A Siemens gas turbine is 36 feet long and weighs 280 tons—and yet its parts are machined to tolerances of a few thousandths of an inch. ASSEMBLY magazine's editor-in-chief goes behind the scenes to see how this engineering marvel is made.
Reading one blogger's criticism of ASSEMBLY magazine, I wonder if he’s allowed anger and personal antipathy toward Whirlpool to cloud his judgment. He seems to be confusing the issues of lean manufacturing and outsourcing.
In October, three class-action lawsuits were filed against several major automotive suppliers, alleging the companies engaged in a “massive, decade-long conspiracy to unlawfully fix and artificially raise the price” of wire harnesses. As shocking and disappointing as the allegations are, I can’t say I’m surprised.
The Assembly Top 50 devoted $110.6 billion to capital expenditures in 2010. That’s 9 percent more than they spent in 2009, but it’s 21 percent less than they spent in 2008. Only 15 of the Top 50 spent more on property, plants and equipment in 2010 than they spent in 2008.
In 2010, the Top 50 employed 6.86 billion people worldwide. That’s 4 percent more than they employed in 2009, but it’s slightly under the total for 2008.