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Manufacturing success stories? Nissan's got a million of them...
April 16, 2007
1. Perfection for Quest: Every time we talk about job loss in the auto industry, we forget the job creation that is taking place almost in parallel. Nissan’s one millionth truck came off its Canton, MS assembly line in February. Here’s a brief video about the celebration at this four-year-old plant and how it has driven excellence in U.S. manufacturing.
2. Selective coordination Webcast: I’m not the resident electrical expert – our managing editor Jack Smith has that role. That’s why Jack will be leading the discussion about selective coordination of electrical devices at our May 25 Webcast, sponsored by Cooper Bussmann. This is a good time to get educated on the topic. Register here for this Webcast.
3. EAM market exploding, maturing: A rapidly expanding enterprise asset management is being driven by less expensive software and a more expansive use of EAM, according to a new study from ARC Advisory Group. The worldwide market is expected to grow from $1.5 billion today to $2.1 billion by 2011. There are several key issues driving growth as the report notes, but perhaps the most important to plant managers is that an abundance of EAM solutions is driving down prices, making this important technology more affordable and accessible. The benefits of EAM, as the ARC reports notes, are enormous.
4. Pulp, non-fiction: Think it’s tough to squeeze the most out of your manufacturing facility? Try this task – squeezing the juice out of an orange. That was the task at this year’s 19th annual Rube Goldberg Machine Contest at Purdue University, which honors the cartoonist who took simple tasks and created elaborate machines to accomplish them. Take a look at the video of this year’s winner from Ferris State University and understand what a good engineer you need to be to make a simple task so complicated without, as the video noted “flames, explosive or live animals.”
5. Optimism for manufacturing growth: The most recent report by the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI shows growth for the first time in a year and fuels optimism that manufacturing may be rebounding. “The survey results of this quarter are evidence of latent strength in most manufacturing industries and are a harbinger of renewed vigor in the latter half of the year,” said Donald A. Norman, Ph.D., Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI economist and survey coordinator. “Most industries, with the exception of those businesses closely linked to the housing sector, should expand this year although the rate of expansion is likely to be less than in recent years.”
Posted by Wolseley on April 16, 2007 | Comments (2)
