AUBURN HILLS, MI-Uni-Solar, a subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices, has won the contract to provide solar panels for the General Motors plant in Zaragoza, Spain. MORE
CHATTANOOGA, TN-Despite speculation that Volkswagen is favoring a site in Alabama for its proposed new assembly plant, sites in Tennessee and Michigan are still in the running. MORE
DETROIT-General Motors Corp. is installing enough solar panels on the roof of its Zaragoza assembly plant in Spain to create 15.1 million kilowatt hours per year. MORE
TOULOUSE, FRANCE-Airbus’ answer to the Boeing Dreamliner is already experiencing problems reminiscent of the troubles plaguing its A380 jumbo jet. MORE
TOKYO-Honda’s ability to switch over its North American assembly lines in as little as 10 days is allowing it to quickly respond to the current demand for fuel-efficient vehicles. MORE
DETROIT-A new wave of plant closings, layoffs and buyouts in the auto industry just as the general election campaign is beginning to heat up underscores the economy as a crucial issue in Michigan, Ohio and other hard-hit industrial states. MORE
POCA, W.Va.-Carbonoks, a manufacturer of mine safety products, will soon ramp up assembly of a new coal mine rescue chamber.
Pending government approval of the device, Carbonoks will begin assembling the Safe Haven rescue chamber at a facility in Poca, providing up to 90 jobs.
A Safe Haven unit travels with miners into the underground mine to provide a shelter in case of an emergency. It moves throughout the mine on skids or on a shuttle car. Up to 16 miners can retreat to the chamber and await rescue. The chamber is made of a unique material that can withstand high heat temperatures, is explosive resistant and is airtight. MORE
LOS ANGELES--If you want to keep making products in Orange County, there’s really only one way to make money doing so: automate.
The ability to cut down on labor hours by using automation equipment, software and robots long has been the ideal for factories. For most local manufacturing operations, it’s been the only way they could stay here and compete with cheaper production in Asia.
But now with the price of oil driving shipping costs higher and the weak dollar hitting imports, some companies who chose to move their factories to Asia are looking at automation as a substitute for Asian production and as a way to bring operations back here. MORE
WASHINGTON-U.S. factories saw their new orders rise in May for the third consecutive month, although this gain was driven mostly by increased orders for transportation goods and non-durable goods, the Commerce Department reported today. MORE
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