Personnel

Allied Machine & Engineering Corp., Dover, Ohio, broke ground July 15 on the second phase of its expansion project. The project involves a 30,000-sq.-ft. addition to its West Third Street facility, which includes R&D space, training areas, offices and a cafeteria. The addition is expected to cost $15.1 million.

H-D Advanced Manufacturing Co., Pittsburgh, acquired San Diego-based Sungear Inc., a manufacturer of precision gears and assemblies for the aerospace industry.

Machine tool builder Hwacheon Machinery America (HMA) will relocate to a new headquarters and technical center in the Chicago suburb of Lincolnshire, Ill., on July 15.

Jacob Prak, CEO of Michigan Manufacturing International (MMI), Stevensville, Md., announced the completion of a new MMI plant in Hosur, India, joining MMI locations in Mumbai, Coimbatore and Bangalore, India, and Shanghai, Fuyang, Ningbo, Jinan, Shenzhen, Dongguan and Hong Kong, China.

Manufacturers nationwide are struggling to find skilled labor, and several community colleges and technical centers around the country have stepped in to fill the void, including a technical training center in Phoenix that offers CNC and manual machining programs. The Maricopa Skill Center offers two machining certificates: CNC machining and manual machining. Students in the program attend class 6 hours a day, Monday through Thursday. The CNC machining program takes about a year to complete.

Toolmaker TDC Cutting Tools Inc. announced the expansion of its operations and established its global headquarters in Seneca, S.C., resulting in 38 new positions at the facility. The company will invest $8.2 million in the construction of the new TDC Overseas campus, including a 32,000-sq.-ft. office building and a 10,000-sq.-ft. recycling center.

Since the economic slowdown in 2008, the global sales of business aircraft has been less than 50 percent of the annual sales in 2007; however, as aircraft fleets get older and the economy improves, pent-up demand may stimulate purchases.

The Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME), Rolling Meadows, Ill., has debuted the AME Manufacturing Job Board, designed to connect job-seeking professionals with the organizations requiring their specific skills.

Toolmaker Seco Tools LLC, Troy, Mich., a technical and supplier sponsor of Andretti Autosport's Verizon IndyCar Series championship racing team, invited customers from across the Midwest to attend an Indy 500 practice day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The day included a meet and greet with IRL driver Marco Andretti, a tour of the Andretti Autosport garage, a catered lunch in the team's suite at the track and a visit to the pits to watch the Indy cars in action.

In 2003, Kevin Burkett was offered $30,000 for his 1978 Travis Bean "Wedge" guitar and realized it was too valuable to perform with. Most guitarists would make do with using a similar, less-valuable model, but Travis Beans have a distinguishing characteristic that makes them hard to replace — they're made of metal.