Industry News

Sick Inc., Minneapolis, a manufacturer of sensors, safety systems, machine vision, encoders and automatic identification solutions for factory, logistics and process automation, promoted Elise Furlan to general counsel for Sick.

To support rapid expansion at its Mexico facility, the team at KUKA Automotive appointed Dormer Pramet its primary cutting tools supplier over the next three years.

Wohlers Associates Inc. announced the release of Wohlers Report 2018, the industry-leading global report on the state of the additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing industry, terms used interchangeably. Wohlers Associates has published its series of annual reports on AM for 23 consecutive years.

Customers of Cobra Carbide asked the company for made-in-America cutting tools and the West Coast manufacturer of drills, endmills, reamers and burs met their request. Until late 2016, Cobra sold tools in the U.S. that were produced either at its Riverside, Calif., facility or a plant it owned in India, which the company recently sold. It now produces all its tools in Riverside. "As more and more customers asked for made-in-the-U.S. product, we changed accordingly," said Cobra Carbide's CEO, Rakesh Aghi.

The Rollomatic Group, Mundelein, Ill., appointed Joe Kane president of Strausak Inc., Mundelein, further filling out its global presence in providing solutions for precision tool grinding.

Today's manufacturing and industrial processing facilities face intense competitive pressures, challenging economic conditions and stringent government regulations. To thrive, companies must engage in operational "best practices" designed to continuously improve process and product quality and reduce costs. An often overlooked method of process improvement is to remove oil from your facility's wastewater or process stream as soon as possible, preferably using a highly cost effective "tube type" oil skimmer. Properly applying a tube type skimmer can pay for itself within a few months by improving operational efficiencies, promoting employee and environmental wellness and generating new revenue.

Futura Automation LLC, Scottsdale, Ariz., added George Wilken to its management team.

The surface treatment global business unit of Ludwigshafen, Germany-based BASF SE's coatings division, operating under the Chemetall brand, was awarded the highest supplier award in the aerospace company Airbus SE, Leiden, Netherlands, Supply Chain & Quality Improvement Program known as SQIP.

Seco Tools AB, Fagersta, Sweden, and MachiningCloud Inc., Camarillo, Calif., are partnering to provide Seco Tools product data in the cloud.

Metrology provider ASF Metrology SRL, Varallo, Italy, is acquiring the coordinate measuring machines business from metrology provider Nikon Metrology NV, Leuven, Belgium.

2018 marks the 35th anniversary of CNC Software Inc., Tolland, Conn., the developer of Mastercam CAD/CAM software.

Röhm Group, Suwanee, Ga., is now part of Dr. Helmut Rothenberger Holding GmbH.