Industry News

A total of 1,679 events were held across North America, in all 50 states, three Canadian provinces and Puerto Rico.  For the first time this year, more than a dozen virtual events were held.  Discovery Education and Alcoa hosted the largest virtual event — with more than 100,000 students participating.

BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling Inc., Hoffman Estates, Ill., celebrates 25 years of North American operations in 2015. Incorporated in the spring of 1990 under the name Kaiser Precision Tooling (KPT), the subsidiary of Heinz Kaiser AG, Oberbüren, Switzerland, provided the North American market access to Kaiser's boring tools and modular boring systems. 

Seco Tools LLC, Troy, Mich., collected 15 percent more used carbide in 2014 than the previous year for its North American Carbide Recycling Program. The company received 350 returns during the year and processed a total of 144,877 pounds (65,715 kg) of used carbide tools. Since the recycling program began in 2011, Seco Tools has received over a half million pounds (226,796 kg) of used carbide. 

The Eriez 5-Star Service Center, located at the separation technologies provider's plant in Erie, Pa., offers equipment service and repair, inspection/preventive maintenance and rebuilds as well as a certification and exchange program for lift magnets.  

The University of Tennessee—Knoxville, a longstanding member of the Council on Competitiveness, was selected by the White House to lead a public-private partnership of 122 leading companies, universities, research laboratories and non-profits that will create a $250 million manufacturing innovation hub.  

Machine tool builder Okuma America Corp. hosted "A Day at Okuma America Corporation" for area high school students at its Partners in THINC technology center in Charlotte, N.C., on Dec. 16. The event gave students the opportunity to learn more about CNC machining and technology and to speak with professionals in the CNC manufacturing industry.  

Business Data International Inc., Montreal, published the English-language China Abrasives Directory 2015, which is now available. 

The Industrial Diamond Association of America will hold its annual Intertech conference May 19-20 at the Marriot Downtown in Indianapolis.

Cohagan Engineering Inc., West Palm Beach, Fla., has merged with Cat Technologies LLC to create Full Spectrum Manufacturing Inc., a new company offering manufacturing services including CNC milling, turning and plasma cutting, manual milling, turning and grinding, welding and fabrication, and 3D printing. 

Machine tool builder Okuma America Corp. hosted more than 500 customers, partners and distributors at its 2014 Technology Showcase event December 9-10 at its Charlotte, N.C., headquarters. The event featured learning opportunities for attendees, including hands-on demonstrations, a facility tour highlighting titanium machining at the new Aerospace Center for Excellence, and a look at Okuma's electrical and mechanical repair operations. 

Miyachi America Corp., Monrovia, Calif., a manufacturer of welding, marking, cutting and micromachining equipment, donated an LMF2000 fiber laser marker along with related safety equipment to Workshops for Warriors (WFW), a nonprofit organization that provides vocational training to returning, wounded and disabled veterans of the U.S. Armed Services. Technimark, one of Miyachi's suppliers, donated a fume extractor for the equipment, and Directed Light, Inc. donated laser safety glasses. 

Mikron Corp. Monroe, based in Monroe, Conn., has added a new product family to its line of cutting tools. Tapping and threading tools from the DC Swiss company are now available directly from inventory at Mikron Corp. DC Swiss has been selected due to its specialized knowledge and decades-long experience in threading technology, according to Mikron.  

Industrial surplus reseller Industrial Surplus Solutions Inc., St. Charles, Ill., has launched www.toolingmarketplace.com, an online resource for buying and selling surplus cutting tools. 

Measurement and control manufacturer Marposs S.p.A., Bologna, Italy, has acquired FL Tool Holders LLC of Livonia, Mich., a manufacturer of tooling and gaging products for the automotive, aerospace, marine and off-road manufacturing industries.

Okuma America Corp. has opened an Aerospace Center of Excellence at its facility in Charlotte, N.C. The center is for aerospace manufacturers to use as a testing and proving ground for advanced CNC machining technology to enhance productivity while solving industry-specific challenges, according to the company.

OSG Tap & Die Inc., Glendale Heights, Ill., will open a new regional service center in Forest Park, Ga., on Dec. 1. The 21,198-sq.-ft. facility will stock a complete line of OSG cutting tools including taps, end mills, drills and indexables, as well as other products including thread gages and toolholders. OSG expects to create at least 10 new warehouse and customer service positions with this expansion. 

Industrial metals distributor T&C Metals, Jacksonville, Fla., hosted its first Veterans Day celebration Nov. 11. Three associates and 10 customers were honored with a certificate of recognition for their service, and attendees were treated to food, music from a local radio station, and a raffle to benefit the Coast Guard Foundation. Raffle prizes were donated by T&C Metals' customers. T&C Metals plans to expand its Veterans Day celebration in the future so that more veterans can be honored for their service, according to Justin Wood, who handles outside sales for the aluminum and stainless products distributor.

OSG Tap & Die Inc., Glendale Heights, Ill., will donate over $85,000 in new tooling to the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Joliet Junior College and the College of Lake County in Grayslake to support the schools' manufacturing technology programs. As part of this effort, Mike Grzybowski, OSG regional manager, delivered over $30,000 worth of tooling to the Manufacturing and Machining of the Business and Technology Division of the College of DuPage. Included with the tooling donation was other OSG training aids including wall and pocket decimal charts, catalogs and safety glasses.

Weiler Corp, Cresco, Pa., a provider of power brushes, abrasives and maintenance products for surface conditioning, launched a multimillion-dollar initiative to improve customer service and enable future growth, according to the company. The investment includes a new brand identity, facility expansion, increased staffing, a revamped website and new training tools. 

MSC Industrial Supply Co., Melville, N.Y., has received ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 9001:2008 certification for its largest customer fulfillment centers (CFC) in the U.S. According to the company, this achievement demonstrates MSC's commitment to high-quality standards, continual improvement and customer satisfaction.