Industry News

According to newly released figures by industry analyst EDA, new machine tool equipment sales jumped from 1,288 units in November 2016 to 1,744 in December—its highest number of the year and just slightly under 2015's highest monthly number of 1,825 units, also in December. Used machine tool equipment sales also jumped at the end of 2016, from 762 units in November to 1,241 in December. That's still well below its 2015 peak month of 1,637 units sold in October of that year.

In a recent article, a few Forbes Technology Council members examined what jobs they think will be automated in the next five to 10 years. But what about the flip side of the issue: What kind of positions or work will be safe from the automation process?

GF Machining Solutions, Lincolnshire, Ill., named Stephan Swanson as its new head of sales in the Central region of the United States, according to a Feb. 27 news release. In this new post, Swanson will further enhance GF Machining Solutions' sales, service and support presence in the territory, which includes 15 states.

MachineTools.com, Birmingham, Mich., in February announced it had provided its 2-millionth lead. Since its founding in 1999, leads have gone to dealers for used machinery, to builders and distributors for new machinery, and to other companies in the industry, according to a company news release.

While the Trump administration focuses on trying to bring back coal-industry jobs, the outlook for renewable-energy employment, including in manufacturing, has increased. Solar showed bright prospects in 2016 and the wind industry is picking up.

Automated inspection equipment can offer advantages, such as enabling lights-out machining, but manual methods are typically less expensive and can provide quicker results. One example is a manually operated gage for inspecting round cutting tools.

Renishaw Inc. announced a new 133,000 sq. ft. office and warehouse facility in West Dundee, Ill., about 40 miles from Chicago. The two-story facility will be the company's new North American headquarters, but also includes space for product development, testing, warehousing and distribution.

Midwest Industrial Tool Grinding Inc. (MITGI), which manufactures and markets standard and custom cutting tools, has been named Manufacturer of the Year in the small company category by the Manufacturers Alliance, a Minnesota association that promotes education and peer-to-peer mentoring in the state's manufacturing industry.

Wall Colmonoy, a global group of materials engineering companies engaged in the manufacturing of surfacing and brazing products, castings and engineered components, this month appointed Nathan Stroud as commercial director for its European headquarters in Wales, U.K.

Waterjet systems manufacturer Jet Edge Inc., St Michael, Minn., promoted Michael Wheeler to Engineering Manager. Wheeler is responsible for managing all aspects of Jet Edge's engineering, including technical writing, inspection, sales engineering and estimating, research and development and product development.

Georgia will see an influx of more than 500 new aerospace manufacturing jobs at Columbus-based Pratt & Whitney, which reportedly will invest $386 million into expansion.

A joint research project known as "Scaling Ultrafast Laser Productive Precision Processing Technology", or ScULPT, was conceived to develop an efficient, powerful, ultra-short pulsed laser system with a tenfold increase in throughput on the machining of different types of glass and metals.