Caron Engineering received the highest overall partner rating from among all 50 members of Okuma's Partners in THINC, which is a collaboration network of more than 40 industry leaders who come together to solve problems and explore new productivity ideas for real-world manufacturers. 
01/21/2016
A partnership between GF Machining Solutions, Lincolnshire, Ill., and a Colorado community college that brought 5-axis training to the school's machine technologies program recently earned recognition from the Obama administration for its efforts to confront an estimated 2 million manufacturing jobs expected to go unfilled over the next decade, according to a GF Machining Solutions news release issed Jan. 21.
01/20/2016
Norsk Titanium AS, Oslo, Norway, announced the first shipment of Airbus test parts manufactured by the company's patented Rapid Plasma Deposition (RPD) process has been delivered to Premium AEROTEC's plant in Varel, Germany, where it has already undergone finish machining, according to a joint company news release issued Jan. 20.
01/20/2016
U.S. manufacturing reshoring trends appear to have been short-lived, according to a Dec. 21 news release from A.T. Kearney, a global management consulting firm headquartered in Chicago. "The reshoring phenomenon appears to have been more a one-off aberration than an inexorable trend," the firm reported, citing new data from its second annual A.T. Kearney U.S. Reshoring Index. "Data from 2015 confirms that offshoring is gathering steam, while the reshoring train has yet to leave the station."
01/20/2016
Manufacturers face "unprecedented global complexity," according to a Jan. 12 blog post on the website for the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI). "The sector is now powered by software and data every bit as much as by steel and electricity," continued the post, which was authored by MAPI Marketing Council Manager Cam Mackey. "The ability to access insights about how to survive and thrive has never been more critical. "Recent shifts in technologies, demographics and markets have created a new normal for manufacturers. Those that adapt quickly will emerge more innovative and agile than their competitors, but not without undergoing a transformation in everything from the people they hire to how they create value," Mackey observed in report titled, "The Impact of Megatrends on U.S. Manufacturers." 
01/19/2016
Briney Tooling Systems, Bad Axe, Mich., recently worked closely with a leading medical manufacturer to develop a special HSK50E balanceable grinding wheel arbor for a precision CNC grinding machine producing shaped bone fragments for surgical grafting, according to a company news release issued Jan. 19.
01/19/2016
John Gardner, a founding partner of Razorform Tools, has started CNC Broach Tool LLC to provide a line of off-the-shelf, inserted keyway broach tools for CNC lathes and mills, Gardner announced in a news release Jan. 20. CNC Broach Tool will continue to sell direct to provide CNC keyway broaching technical support and cut costs for end-users.
01/17/2016
Jay Timmons, National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) president and CEO, will kick off the 2016 State of Manufacturing Tour on Jan. 28 at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. Joining Timmons will be Neil Levesque, executive director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics and Political Library, and Jim Roche, president of the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire.
01/14/2016
Speedgrip Chuck Inc., an Elkhart, Ind.-based designer and manufacturer of highly engineered workholding mechanisms, has been sold to an affiliate of Stratford-Cambridge Group, a private investment firm headquartered in Plymouth, Mich. Speedgrip announced the transaction in a news release issued Dec. 16.
01/14/2016
Dorner Holding Corp., Hartland, Wis., recently announced the acquisition of FlexMove, a leading manufacturer of flexible chain conveyors for food, beverage, automotive, electronic and other industries. The addition of FlexMove, located in Penang, Malaysia, expands Dorner Holding's geographic coverage and complements existing products and capabilities of the corporation's Dorner Mfg. line.
01/14/2016
Cutting tool maker SGS Tool Co., Munroe Falls, Ohio, recently signed a licensing agreement with Haimer GmbH, Igenhausen, Germany, for the tool holding company's HAIMER Safe-Lock System, according to a recent news release. SGS Tool, a market leader for solid carbide end mills in North America, has begun offering their high quality cutting tools with the HAIMER Safe-Lock System. The unique Safe-Lock design in cutting tools and tool holders combines high-precision, shrink-fit clamping with a positive form locking mechanism.
01/13/2016
Labor productivity in the manufacturing sector increased at a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.1 percent during the third quarter of 2015—the largest gain recorded since a 6.1 percent increase during the third quarter of 2011, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Output increased 3.2 percent while hours worked decreased 1.8 percent.
01/11/2016
Manufacturers contribute $2.17 trillion to the U.S. economy, according to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), a Washington, D.C.-based association representing small and large manufacturers in 50 states. Up nearly 28 percent since the second quarter of 2009, the amount spent by manufacturers leads off the "Top 20 Facts About Manufacturing" posted on the NAM website.
01/11/2016
As Kirtland Community College puts the finishing touches on its new Computer Numerically Controlled lab, the Roscommon, Mich., school is nearly set to launch a certificate program aimed at meeting the growing demand for workers with computerized tooling training.
01/10/2016
Dorner Mfg. Corp.’s newly completed 25,000-square-foot facility, which became fully operational last month, reportedly positions the company to become even more responsive to customers, while meeting future production goals and anticipated growth in the low-profile conveyor market.
01/07/2016
CECOR, which manufactures the "Sump Shark" coolant sumpcleaners and industrial carts, announced Jan. 8 that Urso & Urso Inc. has acquired the Verona, Wis.-based company from the RuMo Group LLC. The transaction, accorinding to a CECOR news release, will provide the company with greater access to more opportunity and resources for future growth.
01/06/2016
Hardide Coatings Inc., a U.K.-based provider of advanced surface coating technology, recently opened a new production facility in Martinsville, Va. The $7 million expansion, which began a year ago, allows Hardide to expand its production operations to North America.
01/05/2016
OSG USA Inc., a manufacturer of taps, drills, end mills, dies and indexable cutting tools, recently acquired the assets and proprietary manufacturing technology of IMU Dies. Effective immediately, OSG becomes the exclusive source for IMU branded dies globally.