NEWARK, DE—GE Aviation will invest $27 million to expand its assembly plant here to boost production of ceramic matrix composites, which are used to make advanced aircraft engine components. The move will create 70 jobs.

EAST HARTFORD, CT—Pratt & Whitney has flight-tested jet engine components made from metal additive manufacturing processes.

EVERETT, WA—As battery woes kept the 787 grounded, Boeing workers picked up the pace, enabling the company to roll out this week the first Dreamliner built at the rate of seven aircraft per month.

MIAMI, FL—U.S. manufacturers are targeting an aggressive 1.5 percent reduction in cost of goods sold for 2013 in an effort to drive margin growth, according to a new study from The Hackett Group Inc.

AUBURN, AL—GE Aviation has opened a $75 million assembly plant here. The 300,000-square-foot factory will produce parts for commercial and military jet engines. It will employ 50 initially and up to 400 workers by the end of the decade.

PHILADELPHIA—AgustaWestland will build the final assembly line for the new generation AW169 helicopter at its assembly plant here.

In April, electronics assembler Mack Technologies completed work on a substantial installation of money-saving technology at its factory in Westford, MA. The company didn’t get a new paste printer, reflow oven or pick-and-place machine. In fact, the plant’s slick new technology had nothing to do with assembly.

RED OAK, TX—Triumph Aerostructures is constructing a new assembly plant here.

WASHINGTON—OSHA has launched an initiative to further protect temporary employees from workplace hazards.

WASHINGTON—Seven of the top 10 highest-paid college degrees are in engineering, according to a report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

The manufacturing industry is at a turning point, requiring the ability to visualize the possibilities and challenges to come so preparations can be made now.

The invitation-only Digital and Advanced Manufacturing Exchange cannot predict the future. But it can offer senior manufacturing executive best practices for quick ROI from the latest technologies with case studies and opinions from senior level practitioners.

AeroDef Manufacturing is the leading exposition and technical conference for the aerospace and defense manufacturing industry.