Industry News

There’s a Sands Casino where the Bethlehem Steel Corp. once stood. The casino was completed in 2009, just 8 years after the 100-year-old steel company filed bankruptcy. Ironically, the biggest obstacle facing the casino’s developer was a shortage of structural steel. Even more ironically, the developer ended up buying it from Nucor Corp., the onetime “minimill” competitor that Bethlehem executives scoffed at decades earlier for the startup’s embrace of electric arc furnace technology.

Not only is automation continuing to displace workers at manufacturing companies, the thought of being ousted by a robot is making some workers at those plants feel sick. That’s according to a study by three Ball State University researchers and a Villanova University professor.

After helping customers to remove tramp oil from coolant for more than 40 years, Jim Petrucci, vice president of Oil Skimmers Inc., has yet to hear from anyone that doesn’t have at least some tramp oil present in an individual machine sump or large holding tank. When enough tramp oil seeps into coolant on a steady basis to justify the acquisition of oil-removal equipment, which is common, the Cleveland-based company offers oil skimmers to remove surface oil.

For the May issue’s focus on abrasive machining, I’m writing a multiple-source article about honing. One of the sources is Lapmaster Wolters LLC.

Julian Cornwall, a 17-year-old junior in the Butler Tech precision machine program at Colerain Career Center, has a big decision ahead of him. Companies looked at his portfolio and shop samples and talked to his instructor about his work during a recent skills competition. He had 11 job offers in hand when a trio of executives from the Feintool Group stopped by his machine to talk to him. When they left, his options had increased by another offer.

A precision machining supplier has come up with a way to address the skills shortage problem. Micron Manufacturing Co., Walker, Mich., lets workers create their own schedules. You want to be there for your first-grader's field trip? Do it. Want to have a long lunch with your aging mom? You can.

Nearly 100 percent of the solid-carbide tool assortment is suitable for reconditioning, according to Sandvik Coromant Co. Once a solid-carbide tool has been reconditioned three times and is no longer a candidate for reconditioning, it can be recycled.

Futura Automation LLC, Scottsdale, Ariz., added George Wilken to its management team.

The surface treatment global business unit of Ludwigshafen, Germany-based BASF SE's coatings division, operating under the Chemetall brand, was awarded the highest supplier award in the aerospace company Airbus SE, Leiden, Netherlands, Supply Chain & Quality Improvement Program known as SQIP.

Seco Tools AB, Fagersta, Sweden, and MachiningCloud Inc., Camarillo, Calif., are partnering to provide Seco Tools product data in the cloud.

Metrology provider ASF Metrology SRL, Varallo, Italy, is acquiring the coordinate measuring machines business from metrology provider Nikon Metrology NV, Leuven, Belgium.

2018 marks the 35th anniversary of CNC Software Inc., Tolland, Conn., the developer of Mastercam CAD/CAM software.

Röhm Group, Suwanee, Ga., is now part of Dr. Helmut Rothenberger Holding GmbH.

CGTech, Irvine, Calif., the developer of Vericut software, is celebrating three decades of innovation and consistent growth.

Dave Greene joined Franklin Bronze Precision Components LLC, Franklin, Pa., as operations manager.

Kitagawa North-Tech Inc., Schaumburg, Ill., which manufactures standard chucks, advanced chucks, custom-engineered workholding and steady rests, hired Edward Borsos as regional sales manager.

Precision Surfacing Solutions, Mount Prospect, Ill., formerly Lapmaster Wolters Group, a supplier of equipment and services for precision lapping, polishing, grinding and honing, acquired Reform Grinding Technology GmbH, a provider of machine tools and systems for high-precision grinding applications.

Arno Werkzeuge USA LLC, Harvard, Ill., a manufacturer of cutting tools and positive- and negative-style inserts for metalcutting machine tools and Swiss-style turning machines, hired Rob Hampton as technical support and sales engineer for the Northeast region of the U.S.

Sunnen Products Co., St. Louis, acquired BTA Heller Inc., a U.S.-based manufacturer of deep-hole tooling and systems for primary hole generation.

GWS Tool Group LLC, Tavares, Fla., the parent company of GW Schultz Tool and CGI Tool, acquired Alliance CNC Cutter Grinding Services Inc.