Free Republic

Despite Whirlpool’s arguments being the corporate equivalent of a child who wants dessert but not to clean his room, the ITC sided with Whirlpool and is now considering which “remedies” to impose. Whirlpool, for its part, suggests a prohibitively high 50 percent tariff on washing machine imports from LG and Samsung. Implementing this tariff, even in a temporary manner, would harm opportunities for thousands of American workers. Samsung is already in the process of building a washing machine factory in South Carolina, expected to employ nearly 1,000 American workers. LG is constructing a factory in Clarksville, Tennessee, which would employ...

India's Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. is expanding in Auburn Hills and Pontiac with plans to launch an off-road vehicle in the U.S. The plans, which include bringing the company's North American automotive headquarters and off-road vehicle manufacturing to Auburn Hills, are expected to generate a total capital investment of $22.3 million and create 105 jobs. It was awarded an $850,000 performance-based grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. announced Monday. "The fact that Mahindra has established new operations centers here for the third time in four years is a testament to Michigan's global leadership in automotive...

On Thursday, Virgin Orbit won a contract from the Air Force to carry "technology demonstration satellites" on its LauncherOne rocket by early 2019. The LauncherOne rocket will be "air launched" from a modified Boeing 747 called "Cosmic Girl." The contract follows Branson's quiet launch earlier this month of Vox Space, a subsidiary of Virgin Orbit, that will focus on military contracts. While there is plenty of room in space, the launchpad is becoming more crowded. That's good news for the Pentagon as it looks toward increased competition and embracing new technology like reusable rockets to lower launch costs. United Launch...

One of Arkansas’ top priorities is finishing Interstate 49 in the western part of the state. A key component of that massive project, which is also massively expensive, is a 13.7-mile stretch near Fort Smith that includes a bridge over the Arkansas River to connect Interstate 40 with Interstate 49, which would then run from south Fort Smith to northwest Arkansas and up through the midsection of the nation. The project’s completion would connect with a 6.5-mile stretch of Interstate 549 that opened in 2015 and hooks up U.S. 71 with Highway 22 in south Fort Smith. The proposed 13.7-mile...

A once-empty parking lot at Northrop Grumman Corp.’s top secret aircraft plant in Palmdale, Calif., is now jammed with cars that pour in during the predawn hours. More than a thousand new employees are working for the time being in rows of temporary trailers, a dozen tan tents and a huge assembly hangar at the desert site near the edge of urban Los Angeles County. It is here that Northrop is building the Air Force’s new B-21 bomber, a stealthy bat-winged jet that is being designed to slip behind any adversary’s air defense system and deliver devastating airstrikes for decades...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Long-haul carrier Emirates purchased 40 American-made Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners on Sunday at the start of the biennial Dubai Air Show, a $15.1 billion deal certain to please U.S. President Donald Trump who has touted the plane's sales as a job creator in America. The deal appeared to surprise Boeing's archrival Airbus, whose staff had attended a long-delayed news conference and left the room just moments before the announcement. Airbus has pinned hopes of continuing production of its double-decker jumbo jet on Emirates, the world's largest operator of the aircraft which took delivery of its...

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says Singapore’s purchase of nearly $14 billion worth of Boeing aircraft will create 70,000 jobs in the U.S. Kevin McAllister, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong signed paperwork at the White House on Monday as the country’s prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, and Trump looked on. Lee is at the White House for talks with Trump. The agreement includes 39 airplanes: 20 777-9s and 19 787-10s. Singapore Airlines also has options for 12 more planes. The order was previously reported to an unidentified customer.

Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn plans to build an LCD panel manufacturing facility in the southeastern Wisconsin village of Mount Pleasant, local officials announced Wednesday. The announcement comes just a few weeks after Gov. Scott Walker signed into law a $3 billion incentive package for the company, on track to be the largest subsidy to a foreign company in U.S. history.

BorgWarner Inc., a global leader in clean and efficient technology solutions for combustion, hybrid and electric vehicles, is expanding its operations in Seneca, South Carolina. The $71.9 million investment is projected to create more than 160 new jobs in Oconee County. To support additional business awarded to the company this year, BorgWarner will invest in capital, equipment and infrastructure at its existing facilities located at 15545 Wells Highway in Seneca. As an incentive, the Coordinating Council for Economic Development has approved job development credits related to this project. An $850,000 grant was also awarded to Oconee County to assist with...

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.