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'Ultimate factories' on National Geographic
November 27, 2007

1. We call it Top Plant, they call it... The BMW plant in Spartanburg, SC won the 2006 Top Plant award from Plant Engineering. We like being on the cutting edge. The National Geographic Channel will feature BMW as part of its 'Ultimate Factories' series on Thursday, Nov. 29 at 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific. (As we are always told by the TV folks, check your local listings.)  The show will show how the BMW Z4 and the Corvette are manufactured. It's a one-hour show, but it'll seem faster...

2. Manufacturing energy: This article from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal points up two important issues about energy. First, the component parts needed to manuafcture 'green' energy, such as turbines and windmills, still need to be manufactured. If you don't think that's a growth market, think again. Second, manufactured energy -- wind, solar or (yes, he used the word) nuclear -- is the direction we need to head. It's not just a global warming issue. It's just smarter manufacturing, and we need to get a LOT smarter about manufacturing. Here's another example from Minnesota's neighbor to the south on how to get smarter about manufacturing and energy.

3. A mixed bag on wages: The latest report from TheFabricator.com notes that a survey of the metal fabrication industry shows falling wages for new hires in the industry. That's in contrast to a study from the International Facility Management Association and Building Operation Management magazine that shows wages for new hires in that sector are up sharply from a year ago. That's pretty much what we found in last year's Plant Engineering Salary Survey. The 2007 study will be released in January, but attendees at our free Dec. 4 event in Lombard, IL will get a sneak peek at the 2007 survey numbers. If you want details on that event, send me an email at bob.vavra@reedbusiness.com. 

4. Giving light to those in darkness: Maybe the good thing to do is ignore Lou Dobbs. He simply doesn't understand the problem of immigration reform, as is evident when he resorts to foot stomping and name-calling. Check out the latest CNN transcript of his diatribe against the ACLU. Lou needs a reality check. Or perhaps just some reality.

5. Lou would probably try to block this, too: What would happen if these Mexican residents tried to cross the border into the U.S.? Would Lou be on hand with nets?

Posted by Wolseley on November 27, 2007 | Comments (0)