FARMINGTON HILLS, MI—Alcoa Inc. says it has solved one of the biggest wrinkles automakers wrestle with when stamping aluminum body panels: formability. The company has developed a new manufacturing process that produces aluminum sheet that is 40 percent more formable than current aluminum alloys.
SEATTLE—Lean manufacturing has enabled Boeing to make dramatic improvements in efficiency. Assembly time for the 777 jetliner has been reduced from 71 days to 37. Assembly time for the 737 jetliner has been cut from 20 days to 11.
SMITHFIELD, PA—Boeing will expand its factory here, where the company makes complex electronic assemblies. Boeing expects to add 168 new jobs over the next three years, doubling the facility’s workforce.
NEW YORK CITY—Alcoa Inc. is researching how they can best incorporate 3D printing technology into its business as the third largest producer of aluminum in the world. Alcoa’s chief technology officer, Ray Kilmer, says that the aluminum maker is attempting to use 3D printing to produce jet engine parts, among other things.
LITTLETON, CO—Lockheed Martin is pledging to create as many as 500 new high-paying aerospace jobs here over eight years in exchange for up to $15.5 million in state job-growth tax incentives.
FINDLAY TOWNSHIP, PA—GE will invest $32 million to build a new facility here to drive innovation and implementation of advanced manufacturing technologies across the company. The facility will initially employ 50.
CAMDEN, NJ—The New Jersey Economic Development Authority has awarded defense contractor Lockheed Martin another $107 million in tax credits over the next 10 years. The defense contractor will use the tax savings to defray costs of two R&D labs the company has proposed to open here.
GAINESVILLE, TX—Employees at the Zodiac Aerospace assembly plant here approved a new contract by an overwhelming margin Oct. 25, ending a month-long strike at the factory, which makes aircraft seating. The key issues of the contract dispute were work environment, seniority rights and work schedules.
HAMPTON, VA—NASA’s Langley Research Center has installed a huge six-axis robot that will be used to deposit epoxy and carbon fibers for making aerospace structures and parts.
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