Industry News

The Berghoff Group, a German manufacturer, recently announced plans to open its first U.S. plant, which will be located in Auburn, Ala. The company reportedly will invest $30 million to open the manufacturing facility, which is expected to create 100 precision-machining jobs over the next 5 years, according to a news release from the Alabama Department of Commerce.

Once word got out that PTooling, a self-described small, family-owned machine shop in Amherstburg, Canada, had added a Lasertec 65 3D laser deposition welding and milling machine to its arsenal, major aerospace manufacturers began knocking on its door.

Standing in front of a ma-chining center, waiting for the drilling cycle to end so you can squirt some tapping compound into the holes is a big waste of time. But with challenging materials, such as Hastelloy or Inconel, it's the only way to avoid a broken tap. Or is it?

Doug Wetzel, managing director at contract manufacturer Protomatic, Dexter, Mich., is finding business to be slower than he wishes. Like many other U.S. job shops, the 45-year-old company is experiencing a slowdown caused by tumbling oil prices and worldwide political and economic uncertainty. The difference is Wetzel isn't too worried.

In America's factories, jobs are inevitably disappearing. But despite the political rhetoric, the problem is not mainly globalization. Manufacturing jobs are on the decline in factories around the world.

General Motors officials are expected to make a "positive plant manufacturing announcement" at the Bay City Powertrain factory this week.

MachiningCloud GmbH, a product content provider for cutting tools, CNC machines and workholding, today announced partnerships with Mitsubishi Materials and Destiny Tool to make product data from both companies available through its web-based platform, according to an announcement from MachiningCloud issued today.

David A. Dornfeld, mechanical engineering professor, founding faculty director of the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation and a leader at the College of Engineering, died of a heart attack on March 27. He was 66. Dornfeld was a renowned manufacturing expert, widely admired as a teacher and well-regarded as a thoughtful leader.

Ceramics Expo takes place April 26-28, 2016, in Cleveland and is dedicated to providing a marketplace for all raw materials, equipment, machinery and technology used within the ceramic manufacturing supply chain. Ceramics Expo is attended by technical leaders, production directors, engineers, project leaders, buyers and senior executives interested in exploring the latest ceramic manufacturing innovations.

Allied Machine & Engineering Corp., which manufactures holemaking and finishing products for the industrial tool and machining sector, this year celebrates its 75-year history with an eye on the future.

German toolholder maker Haimer GmbH recently agreed to license its Haimer Safe-Lock System to the Melin Tool Co., a cutting tool manufacturer based in Cleveland. Melin Tool will offer its endmills to the U.S. market with the Haimer Safe-Lock System, according to a recent Melin Tool news release.

Cline Tool, Newton, Iowa, recently added two new sales positions. Jeff Prothero has been named the regional manager and project engineer for Cline Tool's Southern Wisconsin/Northern Illinois branch. The company also appointed Brian Krebs as field application engineer at its Houston branch.