Industry News

The malware entered the North Carolina transmission plant's computer network via email last August, just as the criminals wanted, spreading like a virus and threatening to lock up the production line until the company paid a ransom.

In the Lima, Ohio, area, local educators and businesses are trying to bridge the gap between education and the business world. For example, the Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce and an Ottawa-Glandorf High School business teacher created an experimental program last year called Emerging Business Leaders. The intention was to connect junior and senior high school students who had taken at least 3 years of elective business classes with CEOs or owners of local businesses. Also, Apollo Career Center, a trade school in Lima with a licensed practical nurse training facility in Ottawa, works with local businesses to learn what jobs need to be filled and then trains people to fill those jobs.

Boeing employees and community members this week commemorated the 90,000 square-foot expansion of Boeing Helena to support 777X airplane production. Boeing Helena is set to install new machine tools to fabricate critical titanium parts for the twin-aisle 777X.

Schunk GmbH & Co. KG, Lauffen/Neckar, Germany, appointed Bo Shomaker vice president of sales, tooling and workholding.

Blaser Swisslube announces its partnership with TITANS of CNC. This collaboration includes the appearance of Blaser in an episode of TITANS of CNC. The episode highlights how Blaser helps its customers improve their economic efficiency, productivity and machining quality.

Vision Engineering Ltd., Surrey, United Kingdom, a manufacturer of ergonomic inspection and measurement microscopes, opened its new global headquarters.

The manufacturing industry has created nearly 500,000 new jobs in the last 6 years, but some places have experienced better job growth than others. Headlight Data has just released its annual rankings of the fastest-growing US counties in manufacturing. Recently released data show that manufacturing job creation in 2016 across counties in the US varied from a high of 3,600 in Jefferson County, KY to a loss of 19,000 jobs in Harris County, TX.

Hexa Research reports that the global laser marking machine market size will reach USD 3.38 billion by 2024, driven by increasing adoption of laser systems in industries such as automobile, packaging and machine tools. The marking equipment industry witnessed notable change over the past two decades, and the trend is expected to continue.

To meet customers' demands in a growing Asian market, Transor Filter USA, Elk Grove Village, Ill., has expanded its facility in Kunshan, China.

As Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) continue to grow and evolve, they promise numerous benefits for a leaner enterprise. In the realm of machine tools, the IIoT can certainly offer chances for improvements in monitoring and maintenance. There are, however, some concerns that must be addressed before this becomes a reality.

Matsuura Machinery USA Inc., St. Paul, Minn., which develops high-speed machining and manufactures automated, unmanned, high-accuracy CNC machine tools, has announced a number of personnel appointments.

UI LABS and ManpowerGroup have released a workforce analysis that identifies 165 data-centric jobs that will define the future of manufacturing in the United States. Descriptions for jobs such as collaborative robotics specialist, manufacturing cybersecurity strategist and enterprise digital ethicist give a window into the advanced skills and knowledge needed to put new technology into practice and remain globally competitive.