EVANSVILLE, IN—Systems integrator Evana Automation recently shipped a custom-built depaneling cell to a leading Tier 1 automotive supplier. The fully automatic cell loads circuit board panels from standard magazines and depanels them using servo-driven router heads. The individual boards are then loaded into trays, which are automatically stacked.
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.
SMYRNA, TN—An employee of an automation supplier was killed Thursday at Nissan’s assembly plant here when a large electrical panel fell on him while it was being moved.
RIVERSIDE, MO—Yanfeng USA Automotive Trim Systems, which supplies parts to General Motors and Chrysler, will build a $45 million assembly plant here. The plant will create 263 new jobs.
PARIS, IL—North American Lighting Inc., which makes automotive lighting, plans invest $50 million to expand its assembly plant here and create 300 jobs.
GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, MI—Magna E-Car Systems’ creation of a new assembly plant here helped Michigan add 14,600 manufacturing jobs in 2012, according to Manufacturers’ News Inc.
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy has seized $21 million from troubled automaker Fisker Automotive Inc. just weeks after the company laid off three-fourths of its workers amid continuing financial and production problems. Fisker had received $192 million in federal loans before a series of problems led U.S. officials to freeze the loan in 2011.
LANSING, MI—The Lansing City Council on Monday approved a $4 million tax break for GM to build a $38.6 million logistical center near the automaker’s Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant.