April • May 2008 • Vol. XXVI No. 4 • An Arnold Publication

Industry  News • Executive Hotline

Executive Hotline

NASA Looks to Lockheed Martin Space Systems for Design Help

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. of Denver is among the five companies chosen by NASA to evaluate a design concept for a lunar lander that will carry astronauts to the moon.

NASA has set aside $1.5 million for a 210-day study to evaluate the space program’s in-house design concept. The maximum award for any one company will be $350,000.

NASA said recommendations made by the five companies will be used to improve the technical design of its lunar lander. The lander is intended to carry four astronauts to the moon by 2020.

In addition to Lockheed Martin Space Systems, the other companies chosen are: Andrews Space of Seattle; The Boeing Co. of Houston; Space Systems Company of Denver; Northrop Grumman Corp. of El Segundo, Calif.; and Odyssey Space Research of Houston.

FlipChip International, RoseStreet Labs Open Development Centers in Phoenix

FlipChip International LLC and a related development-stage company, RoseStreet Labs Energy Inc., are opening product development centers at their joint facility in Phoenix and expect to add 10 to 15 new employees this year.

The two companies share a 50,000-square-foot facility near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and set aside 15,000 feet of space for the two labs.

The FlipChip center will focus on future generations of wafer level chip scale packaging and 3D packaging technologies. The goal also is to ensure seamless production scale-up and technology transfer of these new technologies into FlipChip’s facilities in Arizona or its expanding network of offshore joint ventures.

The RoseStreet center will focus on solar cell development and introduction of the company’s photovoltaic pilot line in the fourth quarter.

Boeing to File Protest of U.S. Air Force Tanker Contract Award

 The Boeing Company will file a formal protest   asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the decision by the U.S. Air Force to award a contract to a team of Northrop Grumman and European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) to replace aerial refueling tankers.

“Our team has taken a very close look at the tanker decision and found serious flaws in the process that we believe warrant appeal,” said Jim McNerney, Boeing chairman, president and chief executive officer. “This is an extraordinary step rarely taken by our company, and one we take very seriously.”

Following a debriefing on the decision by the Air Force on March 7, Boeing officials spent three days reviewing the Air Force case for its tanker award. A rigorous analysis of the Air Force evaluation that resulted in the Northrop/EADS contract led Boeing to the conclusion that a protest was necessary.

“Based upon what we have seen, we continue to believe we submitted the most capable, lowest risk, lowest Most Probable Life Cycle Cost airplane as measured against the Air Force’s Request for Proposal,” McNerney said. “We look forward to the GAO’s review of the decision.”

Coast Guard Delays Acceptance of Cutter

The Coast Guard has delayed accepting the first in a series of massive ships being built by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman that are the cornerstone of the agency's troubled multibillion-dollar fleet modernization.

Coast Guard officials said recent testing identified problems with a number of the ship's systems, including those dealing with safety, launch and recovery applications, and communications. Because of some of those issues, the agency won't accept the first 418-foot, 4,300-ton National Security Cutter until late April or early May.

The Coast Guard last summer acknowledged that the combined cost of the first two cutters more than doubled to roughly $1.14 billion under the agency's so-called Deepwater program.

The second cutter, which is expected to cost $495.7 million, had been slated for acceptance in October, but also will be pushed back as lessons learned from the first ship are applied to it, said program executive officer Rear Adm. Ronald Rabago. After the first cutter is accepted, the agency will run operational trials for an additional 18-24 months.

Northrop Grumman builds the ships while Lockheed Martin provides communications equipment and other technology.

NUMMI Names New President, CEO

Kunihiko “Kent” Ogura has been chosen as the new president and CEO of New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., better known as NUMMI.

Ogura previously served as president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Alabama, the Toyota Motor Corp.’s assembly plant in Huntsville, Ala.

NUMMI is a joint venture of Toyota and General Motors Corp., which makes the Toyota Corolla, the Toyota Tacoma truck and the Pontiac Vibe.

The new president and CEO will oversee California’s only auto manufacturing plant, which opened in 1984 and is a 5.3-million-square-foot facility astride Interstate 880 that produces 250,000 cars and 170,000 trucks annually.

The plant has a work force of more than 5,400 people.

Lumera Gets $2.2M Air Force Contract

Lumera Corp. said it’s received a $2.2 million contract from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to build electro-optic modulators.

Bothell-Washington based Lumera is building electro-optic polymer modulators to be used in defense satellite and radar applications.

“Lumera’s electro-optic devices have made significant strides in reaching ... very aggressive goals, and we look forward to meeting the Air Force’s requirements over the course of the contract,” said Raluca Dinu, vice president, electro-optic business unit.

Malaysia Airlines orders up to 55 Boeing jets

Malaysia Airlines in March said it had ordered up to 55 Boeing 737-800 jets.

The 55 jets have a list price of $4.2 billion. Malaysia Airlines said its deal with the Boeing Co. included an option for another 20 aircraft.

The airline said it expects to take delivery of the new 737-800s starting in September 2010. The new jets will replace the airline’s existing fleet of 737-400s.

Malaysia Airlines said it had the option to swap the 737-800s for the larger 737-900s.

The airline said it also expected to take delivery of six A380-800 jets from Boeing rival Airbus in 2011.

Tessera Pays $3.5M  for Kronos Patents

Tessera Technologies Inc. bought some patents from Kronos Advanced Technologies Inc. for $3.5 million, the companies said.

San Jose-based Tessera  is a provider of miniaturization technologies for the electronics industry. Belmont, Mass.-based Kronos  develops ionic-based products and technologies for air movement and purification.

Kronos received $3.5 million from Tessera in exchange for the transfer of select patents covering micro-cooling applications. Kronos retains the rights to use these patents for applications outside of the field of micro-cooling.

Tessera further has the right to acquire additional Kronos IP relating to micro-cooling applications, and the two companies have the option to continue to jointly develop new technologies in this field.

Local Defense Contractors Score Billions

President Bush’s $515.4 billion 2009 defense budget, now before Congress, bodes well for Arizona’s more than 6,000 military contractors and subcontractors.

The spending package, the largest since World War II, funds most major programs and does not include any significant cuts.

The 2009 budget is a boon to scores of small businesses that do subcontract work.

It’s also generous to the state’s major defense contractors.

There is $2.3 billion for missiles made by Raytheon Corp. in Tucson, $800 million for the Boeing Co. to remanufacture Apache Helicopters in Mesa and $728 million to upgrade Abrams tanks with new engines built by Honeywell International Inc. in Phoenix.

The 2009 budget takes effect Oct. 1 and represents a $35 billion, or 7.5 percent, increase over 2008’s $479.5 billion plan.

Curran believes the high level of military spending will continue for the next few years.

As the Department of Defense works to modernize the U.S. military, Curran believes the Arizona operations of companies such as Boeing, Honeywell, General Dynamics, Raytheon and rocket-builder Orbital Sciences Corp. are in a particularly good position to benefit.

Industry News

North South Machinery Appoints Patrick Corbett  VP Sales & Marketing

Patrick Corbett has been promoted to vice president of sales and marketing for the Southern California-based North South Machinery. In response to the rapid growth of North South in the machine tool marketplace and their representation of  premier machine tool lines in EDM, waterjet, swiss screw machines, as well as milling and turning, it has become necessary to broaden their approach to sales and service for their customer base.

Corbett served his tool and die apprenticeship at Eastman Kodak in Rochester, NY before earning his degree in mechanical engineering, and has been in the machine tool industry in California for 27 years, 20 of those at North South.  He will oversee all the marketing and promotional events, including the free training seminars, open houses and racing venues hosted by North South throughout the area.

Rob Akers Named Executive Director For NTMA

Rob Akers has been promoted to executive director for the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA), the largest association representing the precision, custom, and small to medium metalworking manufacturers in the United States.

Rob joined NTMA in January 2002 as the director of technology, was promoted to director of operations in May 2004, named chief operating officer in December 2005, and promoted to executive director in January of 2008. His responsibilities include executive management and strategic leadership of NTMA’s operations and all of its non-profit and for-profit entities.

Rob came to NTMA with more than ten years’ experience in the manufacturing industry.

As NTMA executive director, Rob is committed to help members be successful on a world-class level. His immediate focus is to strengthen the organization from within through the development of regional strongholds and development of programs and services which increase the member’s competitive advantage.

Another objective is to give the Association a fresh new look and raise the public’s awareness of manufacturing in this country. “Education is the key to the survivability of manufacturing in this country”. Akers states: “We must emphasize the importance of manufacturing in the U.S. and reassert our competitive advantage in the global marketplace”.

IMTS - Announces Plans For New Innovation Center Theme Days

IMTS – The International Manufacturing Technology Show 2008 will feature an all new Innovation Center highlighting a relevant theme brought to life through thought-provoking presentations by industry experts each day during the six-day show September 8 - 13, 2008 at Chicago’s McCormick Place.

“As we continually assess the desires of our exhibitors, it is clear that to increase the attendance at IMTS, we must market to specific industries,” said Peter Eelman, IMTS Vice President – Exhibitions. We are confident that the Innovation center is the ideal vehicle to begin to accomplish this. “For the future we will be offering more and more industry-specific information and programs to make the IMTS experience highly meaningful for our attendees.”

The Innovation Center/Theme Day lineup includes: Monday, September 8, Automotive Day sponsored by Ward’s Automotive Group; Tuesday, September 9, Quality Day sponsored by Quality Magazine; Wednesday, September 10, Aerospace/Aeronautics Day sponsored by Aerospace Manufacturing & Design Magazine, Thursday, September 11, Power Generation/Green Day sponsored by Today’s Energy Solutions; Friday, September 12, Medical Day sponsored by Today’s Medical Developments Magazine; and Saturday, September 13, Job Shop Day sponsored by American Machinist Magazine.

Each day during the show at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., theater-style presentations will be offered in the Innovation Center, which will be located in the Lakeside Center (East Building).

Romi Machine Tools, Ltd. Names Bill Miracco As National Sales Manager

Romi Machine Tools Ltd. appointed  Bill Miracco to serve as national sales manager. 

Miracco will be responsible for sales development in the U.S. and Canada. He will also be responsible for management of Romi’s regional sales managers and the company’s distributor organizations.

This is Miracco’s second stint with the Romi organization. He was a regional sales manager with the company from 2000-2002. For the past six years he was a regional sales manager with Hurco. Previous positions were with Hardinge, Cincinnati Milacron and Okuma.

Miracco brings more than 20 years of CNC turning sales and application experience to the position, and will be heavily involved in promoting Romi’s newest combination lathe, the economically priced C420.

Mastercam Software Used Exclusively At WorldSkills 2007 International

CNC Software’s Mastercam, was used exclusively in the Manufacturing challenges at the WorldSkills 2007 competition. The 39th WorldSkills International (WSI) competition was held in Numazu City, Shizuoka, Japan in November. WorldSkills is a competition among students from around the world, using 47 different skills and technologies. Mastercam was used in the competition by all teams that competed in CNC Milling, CNC Turning, and Manufacturing Team Challenge categories. Genetec Corporation from Japan was the local Mastercam Reseller supporting the WorldSkills competition.

CNC software is active at a grassroots level, helping contestants around the world with software to prepare for the event. This is done in conjunction with the local Mastercam Resellers to get them involved with future engineers and machinists.

From September 1-6, 2009, Calgary, Canada will host more than 900 competitors from 49 countries at the 2009 WorldSkills Competition.

North South Machinery Appoints Dave Gervais Regional Sales Manager

North South Machinery recently announced that Dave Gervais has joined the organization as a regional sales manager. Having served many years as territory sales manager in for another Southern California-based EDM manufacturer, Gervais has helped advance the region’s competitiveness in EDM technology. Dave looks forward to sharing the same spirit and devotion with the complementary lines of technology that North South offers in addition to their EDM with waterjet, laser, turning, milling and grinding.

Gervais brings a wealth of knowledge with 22 years of hands-on experience in the EDM field, and is also a graduate of the NTMA, of which North South is an associate member.

Emco Maier Names New President

Emco Maier Corporation has named John Roasa, president and chief executive officer of the Emco  Maier Corporation, effective January 25, 2008.

Roasa joined Emco as Sales Manager in 2004 and was promoted to vice president of sales in 2006. Before leading the sales team and dealer network at Emco, Roasa was general manager of the Indiana office with Yamazen. Roasa’s career in the machine tool industry started 36 years ago with Cincinnati Milacron. His commitment, success, and knowledge in the industry include owning his own distributorship for 10 years and serving as general manager of two large machine tool distributors. This experience has well prepared him for this important role as president/CEO.

US Castings, LLC Expands Capacity 

US Castings LLC, a precision aluminum casting foundry, located in Entiat, WA, recently added two Hall 3L, multi-xavity permanent mold machines to their existing line of Stahl tilt-pour permanent molding machines. That addition alone is expected to increase US Castings’ permanent mold capacity by approximately 30%.

The additions, when combined with the recent upgrading and automation of their lost foam molding capabilities, the overhaul of their green sand equipment and their adoption of lean manufacturing principles, is expected to reduce delivery lead times by as much as 40% for pattern transfer tooling. Various other “value added” services, which include heat-treating, coating and in-house NDT are also being upgraded.

ACI Changes Name To Ellison Technologies Automation

 On April 1, 2008 Automated Concepts Inc., a robotic system integrator based in Council Bluffs IA, became Ellison Technologies Automation.  The name change reflects the 2004 purchase of Automated Concepts by Ellison Technologies.

Ellison Technologies provides advanced machining solutions, covering over 70% of the U.S. metal-cutting market. As a member of the Ellison Technologies family of companies, Ellison Technologies Automation continues to provide robotic system integration capabilities to a nationwide network of machine tool distributors, while continuing to service Automated Concepts’ broad base of customers.

 As Ellison Technologies Automation, the company will continue to design, integrate and service robotic automation applications including machine tool load/unload, welding, material handling, palletizing & depalletizing, material removal, lean cells, and robotically integrated bending solutions for press brakes, and dynamic robotic parts sorting systems.  Ellison Technologies Automation will also continue to manufacture its line of standard components including control panels, headstock/tailstocks, index tables, robot swing booms, and robotic transport units (RTU’s).

Starrett Appoints Hardy Hamann as Vice President of Marketing and Business Development

The L.S. Starrett Company announced the appointment of Mr. Hardy Hamann to the newly created position of  vice president of marketing and business development.  He will be based out of Corporate Headquarters in Athol, Massachusetts U.S.A. and have global responsibility for Starrett marketing and business development initiatives.

Prior to joining Starrett, Mr. Hamann served as senior vice president of  Strategy, Organizational & Product Development at WMH Tool Group in Elgin, Illinois for approximately five years.  Before that he was senior vice president at Hermes Abrasives in Virginia Beach, Virginia.   Mr. Hamann also served as President of the American Supply and Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (ASMMA), now named Industrial Supply Manufacturers Association (ISA), for one year between 2002 and 2003.

Haas Automation Celebrates 25 Years

In 1983, Gene Haas founded Haas Automation, Inc., to manufacture the industry’s first fully automatic programmable collet indexer. Designed to increase production in Gene’s own machine shop, the Haas 5C indexer was an instant success, and over the next 4 years, the product line expanded to include a wide selection of fully programmable rotary tables, indexers and machine tool accessories.

In 1988, Haas Automation achieved another industry milestone by introducing the first American-built vertical machining center (VMC) to sell for less than $50,000 - a price unheard of at the time. 

Today, 25 years later, Haas Automation is the world’s leading manufacturer of CNC machine tools - building, selling and shipping more machines per month than any other single builder in the Western World. All Haas products are manufactured in the company’s 1-million-square-foot facility in Southern California, and distributed through a worldwide network of more than 120 Haas Factory Outlets. Each HFO has complete showroom facilities, factory-trained service personal, extensive spare-parts inventories and fully stocked service and support.

Nims Develops New Training System

 The National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) has launched what it terms a major breakthrough in the entire field of employee training.  After two years of work with manufacturing companies across the nation, NIMS has developed a system for training and certifying company personnel who are responsible for delivering critical On-the-Job Training.  NIMS work was led by an expert panel comprised of company human resources and training specialists.  The new products were field tested and piloted in 17 key manufacturing states. 

President of the NIMS Board of Directors, Gregory Chambers said “These products will set the bar for on-the-job training delivery in the manufacturing industry. The mass exodus of employees set to retire in the next few years demands that companies have systems and processes in place to effectively transfer skills from one employee to another. Knowledge management and skills transfer will be the primary building blocks of the innovative and agile workplace.”

The certification includes both demonstrated on the job performances and theory examination.  NIMS sets skill standards for the nation’s precision metalworking industry and certifies individual skills against these standards.

Flow International  Corporation Receives Multi-Million Dollar Aerospace Contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Flow International Corporation   announced that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has awarded the company a second multi-million dollar contract to supply MHI with Flow’s Composite Machining Center (CMC) waterjet machine tools to cut the carbon fiber wing skins for a major commercial jet aircraft program.

Flow’s CMC waterjet machining system for carbon fiber composite wings will measure 118 feet long and 21 feet wide. The CMC will be utilized for cutting the composite wing skins which are part of the composite wing structure.  The CMC system will be built and tested in Jeffersonville, Ind., one of Flow’s four worldwide manufacturing plants. The UHP pumps that provide the ultrahigh-pressure water will be made at the Kent, Wash. headquarters.