Free Republic

If anything about the future can be predicted by the hand of cards the present currently holds, it’d be wise to assume that everyone will be riding around in shared self-driving electric SUVs as long as nuclear war or chaotic natural disasters don’t mow us all down before that. That kind of upheaval has the ability to make or break even the largest companies in the world, so to secure a future for itself, Reuters claims that Daimler is investing big bucks in self-driving electric SUVs. Mercedes Plunks Down $1 Billion Investment In Alabama For Electric SUVs Executives at the...

Automotive frame manufacturer Metalsa Structural Products Inc. will add 113 jobs at its Owensboro facility with a $36.5 million expansion to produce a new line of stamped and welded components. “With three production facilities in the commonwealth, Metalsa stands as one of our largest automotive employers,” Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin said. “We are grateful for this additional expansion and these new jobs. This will strengthen Kentucky’s economy and further propel us toward our goal of being the American center of engineering and manufacturing excellence. We welcome this growth and congratulate both Metalsa and the Owensboro community on their success.” The...

CAMPBELL, Ohio — Forty years ago, on Sept. 19, thousands of men walked into the Campbell Works of Youngstown Sheet and Tube along the Mahoning River before the early shift. Like every fall morning, they were armed with lunch pails and hard hats; the only worry on their minds was the upcoming Pittsburgh Steelers game on “Monday Night Football.” The only arguing you heard was whether quarterback Terry Bradshaw had fully recovered from the dramatic hit he took from a Cleveland Browns player the season before. It was just before 7 a.m., and the fog that had settled over the...

Widening earlier claims of immigration fraud at the Tesla factory, a recently unsealed whistleblower suit says several other major automakers, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen, illegally used foreign construction workers to build their U.S. factories. The charges expand on an investigation by this news organization last year into foreign construction workers building Tesla’s paint shop in Fremont. The federal suit charges that the carmakers used hundreds of Eastern European workers on suspect visas hired through subcontractors for the German company Eisenmann. The investigation, “The Hidden Workforce Expanding Tesla’s Factory,” and court documents revealed at least 140 foreign workers on questionable...

TULSA, Oklahoma - A 70-year-old manufacturing company from Wisconsin will bring a new facility to Tulsa and is expected to create hundreds of jobs. Thursday afternoon the community, along with Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum and Governor Mary Fallin, met to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Greenheck Group Facility. The company's new campus will be located near Apache and 129th East Avenue in Tulsa. During the first year of operations, the company expects to hire about 75 employees. As the company expands, they hope to employ up to 900 people over the next 10 years. Hiring will begin for the...

Boeing Co. and Airbus SE voiced concerns about a proposed tie-up of two leading suppliers Tuesday, potentially upsetting United Technologies Corp.’s $23 billion acquisition of Rockwell Collins Inc. The world’s largest planemakers added to the chorus of skeptics of a deal that would create an aerospace behemoth with a range of products to outfit jetliners and warplanes. Investors sent United Technologies shares plunging by the most in two years, while credit ratings companies said the manufacturer risks downgrades. Boeing, which has been squeezing suppliers for discounts, warned it would take action to protect itself if it saw the merger as...

In the middle of August, Richard Trumka, the president of the AFL-CIO union hierarchy, exercised expert -- and malicious -- timing to embarrass the President Donald Trump. But Trumka never would have had the opportunity without White House advisors’ assistance. Back in January, Trumka and his deputy chief of staff, Thea Lee, had happily accepted invitations from the Trump Administration to serve on the newly-established Presidential Manufacturing Council and Policy Forum. Apparently, at least some Trump advisors thought it was a good idea to solicit the advice of a man who had, just a few months before, publicly denounced the...

Your car. Your phone. The spare change in your pocket. They have one thing in common: A machinist helped to make all of them. “Most people don’t understand how products get made,” said Kurt Kimberling, an instructor in the Machining and CNC Technology program at North Idaho College. He has more than 30 years of industry experience. “Machinists have a hand in everything you use on a daily basis.” At NIC, Kimberling teaches basic to advanced machining concepts, such as precision measuring, operating a milling machine, and operating computer numerical control (CNC) machines. Students can earn an intermediate or advanced...

American factories accelerated in August at the fastest pace of expansion since 2011, data from the Institute for Supply Management showed Friday. The ISM purchasing manufacturers surveyed showed all six of the biggest manufacturing industries ramped up activity in August. The monthly purchasing managers index rose 2.5 points to 58.8, reflecting employment rising to its highest level since June of 2011, an increase in production and rising inventories. Economists had expected a reading of 56.5. Any reading over 50 indicates growth. Exports and new orders continued to show strong growth, although these slowed from July. The Bureau of Labor Statistics...

America’s manufacturers are showing signs of fabricating some genuine momentum. The NAS Comp (QQQ) moved back into record territory, climbing 2.7% to close the week at a new all-time high Add to that, improvement among US builders and miners and the US is finally undergoing the blue-collar revival that President Donald Trump has been pushing. Gary Cohn, the Top economic adviser at the White House, says that the country is seeing jobs being created in the sectors that need them. Manufacturing expanded in August at the fastest pace in more than 6 years, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said...

An assembly line can do a lot to boost efficiency, but what if the assembly line could do basically all the work itself. SoftWear Automation's LOWRY, a sewing robot, does just that and has the potential to lead a charge of disruption throughout an entire industry.

The Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved a tax incentive package Wednesday for Silfex, an Eaton-based firm that plans to create as many as 400 new jobs and invest $223 million in Springfield. The state board approved a deal that’s expected to create $20.7 million in additional payroll as part a 12-year, about 2 percent credit on its Ohio employee payroll taxes. The company would be required to maintain operations in Springfield for at least 15 years to qualify for the incentives, according to public records obtained by the Springfield News-Sun. Silfex officials declined to comment but issued a statement saying...

A Summerville marine business that's expanded twice over the past four years is at it again. Sportsman Boats Manufacturing announced Thursday that it plans to create another 100 jobs and invest $3.5 million at its Dorchester County site to keep up with demand. The company said it will be adding 70,000 square feet of production space to its East Port Industrial Park site to accommodate growth in its upholstery, welding and fabrication operations. It expects its payroll to swell to about 370 workers, with hiring for the new openings already underway. Sportsman Boats is headquartered on Isaac Way, off U.S....

Apple Inc will build a $1.375 billion data center in Waukee, Iowa, Apple and state officials said on Thursday, with $207.8 million in incentives approved by the Iowa Economic Development Authority and Waukee city council. Apple will purchase 2,000 acres (8.09 square km) of land in Waukee, about 20 miles (32 km) west of Des Moines, to build two data centers. The company will receive a $19.65 million investment tax credit for creating 50 jobs. Apple said the project will generate more than 550 jobs in construction and operations, but did not specify how many of those jobs would be...

Markforged, a 3D printer manufacturer based in Boston, has just announced two new models — the X3 and the X5. Both of these printers are designed to create carbon fiber-infused objects using a standard filament printing system and both can produce items that can replace or are stronger than steel objects. Both printers have auto-leveling and scanning systems to ensure each printed object is exactly like every other. Further, the printers use Markforged’s special thermoplastic fiber filament, while the X5 can add a “strand of continuous fiberglass” to create objects “19X stronger and 10X stiffer than traditional plastics.” This means...

Whirlpool Corp.’s Amana Operations refrigerator plant is planning what officials there call a hiring blitz over the next three weeks, aiming to add 500 employees. Chris Rice, Amana Operations human resources director, said the full-time positions, which start at $15 per hour, include assemblers and utility assembler as well as more specialized work as brazers, foam operators, plastic setup operators and assembly team leaders. “The bulk of the hiring will be for assemblers and utility assemblers,” Rice said. “People coming in will probably be working second or third shift, but candidates must be open to working any shift.” Rice said...

President Donald Trump’s effort to boost U.S. energy is facing push back from manufacturers who say exporting more natural gas may undercut his “America First” jobs focus. The Industrial Energy Consumers of America asked the administration Wednesday for a moratorium on U.S. approvals for liquefied natural gas projects. The trade association, which represents U.S. manufacturers that depend on cheap energy to fuel their factories, sent a letter to Energy Secretary Rick Perry Wednesday.

The president of the AFL-CIO stepped down from a council advising the White House on Tuesday, hours after President Trump reiterated that both sides were to blame for deadly violence in Charlottesville, Va., where white supremacist groups rallied over the weekend. "President Trump’s remarks today repudiate his forced remarks yesterday about the KKK and neo-Nazis," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a statement. He announced that both he and AFL-CIO leader Thea Lee would step down from Trump's Manufacturing Advisory Board. "We must resign on behalf of America’s working people, who reject all notions of legitimacy of these bigoted groups."...

Walmart’s chief executive issued a strong rebuke of President Trump’s response to the protests that turned violent in Charlottesville, Va., saying the president “missed a critical opportunity to help bring our country together.” The criticism came in a statement that the retailer’s chief executive, Doug McMillon, emailed to employees Monday evening, which was reviewed by The New York Times. The statement was later posted on a company website. “As we watched the events and the response from President Trump over the weekend, we too felt that he missed a critical opportunity to help bring our country together by unequivocally rejecting...

On Monday morning, Merck & Co. Chief Executive Ken Frazier resigned from President Trump’s manufacturing jobs council to protest Trump’s deficient condemnation of the racist violence in Charlottesville, Va. Since then, membership on Trump’s Potemkin Village-like CEO boards has begun to look like something of a litmus test for American corporations and business organizations. Two CEOs followed Frazier out the door on Monday: Under Armour’s Kevin Plank and Intel’s Brian Krzanich. But representatives of some 40 other corporations and other organizations, including a couple of retired CEOs, are still members of the jobs council and a second panel designated the...