Industry News

Houghton International Inc., Valley Forge, Va., recently announced the appointment of Kevin Smith to the positions of senior vice president of Houghton International and president of the company's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and global automotive and aerospace markets. Effective Feb. 1, Smith is based in the company's Manchester, U.K. office, and reports to Houghton International CEO Mike Shannon. Smith will assume responsibility for the general management of Houghton's EMEA region and the global leadership of Houghton specialty product lines for the major transportation industry segments, including automotive and aerospace. He also becomes a member of Houghton's executive committee.

What started out as a little tool and die shop 50 years ago has evolved into an industry powerhouse in the design and building of low profile conveyor platforms, and Dorner Mfg. Corp. is still going strong, the company reported in a Feb. 1 news release recounting the company's history. To commemorate its 50th year in business, Dorner will hold an open house and other celebratory events in June.

Matrix Design LLC, South Elgin, Ill., opened a new sales office in Indianapolis, which will be lead by Tim Fenner, who recently joined Matrix as a sales specialist. Matrix Design develops, builds and installs robotic automation systems worldwide. The Indianapolis office gives the company a more focused presence to better serve industries in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and surrounding regions.

The Sandvik Coromant Co., Fair Lawn, N.J., named Sean Holt as the company's new president of the Americas market area, according to a Jan. 28 news release. With the promotion, which took effect Jan. 1, Holt is now part of the company's global sales management team. An experienced executive in the manufacturing industry, Holt was a key member of the Americas management team as the vice president of engineering. He joined Sandvik Coromant in 2000 as a sales engineer in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Since then, he has held several positions, including application development specialist and aerospace manager for the Americas market area before taking on the vice president of engineering position in 2014.

Hwacheon Machinery America, Lincolnshire, Ill., recently appointed two new sales directors: Bob Pellegrini for the Eastern half of the United States, and Dan Pierce for the Western half, according to a Jan. 26 company news release. The two, who were promoted from regional sales manager positions held at the company since 2012, will be in charge of sales and dealer support.

BENZ Inc., Charlotte, N.C., today announced it will be holding a Heavy Metal Sale to commemorate the company's upcoming expansion and relocation from Charlotte to Hickory, N.C. During the promotional period through Feb. 19, BENZ will offer 25 percent off select live tools, Solidifx Modular Quick Change Systems and angle heads.

The Heidenhain Corp., Schaumburg, Ill., recently announced the new hire of David Doyle as vice president of sales and marketing in North America, according to a Jan. 26 news release from the company. With more than 25 years of management experience, Doyle joins the Heidenhain family to assume the day-to-day responsibilities of the sales and marketing departments.

With the acquisition of Prometec GmbH, Aachen, Germany, Sandvik Coromant "strengthens its offering in digital manufacturing," according to a Sandvik news release issued Feb. 1. A supplier of advanced solutions for monitoring and controlling of machining processes in production machines, Prometec will be integrated with Sandvik Coromant, a product area within Sandvik Machining Solutions.

CARVEsmart, a division of Bellatex Industries and maker of the original quick-change vise jaw system featuring dovetailed jaw technology, announced a deal giving the Orange Vise Co. an exclusive opportunity to offer CARVEsmart patented features in the Orange Vise Integrated Jaw System (IJS). With CARVEsmart dovetail and clamp features machined directly into the Orange IJS vise, there is no need for master jaws, which is said to save 1.5" of opening, according to a CARVEsmart news release issued Feb. 2.

Though up two-tenths of 1 percentage point since December 2015, economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in January for the fourth consecutive month as measured by the Manufacturing ISM Report on Business, which is published monthly by the Institute for Supply Management, Tempe, Ariz.

While data used to calculate the 2015 A.T. Kearney U.S. Reshoring Index contradicts reports of a reshoring trend for U.S. manufacturing, the index itself should not be construed as opposition to reshoring efforts, according to A.T. Kearney, the Chicago-based global management consulting firm that publishes the index.