Personnel

Ceratizit SA has acquired German solid carbide toolmaker Klenk GmbH & Co. KG, augmenting the Ceratizit Group's product portfolio with custom solutions for solid-carbide round tools, according to the company. With the addition of Klenk, the Ceratizit Group aims to further strengthen its position in the solid-carbide tool market, according to Thierry Wolter of the Ceratizit Group's executive board. "It is our aim to be perceived as a global premium player for all cutting tools," he said.  

Weiler Corp., Cresco, Pa., a provider of surface conditioning products, donated $10,000 to the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, along with $4,500 in Weiler products to help with the group's 2-week Build-A-Thon program in eastern New Orleans. "We were honored to have participated," said President and CEO Chris Weiler. "The Weiler team welcomed the opportunity to support the work of an organization that will restore the promise of New Orleans' future, and the future of its residents." 

The National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS), the manufacturing industry's standards and certification body, and the Gene Haas Foundation (GHF), which provides scholarships for students entering technical training programs, will partner for the second year to help schools prepare more students for success in precision manufacturing careers.  

CNC machining and manufacturing services provider Paramount Precision Products, Oak Park, Mich., has acquired the CNC machining company Numerical Productions Inc., Indianapolis. Paramount, a minority-owned supplier intends to expand its machining services to manufacturing companies throughout the Midwest.  

The partners responsible for producing Manufacturing Day at the national level have refreshed its website, MFGDAY.com. The upgraded site offers more resources for sponsors, companies, supporters and volunteers which, according to the group, make it easier to participate in this year's annual celebration of manufacturing, scheduled for Friday, Oct. 2. 

Among the 85 respondents to Cutting Tool Engineering magazine's Salary Survey Addendum, the annual average salary for manual machinists stands at $39,340, which represents an average hourly wage of $18.91. Combining the survey addendum results with CTE's 2014 Salary & Benefits Survey, which is based on data collected last fall from 215 respondents, the annual average salary for manual machinists is $39,202, which is about $18.85 an hour. 

OSG USA Inc.'s training tour, Train the Nation, is back for 2015 and 2016. The Glendale Heights, Ill.-based toolmaker will host an eight-discipline course covering the machining of 3D parts. Experts from OSG will introduce techniques that highlight programming, machining applications and cutting tools.

MSC Industrial Supply, Melville, N.Y., opened its fifth distribution center, or Customer Fulfillment Center, in Columbus, Ohio. The distributor of MRO supplies marked the occasion with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. MSC first announced plans for the new facility in 2012 when it purchased the 70-acre plot where the 400,000 sq.-ft. facility now sits. The new CFC is currently home to 100 full-time associates, a number that is expected to grow to 300 by the end of 2017. The site is also designed to accommodate future expansion. 

Machine tool builder Okuma America Corp. hosted "A Day at Okuma America Corporation" for area high school students at its Partners in THINC technology center in Charlotte, N.C., on Dec. 16. The event gave students the opportunity to learn more about CNC machining and technology and to speak with professionals in the CNC manufacturing industry.  

Miyachi America Corp., Monrovia, Calif., a manufacturer of welding, marking, cutting and micromachining equipment, donated an LMF2000 fiber laser marker along with related safety equipment to Workshops for Warriors (WFW), a nonprofit organization that provides vocational training to returning, wounded and disabled veterans of the U.S. Armed Services. Technimark, one of Miyachi's suppliers, donated a fume extractor for the equipment, and Directed Light, Inc. donated laser safety glasses.