Industry News

Industrial metals distributor T&C Metals, Jacksonville, Fla., hosted its first Veterans Day celebration Nov. 11. Three associates and 10 customers were honored with a certificate of recognition for their service, and attendees were treated to food, music from a local radio station, and a raffle to benefit the Coast Guard Foundation. Raffle prizes were donated by T&C Metals' customers. T&C Metals plans to expand its Veterans Day celebration in the future so that more veterans can be honored for their service, according to Justin Wood, who handles outside sales for the aluminum and stainless products distributor.

OSG Tap & Die Inc., Glendale Heights, Ill., will donate over $85,000 in new tooling to the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Joliet Junior College and the College of Lake County in Grayslake to support the schools' manufacturing technology programs. As part of this effort, Mike Grzybowski, OSG regional manager, delivered over $30,000 worth of tooling to the Manufacturing and Machining of the Business and Technology Division of the College of DuPage. Included with the tooling donation was other OSG training aids including wall and pocket decimal charts, catalogs and safety glasses.

MSC Industrial Supply Co., Melville, N.Y., has received ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 9001:2008 certification for its largest customer fulfillment centers (CFC) in the U.S. According to the company, this achievement demonstrates MSC's commitment to high-quality standards, continual improvement and customer satisfaction.

Weiler Corp, Cresco, Pa., a provider of power brushes, abrasives and maintenance products for surface conditioning, launched a multimillion-dollar initiative to improve customer service and enable future growth, according to the company. The investment includes a new brand identity, facility expansion, increased staffing, a revamped website and new training tools. 

The National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS), a governing body for education and training in manufacturing, launched a new website designed for employers seeking to fill open jobs and build a network of competitive talent. Nimsready.org provides information, tools and how-to guides to help employers learn about and implement industry-recognized credentials at their companies, according to NIMS.

Okuma America Corp., Charlotte, N.C., launched a new video series demonstrating CNC machines used in gun part manufacturing, spotlighting high-speed, precision cutting, live tooling, milling and drilling.

Machine vises from San Diego manufacturer 5th Axis Workholding will be featured on the popular Science Channel USA show, "How It's Made," on Nov. 21, 2014 at 9 p.m. (Eastern time). The program explores how many of the everyday objects or products we seldom stop to think about are made. 

In its research for Wohlers Report 2014, Wohlers Associates, Inc. found that revenues from the production of parts for final products represents 34.7 percent of the entire market for additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing—terms that are used interchangeably. Since 2003, this market segment has gone from less than 4 percent to more than one-third of total revenues from AM products and services worldwide.

KommaTrade, an online mechanical engineering trade fair, was recently launched at www.kommatrade.com. Through the Web portal, based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, manufacturers from different sectors can make presentations with product pictures and a company description. The website allows users to click through to an exhibitor's website, which provides communication coordinates and contact information.

Toolmaker Mazak Corp., Florence, Ky., will host a free MTConnect lunch-and-learn event for manufacturers on Thurs., Nov. 6, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at its Northeast Technology Center in Windsor Locks, Conn. The presentation will cover how MTConnect, an open-source, royalty-free manufacturing protocol, can improve the utilization of their equipment and boost productivity, according to the company.

On Oct. 16, Sandvik Coromant Co. celebrated the opening of a Productivity Center in its new U.S. headquarters in Fair Lawn, N.J. The company held a grand opening ceremony for the headquarters on July 1. The combined $26 million, 100,000-sq.-ft. facility includes office space, meeting facilities, the Productivity Center and an aerospace-focused Engineering Competence Center for customer training, engineering and process development.  

Machine tool builder Okuma America Corp., Charlotte, N.C., will host its 2014 Technology Showcase event December 9-10, 2014. The theme of this year's event is "Make the Leap" and will include demonstrations of simple technology upgrades that enable users to enhance the productivity of their CNC machines and operators and improve overall profitability, according to the company.

GF Machining Solutions LLC, Lincolnshire, Ill., welcomed more than 150 guests, including city and state officials, at the Oct. 9 grand opening of its Irvine, Calif., facility. The event featured a ribbon cutting ceremony, guided tours, product displays, machine demonstrations and presentations. The new facility, which also houses GF Piping Systems, provides support and training for customers in the West and aids collaboration between GF Machining Solutions and local manufacturers on technology development and process improvement.

Kyocera Precision Tools Inc., Hendersonville, N.C., launched its newly revitalized website, KyoceraPrecisionTools.com, which unifies Kyocera's North American cutting tool presence in one virtual location. This enhances customer service and improves efficiency, according to the company, as customers can now visit one website to view the company's entire product offering, including information on standard and specialty products, technical information and sales promotions. 

CNC tool grinding machine builder Strausak AG, Lohn-Ammannsegg, Switzerland, opened a subsidiary in Mundelein, Ill., and incorporated in the state of Illinois on July 1. Hank Ecker, previously regional sales manager of Rollomatic Inc., is the new president of Strausak Inc.

New York equity firm Uni-World Capital LP has acquired CNC machine tool builder Drake Manufacturing Services Co., Warren, Ohio.

The Village of Elk Grove, Ill., will host the second annual Made in Elk Grove Manufacturing and Technology Expo on Oct. 21 at 1925 Busse Road. The Expo provides attendees from around the Midwest an opportunity to connect, collaborate and cultivate relationships with Elk Grove-based manufacturing companies. Over 1,000 people attended the inaugural Expo in 2013, which featured approximately 100 exhibitors from industries ranging from precision machining, plastics and electronics to packaging and industrial services.

BENZ Inc., Charlotte, N.C., has released new catalogs for its Solidfix, CAPTO and Trifix modular quick-change tooling systems. BENZ specializes in tooling systems for turning and milling machines such as live and static tools, angle heads, multi-spindle heads, spindle speeders, large scale drill heads, 5-axis heads, and its lines of modular tooling systems. BENZ tooling systems are engineered in Germany and sold and serviced in the U.S. and Canada by Benz Inc.

Mitee-Bite Products LLC., Center Ossipee, N.H., has expanded its customer service program. The company continues to assist customers with no-cost clamping recommendations and on-site visits through its national sales team, and now also offers workholding design services, from simple conceptual CAD drawings at no cost to top-level CAD designs ready to import into CAM software, which are part of the company's fee-based services. Mitee-Bite engineers work with customers to develop and build turnkey workholding designs at the company's Center Ossipee location.

Philip Paull, owner of Noblesville, Ind.-based Excavating Solutions, won the Hurco Chipmaker Challenge Championship at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) in Chicago. The prize package includes a new Hurco CNC mill worth over $100,000, a tooling package from Sandvik Coromant Co., and $10,000 of Hurco credit that can be used for training or machine options.