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Manufacturing Industry News Archives:
News from the week of May 17, 2004

Report focuses on reducing standards-related trade barriers
Mass layoffs decline year-over-year in first quarter
New paint eliminates pollution
Rockwell to designate Certified Systems Professionals
Penn students show off solar car
Timken to increase high speed steel prices
NAM lauds House counterfeiting bill
Study: 1 in 7 laptops powered by fuel cells in 2012
Milwaukee Electric Tool to be sold
Industrial production climbs in April

Report focuses on reducing standards-related trade barriers
Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans released a report May 18 to reduce standards-related trade barriers and called for broader collaboration across government and with U.S. industry to prevent technical obstacles that impede U.S. exports.

“In the face of intensifying global competition, neither industry nor government can be complacent about standards-related issues,” said Under Secretary for Technology Phil Bond. “The secretary’s standards initiative emphasizes best practices, provides critical education and training, expands our early warning tools, and creates greater collaboration with industry and government. Collectively, these actions will go a long way toward an effective rapid response system when standards become trade barriers.”

The new report, Standards and Competitiveness—Coordinating for Results, contains more than 50 recommendations. The report also summarizes key industry standards issues in international markets. Some of this information was gathered from more than 200 industry associations and standards organizations in 13 industry roundtables convened over the past year.

The report seeks to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the department’s standards-related programs and policies. Its recommendations will help the department identify new opportunities and better ways to work with the private sector and other U.S. government agencies on standards-related issues.

In March 2003, Evans launched the Department of Commerce Standards Initiative, an eight-point plan that responds to industry concerns that divergent standards, redundant testing and compliance procedures, and regulatory red tape are becoming one of the greatest challenges to expanding exports.

The report can be accessed at http://www.technology.gov.

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Mass layoffs decline year-over-year in first quarter
In the first quarter of this year, employers took 1,204 mass layoff actions, resulting in the separation of 239,361 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The total number of layoff events and the number of separations were sharply lower than in January-March 2003 and were the lowest for a first quarter since 2000.

The decline over the year was most notable in general merchandise stores, administrative and support services, computer and electronic product manufacturing, and air transportation.

Manufacturing industries accounted for 32 percent of private non-farm layoff events and 24 percent of separations. Layoff activity in this sector was concentrated in food manufacturing (11,005), followed by transportation equipment manufacturing (8,874) and computer and electronic product manufacturing (3,912).

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New paint eliminates pollution
A new pollution-eating paint could have sweeping effects on pollution. Dimitris Kotzias of the Joint Research Centre Institute for Health and Consumer Protection unveiled a paint developed at Indoortron labs in Ispra, Italy, designed to consume 90 percent of the atmosphere's nitrogen oxide and 30 percent of nitrogen dioxide.

The paint uses a new base, called polysiloxane, which contains nanoparticles of titanium dioxide and calcium carbonate. The titanium dioxide captures pollution and converts it to nitric acid using sunlight as a catalyst. The calcium carbonate then neutralizes the nitric acid, which can be washed safely away by the next thunderstorm.

Though the paint is not yet on the market, one U.S.-based chemical company has filed a patent. Kotzias says the titanium-oxide coating can also be used for roads and pavements.

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Rockwell to designate Certified Systems Professionals
Rockwell Automation introduced the Certified Systems Professional (CSP) program, a three-stage certification program for manufacturers using Rockwell Automation products.

By equipping engineers with advanced technical knowledge and practical skills in several key automation disciplines, the program helps end-users across all sectors of industry boost productivity and reduce downtime.

The CSP program recognizes technical proficiency and industry knowledge of automation professionals who have demonstrated exceptional competencies in industrial networks, controls, visualization and motion technologies.

"The Rockwell Automation CSP program is a thorough assessment used to validate individual competence in automation technology and application," said Rockwell director of customer training Laurie Moormann. "Certification provides daily value to manufacturers by ensuring that employees have the industry and product knowledge necessary to best avert downtime. It also helps them identify performance liabilities and knowledge gaps that must be addressed."

Individuals considering certification should have skills and experience involving five or more projects that required advanced automation controls and networks, plus specialty experience in visualization, power handling, drives or motion control. To determine certification readiness, a free pre-test is available online at www.rockwellautomation.com/certification.

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Penn students show off solar car
Students at Valley Forge Middle School in Pennsylvania got a firsthand look at an alternative-fuel vehicle designed and built by University of Pennsylvania students and primarily funded by Lockheed Martin through its annual philanthropic donation to the university.

The car doesn't require a drop of $2-a-gallon gasoline to run. More than 1,200 individual solar cells capture the sun's energy and store it in 13 lithium ion batteries. With the batteries fully charged, the car can travel 200 miles at a cruising speed of 35 mph.

"The purpose of the car project was to show that you can do something completely useful with solar energy," said Penn student Mike Ashley.

Middle school students were given an overview of the solar car project, alternative-fueled vehicles and the Penn car's design. Following a question and answer session, students were taken outside for a demonstration and were allowed to touch and sit in the vehicle.

Close to 100 Penn students from mechanical, electrical and business disciplines were involved in the solar car project. Ten team members were on hand for today's middle school presentation.

According to James Sanchack, Lockheed Martin's vice president of programs and the representative to the University of Pennsylvania, the project helps university students strengthen skills they will need in the workplace.

"Problem solving is what we do for a living," said Sanchack. "Our customers present us with complex problems and we solve them. The solar car project allowed the students to solve problems, thus enhancing and fine-tuning a skill that we value a great deal. And, programs like today's at Valley Forge Middle School help to excite young people to pursue engineering and science careers."

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Timken to increase high speed steel prices
Timken Latrobe Steel, a subsidiary of The Timken Co., will increase prices by 5 percent on high speed steel products. The price change is effective with the new orders received beginning June 1. Raw material surcharges will remain in effect.

"Continued higher production costs in the form of scrap and energy are key factors in this price increase," said David A. Murray, vice president of sales and marketing for Timken Latrobe Steel. "We are continuing with our efforts to try to offset these costs."

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NAM lauds House counterfeiting bill
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) praised Rep. Joseph Knollenberg, R-Mich., for introducing legislation to strengthen the trademark counterfeiting statute in the U.S. criminal code.

It would provide for mandatory seizure and destruction of illegal goods and the equipment used to produce and package them.

“It is long past time to plug this hole,” said NAM technology policy director David Peyton. “The current state of the law is anti-consumer and anti-jobs. That makes it intolerable twice over.”

Peyton noted that Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Consumer Product Safety Commission jointly warned of the dangers of counterfeit imported electrical products.

The auto industry is among the hardest hit by a flood of fake products, now estimated at 5 percent to 7 percent of total world trade, Peyton said. He cited phony motor oil that damages engines, oil filters that can explode under pressure and poor quality brake pads.

“We’re talking about real danger to the motoring public, not to mention the painful loss of honest jobs, usually estimated at 200,000 in the auto industry alone,” he said.

Judicial interpretation weakened the application of the statute even where it was previously considered clear. A 10th Circuit decision (Giles v. U.S., 2000) overturned the conviction of a defendant who dealt only in labels and not in direct fabrication of products.

“When a man running a business brazenly named ‘Fabulous Fakes’ gets off on a technicality, it’s time for a sanity check,” Peyton said. “If the shoddy products come in unmarked and then get labeled and packaged in the United States – as has happened with batteries that can explode – we don’t have a way to stop them on the docks. Nor can we prosecute those complicit in the fraud, at least not in the 10th Circuit.”

The Product Counterfeiting Statute Improvements Act was introduced as H.R. 4358.

“Industry vigilance can go only so far when the feds simply lack the necessary enforcement authority,” Peyton said. “This bill will fix that problem.”

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Study: 1 in 7 laptops powered by fuel cells in 2012
Micro fuel cell (MFC) technology will power nearly 15 percent of the world's laptop computers as early as 2012, according to a recent ABI Research study.

The new power source should be seen in a limited number of laptops and PDAs, and in certain niche applications, in 2005. ABI Research's projections indicate a trial production of 2,000 units next year, mostly in Japan and in the U.S. Though the technology's initial promise was demonstrated by U.S.-based companies, Japanese firms have taken the lead more recently.

After a successful rollout, companies will be able to scale up manufacturing capacity rapidly in successive years, assuming essential codes and standards are in place. Worldwide MFC shipments may then reach 120 million units by 2012.

"Not everything is a bed of roses in the micro fuel sector," said Atakan Ozbek, Director of Energy Research and author of the study. "Most of the information that comes from companies is still not verifiable due to the emerging nature of the technology.

"This makes it hard to evaluate the sector's true status, but our research indicates that micro fuel cells will be powering 13.5 percent of laptops by 2012," he said.

Although most of the companies have been secretly showing their working units to product vendors, no major vendor has yet signed a declaration of agreement.

One of the study's significant findings is that if micro fuel cells are going to enter commercial markets in even a small way in 2005, manufacturers must demonstrate their prototypes along with efficient refueling mechanisms before the end of 2004.

Will consumers adopt MFCs? Mass market acceptance may be restrained if refueling or replacing fuel cartridges carries a high cost. But the model has worked for the inkjet printer and ejectable razor industries, and companies such as Gillette, BIC and Tokai are showing interest in distribution.

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Milwaukee Electric Tool to be sold
Atlas Copco Group initiated plans May 14 to sell its electric tools business, including Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp., the power tool manufacturer based in Brookfield, Wis.

"Atlas Copco's electric tools business is stable and profitable, and it has significant market share, particularly in North America. The business is, however, still far from the group's desired position of globally being number one or two in the markets we serve," said Atlas Copco senior executive vice president Göran Gezelius.

In 2003, the electric tools business, which includes AEG Electric Tools as well as Milwaukee Electric Tool, reported revenues of $700 million and employed 3,100 employees. Sales are chiefly done under the Milwaukee brand, and two-thirds of sales are done in North America.

The synergies between the electric tool business and other businesses within the Atlas Copco Group are limited in distribution, manufacturing and product development, the company said. Also, the selling process is different. While the electric tool divisions sell to industrial distributors and retailers, most other divisions sell directly to industrial end-users and only to a certain extent through distributors.

Milwaukee Electric, which was founded in 1924, has production facilities in Wisconsin, four Mississippi locations, Arkansas and Mexico. The company is undergoing a $5 million renovation of its manufacturing facility in Brookfield, a Milwaukee suburb.

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Industrial production climbs in April
Industrial production increased 0.8 percent in April after declining 0.1 percent in March, according to the Federal Reserve. At 115.4 percent of its 1997 average, output in April was 4.8 percent higher than its level in April 2003.

Capacity utilization for total industry increased to 76.9 percent, a rate 0.5 percentage point above that of its first-quarter average but still more than 4 percentage points below its 1972-2003 average.

Manufacturing output increased 0.7 percent in April after increasing 0.1 percent in March. The gains in April were widespread. The overall factory operating rate climbed nearly 0.5 percentage point, to 75.7 percent, its highest rate in three years.

A rise of 0.8 percent in the production of durable goods was led by gains in the output of fabricated metal products and of computer and electronic products. Output increased in all other major durable manufacturing categories except aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment.

Among the high-technology industries, both the computer and semiconductor industries posted noticeable gains in output, while the production of communications equipment declined for a third consecutive month.

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