Industry Trends & Analysis

News • February 16, 2014

NIMS announces record number of certifications

The National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS), Fairfax, Va., announced that it awarded a record number of credentials last year to individuals seeking to enter into or advance in jobs in the metalworking industry. In 2013, NIMS issued 13,888 industry-recognized credentials, representing a 58.8 percent increase from 2012.

News • February 12, 2014

J.D. Power: Vehicle dependability declines

Owners of 3-year-old vehicles (2011 model year) report more problems than did owners of 3-year-old vehicles last year, according to the 2014 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study^SM (VDS) released by market information services firm J.D. Power and Associates, Westlake Village, Calif.

News • February 3, 2014

January PMI drops sharply

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in January for the eighth consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 56th consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business. Yet, the January PMI registered 51.3 percent, a decrease of 5.2 percentage points from December's seasonally adjusted reading of 56.5 percent.

News • February 3, 2014

Seco recognized by John Deere for cost-reduction

Seco Tools, Troy, Mich., was recognized for participating in the John Deere Cost Reduction Opportunities Process (JD CROP), part of Deere & Company's Achieving Excellence program. The toolmaker received the honor for the quality of its cost-reduction ideas and for demonstrating its commitment to continuous improvement, according to Seco.

Videos • January 14, 2014

Customized technical training

Like many manufacturers across the U.S., Greendale's Kinetic Company faces a shortage of skilled labor. Long-term, highly skilled employees are retiring, leaving the knife-making company with a younger, less experienced workforce. With that challenge in mind and armed with a Workforce Advancement Training (WAT) grant, managers from Kinetic Company teamed with Milwaukee Area Technical College to enhance the skills of their incumbent workers.

News • December 17, 2013

Klobuchar releases report on U.S. manufacturing

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), vice chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, released a new report detailing the revitalization in U.S. manufacturing. The report shows over 500,000 have been added jobs since February 2010, up 38% since 2009 and exceeding the industry's pre-recession peak for exports.

News • December 1, 2013

Lucifer Furnaces equips CWS

Custom Window Systems Inc. (CWS), an Ocala, Fla.-based manufacturer of window and door products, has added a Lucifer RD7-KHE18 "Red Devil" bench model furnace to its tool room.

News • October 28, 2013

Tool Alliance 2014 Ultra-Tool catalog available

Tool Alliance, a manufacturer of solid and indexable carbide cutting tools, has announced that the updated Ultra-Tool 2014 catalog is now available. The new catalog can be downloaded under the "Downloads" tab at www.toolalliance.com. "We are thrilled about the updated and expanded catalog," said David Povich, president of Tool Alliance. "Ultra-Tool has taken the very best of all our technologies and consolidated them within our Monolith end mills."

Videos • October 5, 2013

Specialty status

Sandvik Coromant video report suggests that collaboration, hyperspecialization and technology can help manufacturing companies prepare for the future.

Articles • October 1, 2013

Does Wal-Mart love U.S. products?

When the world's biggest retailer pledged it would buy an additional $50 billion worth of U.S.-made products over the next decade, Cutting Tool Engineering Editorial Director Alan Rooks questions whether the news is cause for celebration.

Articles • September 1, 2013

Brave new world for manufacturing

Cutting Tool Engineering Editorial Director Alan Rooks ponders the impact additive manufacturing will make on the industry.

Articles • August 1, 2013

The dog days of manufacturing

As I'm writing this in mid-July, we're experiencing uncomfortably hot and muggy weather in the Chicago area. I worked up a sweat just walking the dogs this morning -- and they walk pretty slowly. It's hard to want to do much of anything. That description seems to fit the U.S. economy in general and manufacturing in particular.