MRO Today - Manufacturing Industry News Archives

Manufacturing Industry News:
News from the week of Jan. 17, 2005

Rockwell paper outlines strategic maintenance methods
Metalformers upbeat about first quarter
Jobless claims decline for week ended Jan. 15
Greenlee Industries partners with Rothenberger AG
Loctite to hold adhesive workshops in U.S. and Mexico
NHL puck manufacturer slashes jobs
Alcoa, Ogihara leaders to speak at LMU lean conference
Airbus unveils biggest-ever passenger jet
Milwaukee ups the ante on battery-powered tools
Boeing to shut down 717 production line
Survey points to strong year for exports
CRC adding threadlockers, compounds to product line
Manufacturers to face significant issues in 2005

Rockwell paper outlines strategic maintenance methods
As data collection and real-time condition monitoring processes continue to advance, today’s maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) teams can preemptively identify problems and often correct them before they affect production.

A paper from Rockwell Automation describes how manufacturers can boost bottom-line results by taking a more strategic approach to maintenance that employs a mix of proactive and reactive technologies and techniques.

The paper may be downloaded free at www.rockwellautomation.com/services.

Reaping the Rewards of Strategic Maintenance outlines how an organization can develop an effective portfolio of maintenance activities by applying the right people, processes and equipment during different stages in the equipment lifecycle.

From integrated condition monitoring, phone and onsite support to training, remanufacturing and repair services, the paper identifies the appropriate predictive, preventive and reactive maintenance activities manufacturers can use to maximize return on asset investment, including equipment and human assets.

“Because of the impact maintenance methodologies can have on business performance, it’s critical that companies view maintenance as a strategy rather than merely as a function,” said Mike Laszkiewicz, vice president of customer support and maintenance for Rockwell Automation. “The rationale behind strategic maintenance is understanding that maintenance goes beyond keeping production equipment running or repairing it after it has failed. Rather, it involves the ability to apply the right equipment, people and processes to maximize the return on the automation investment.”

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Metalformers upbeat about first quarter
Metalforming companies are feeling optimistic about business conditions for the first quarter of 2005, according to the Jan. 1 2005 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report.

Conducted monthly, the report is an economic indicator for manufacturing, sampling 159 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada.

When asked whether they anticipated general economic activity would increase, decrease or remain the same over the next three months, 48 percent of respondents reported they expect business conditions to improve, up from only 33 percent in December. Thirty-eight percent thought activity would remain the same, as opposed to 50 percent last month, and 14 percent said it would decrease, compared to 17 percent in December.

Metalformers also expect incoming orders to rise during the next three months, with 52 percent anticipating an increase in orders, up from 38 percent in December and at the highest level since May 2004. Thirty-five percent forecasted no change, compared to 42 percent last month, and only 13 percent predicted orders would decrease over the next three months, down from 20 percent in December.

Reported average daily shipping levels remained steady, with 32 percent stating current levels are above those of three months ago, compared to 29 percent in December. Forty-three percent reported no change, down from 46 percent last month, and 25 percent indicated shipping levels in January were below levels of three months ago, the same percentage reported in December.

The number of metalforming companies with a portion of their workforce on short time or layoff remained at 18 percent in January, the same as December.

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Jobless claims decline for week ended Jan. 15
New claims for unemployment insurance fell 48,000 to 319,000 for the week ended Jan. 15, according to the Labor Department. The four-week moving average of jobless claims also declined by 3,000 to 341,000.

The four-week moving average is generally considered by economists to be the more reliable of the two because it smoothes out week-to-week volatility. Both rates remained below 400,000, which is the level economists use to define a weak labor market and a stable one.

Continuing claims for unemployment insurance increased 47,000 to 2.7 million for the week ended Jan. 8. Continuing claims are those older than two weeks.

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Greenlee Industries partners with Rothenberger AG
Textron Inc. formed a joint venture between its Greenlee business unit and Rothenberger AG, a German-based plumbing and electrical tools manufacturer.

The venture is aimed at expanding sales of professional plumbing products and pipe tools in the U.S. and Canada. Terms of the joint venture, which will sell products primarily under the Rothenberger brand name, were not disclosed.

"This partnership combines the strength of two very strong professional tools companies, and advances our strategy to broaden our presence in attractive growth areas that complement our existing business," said Scott Hall, president of Greenlee, a Textron company. "The U.S. and Canadian plumbing and pipe tools market represents a nearly $1 billion growth industry."

The new joint venture, Rothenberger LLC, will be based in Rockford, Ill., and will combine Rothenberger's broad line of German-designed plumbing and pipe tools with Greenlee's strong sales and marketing expertise and support in North America.

"This joint venture was a natural match," said Hall. "Rothenberger, with its leading product offerings, truly complements Greenlee's strong North American customer base in the plumbing and electrical tools segments, an area where we anticipate continued expansion."

"Rothenberger LLC will offer a complete range of high quality plumbing and pipe tools available to the professional plumber, and the U.S. and Canadian plumbing industry now has a premium option," said Helmut Rothenberger, Rothenberger AG president.

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Loctite to hold adhesive workshops in U.S. and Mexico
Henkel Corp. announced the 2005 dates and locations for scheduled Loctite Advanced Adhesive Technology Workshops throughout the U.S. and Mexico.

A total of 29 workshops will take place March 10-May 26. Seminar dates, locations and registration information are available by visiting the Loctite Web site.

Loctite Advanced Adhesive Technology Workshops provide manufacturing, product and design engineers with an in-depth understanding of the range of adhesive technologies available for industrial bonding and assembly applications, including popular Loctite brand products.

Valued at 0.65 CEU credits, these fully integrated, one-day programs are taught by Henkel engineering and technical representatives with years of experience solving industrial design and assembly challenges.

Designed to be hands-on, Henkel workshops allow attendees to bond a range of substrates using available adhesive chemistries. The programs not only review available dispensing and curing equipment, but actually allow the attendee to use processing equipment in problem-solving exercises.

Henkel engineers will present information on proper joint design, key adhesive selection criteria, unique adhesive technologies and processing equipment, and will review available technical literature from Henkel on bonding plastics, elastomers and metals.

During “Ask the Expert” sessions, attendees are invited to bring parts, prints and design challenges for one-on-one problem solving consultation.

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NHL puck manufacturer slashes jobs
Canadian hockey puck manufacturer InGlasCo eliminated half of its workers at a plant producing 300,000 hockey pucks and assorted NHL souvenirs because of the current professional hockey lockout.

The Sherbrooke, Quebec, company is seeing no demand from retailers and the NHL. However, minor-league and junior-league teams are making up for part of the revenue.

"The business has been down since September; we haven't shipped anything to any NHL teams, no souvenir or licensed products," said Denis Drolet, president of Groupe Drolet. Groupe Drolet is the parent company of InGlasCo.

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Alcoa, Ogihara leaders to speak at LMU lean conference
Marme Peerman, a maintenance area coordinator for Alcoa, and Warren Landry Jr., a Total Productive Management coordinator for Ogihara America Corporation, are among the industrial leaders who have agreed to present case studies at MRO Today magazine's next conference, "Lean Manufacturing University 4: Bringing Lean into Maintenance."

The conference will be held May 23-25 at the Flamingo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. This is the fourth in MRO Today's series of national symposiums on lean manufacturing best practices. Over the past two years, more than 250 North American companies have attended MRO Today LMU conferences.

Peerman has played a key role as Alcoa's Warrick Operations in Newburgh, Ind., changed its maintenance strategy from two-day weekend outages to multiple, weekday short-burst outages on a production center that moved from a continuous operation to a customer-demand (pull system) operation.

"One of the resounding themes in the manufacturing arena in the early 21st century is the need for rapid and effective change," states Peerman. "The application of lean manufacturing concepts is a cornerstone providing a systematic approach to sustain required changes and add flexibility to new concepts."

Landry was instrumental in Ogihara-Alabama winning the 2003 Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance Award for TPM Excellence. He is also helping the division pursue the Alabama Quality Award as well as the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Ogihara America is a Tier 1 supplier to Mercedes Benz, Saturn and Nissan.

"This is a six-year road map that I know we are able to achieve," says Landry. "A workforce that keeps the 'end in mind' obtains its goals."

For more information on LMU4, to be held at the Flamingo Resort in Las Vegas, click here.

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Airbus unveils biggest-ever passenger jet
European airframe manufacturer Airbus unveiled the largest-ever passenger jet Jan. 18. The A380 can seat up to 840 passengers in its double-decker interior and measures 262 feet from wingtip to wingtip. Airbus officials said the plane is as long as eight London-style buses.

Airbus has already taken orders from 14 companies for 149 A380s, with a price tag of between $263 million and $286 million each.

These aircraft will be used to transport passengers on extremely long flights, such as those from Asia and the Middle East to Europe and the U.S. The first commercial flight is scheduled for March 2006.

"I pay homage to everyone who has made this day possible and I am eager to return this honor to them," said Airbus president and CEO Noël Forgeard. "In circumstances such as these it is customary to recall the results we have achieved, but the A380 speaks for itself."

Airbus' rival, Boeing, believes the European manufacturer has overestimated the possible market for these superjumbo jetliners. Boeing is banking on its 7E7, a mid-size, long-range aircraft designed to travel just as far as the A380 but with fewer passengers.

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Milwaukee Tool ups the ante on battery-powered tools
Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. introduced its V28 lithium ion battery technology after nine years of research and development.

A revolution in the cordless tool category, the 28-volt battery delivers increased power and up to twice the run time of traditional 18-volt models, yet the battery weighs slightly less. This breakthrough technology allows Milwaukee to introduce new tools like the world’s first cordless band saw powerful enough for every day professional use.

The V28 line of tools also includes a hammer-drill, circular saw, Sawzall reciprocating saw, impact wrench, work light and battery charger.

While Milwaukee’s V28 line marks a significant advance for cordless tools, the battery itself, as well as the revolutionary charging system, represents a technological breakthrough. Never before has lithium ion, a platform most popular for its use in cell phones and digital cameras, been perfected for high current draw applications.

In the power tool category and beyond, V28 technology opens the potential for formerly corded products to go cordless.

“For years, professional tradespeople have demanded cordless power that performed like a corded product. Until now, the technology hasn’t existed to make that possible,” said Joseph Smith, vice president of marketing at Milwaukee Electric Tool. “With V28 battery technology, we feel confident in saying that nearly 40 years after the initial development of cordless tools, cordless power is finally beginning to fulfill its original promise.”

The composition of the V28 battery contains no cadmium, making it more eco-friendly than other high powered rechargeable batteries currently used in power tools. Due to its chemistry and patented, built-in performance optimizing circuit, V28 batteries operate at peak performance under extreme conditions such as hot or cold temperatures or battery heating due to heavy use.

These are performance problems that users encounter in today’s NiCad and NiMH batteries.

Products in the V28 line will be available individually or in a combo kit. All V28 tools are backed by Milwaukee’s five-year warranty, while the new V28 batteries feature a two-year warranty. This effectively doubles the warranty period for most users who are used to only a one-year warranty on their batteries.

Because the V28 “smart batteries” internally record the first date of product use, another category first, warranty claims are much more easily validated. In addition, valuable data about each battery’s usage pattern is also retrievable, which will allow Milwaukee to improve future tool/battery designs. The V28 product offering will be continually increasing with the introduction of a new rotary hammer and jobsite radio in the future.

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Boeing to shut down 717 production line
The Boeing Company will announce Friday morning that it has decided to stop production of its 717 jetliner after the remaining backlog of airplanes has been built, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has learned.

The 717 is a 100-seat jet, previously known as the MD-95, and was inherited in Boeing's 1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas. The plane is assembled in Long Beach, Calif.

It has suffered from slow sales, and Boeing had previously considered closing the line. Boeing has sold 169 of the jets and delivered 137. At the current production rate of about one plane a month, the line is likely to be shut down sometime in 2006.

Industry analysts have long expected that Boeing would close the line if orders did not pick up.

It was not clear how many workers are involved in the 717 program in Long Beach and what will happen to them as the line winds down. One person close to the situation said that fewer than 1,500 people are now part of the program, because Boeing has reduced employment as the production rates have declined.

Closing the 717 line also means the end of commercial jetliner production in Southern California. McDonnell Douglas built its jets there, but only the 717 survived after the 1997 merger with Boeing.

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Survey points to strong year for exports
A barometer of the U.S. manufacturing economy slipped in December but pointed toward one of the strongest export markets in 14 years, a national trade group said Thursday.

The Manufacturers Alliance reported that its Business Outlook index fell from 75 last September to 70 in December. But it was still a strong number, economists said, because an index above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing economy.

“The impressive thing is the index has stayed this high,” said Don Norman, an economist with Washington, D.C.-based Manufacturers Alliance. “The benchmark for these comparisons has been raised. It’s not like we are comparing expanded economic activity with periods when it was in the tank.”

This week, the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. trade deficit soared to a monthly record of $60 billion in November. That report seemed at odds with predictions that the deficit would come down as a weak dollar made U.S. goods more affordable.

But exports are on the mend, according to Manufacturers Alliance.

The trade group’s export index jumped from 72 in September to 89 in December, the highest figure since 1991.

“It was quite a jump considering that even 72 was a fairly high level,” Norman said. “I think what’s happened with the dollar explains a lot of it. And overall global economic growth, especially outside of Europe, helps explain what’s going on.”

Manufacturers Alliance figures are based on a survey of 60 senior financial executives representing a range of industries. Manufacturing activity is expected to increase over the next three months, the survey found.

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CRC adding threadlockers, compounds to product line
CRC Industries is set to launch a full line of single-component, anaerobic threadlockers and retaining compounds. These products will join the company¹s extensive MRO product offering of precision cleaners, degreasers and lubricants.

The CRC threadlockers are designed to prevent loosening and leakage of threaded fasteners caused by shock in vibration. The retaining compounds are designed to bond non-threaded cylindrical assemblies such bearings and shafts.

CRC will be offering nine different formulas in all, ranging from the low-strength purple and medium-strength blue to the permanent-strength red.

Each will be available in 50- and 250-milliliter package sizes.

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Manufacturers to face significant issues in 2005
Three issues will continue to be priorities for U.S. manufacturers in 2005: the nation’s shrinking engineering labor force, faster product lifecycles and more custom manufacturing.

This data came from research conducted by Rules-driven Product Management (RPM) solution provider RuleStream.

“The data RuleStream has gathered shows that the opportunities for mentorship, apprenticeship and other traditional learning and knowledge transfer tools are dwindling as manufacturers put more responsibility on their engineers,” said David Vredenburgh, RuleStream CEO. “Engineering teams are adapting the way engineers do; they’re bringing in new technologies that can translate these traditional tactics to today’s demanding manufacturing environment.

Earlier in 2004, the president’s National Science Board found that the number of U.S. citizens qualified for science and engineering jobs is not likely to rise in the near future. At the same time, the board reported that the supply of qualified foreign nationals is down, either because of immigration limits or overseas demand.

While the supply of engineers dwindles, the number of products each engineer is responsible for will continue to grow, RuleStream’s research shows.

“U.S.-based manufacturers are responding to the low cost of mass-produced goods overseas with a combination of greater variety and a lot of engineering ingenuity,” Vredenburgh said. “For example, in the automotive industry, the number of nameplates has doubled over the last 30 years, despite the dramatically increased competition from foreign automakers. Americans are discovering that they have the engineering skills to grow profits even as market shares decrease or remain flat.”

He added: “We are seeing that more and more companies seeking a competitive advantage and higher margins are looking toward the custom products business and simply giving up the standard products business to foreign competition.”

One of the tactics employed most successfully is mass customization, or the ability to easily produce many different products with the speed and efficiency of mass production, said Vredenburgh. Many automakers are moving to more flexible production lines that allow multiple models to be produced on the same line.

“Companies were traditionally reluctant to expand beyond their product catalog, but to remain competitive, it’s a necessity, and technology has made is significantly easier to do so," said Vredenburgh. "We’ve seen companies get to the point where they can design and build unique products in quantities of one with nearly the same lead time as an overseas supplier of standardized products.”

A third trend affecting U.S. manufacturers is the faster product lifecycle.

“Faster product lifecycle doesn’t necessarily mean faster time-to-market,” said Vredenburgh. “But it does mean there will be more flexible engineering and manufacturing environments that allow the manufacturer to quickly respond to changing customer and market demands and competitive pressures, whether that’s by getting the product on the market sooner or keeping the product schedule on-track as you introduce significant design changes.”

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