Die-Tech Stamping Cell Phone Components

Watch a Die-Tech automated press manufacture precision metal stampings to be used in the cellular electronics industry.

Ford to Invest $135 million into Electric Car Jobs and Development

May 24 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co., working to make a quarter of its vehicles run at least partly on electricity, plans to invest $135 million and add 220 jobs at three Michigan facilities to help it introduce five such models by 2012.

Toyota Suspends Sales Of Lexus LS On Recall

Toyota Motor Corp. has suspended sales of Lexus LS vehicles in the United States as it waits to receive new parts following after a worldwide recall of the model, The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday on its Web site. On Friday, Toyota recalled about 3,800 late 2009 and certain 2010 Lexus LS 460 and LS 600h L vehicles due to a problem with the steering wheel.

Toyota Issues New Recall

Earlier today, Toyota issued a recall on some Lexus 460 and 600 models. There have been customer issues with the steering wheels on those models.

Bailouts: Solving the Problem or Shifting the Debt?

On Monday, the Treasury Department said that they were going to lose $1.6 billion on a loan they made to Chrysler in 2009. Taxpayer losses from bailing out Chrysler and General Motors are expected to rise as high as $34 billion, congressional auditors have said. Also on Monday, General Motors posted a profit for the first quarter in hopes of going public later this year to end government ownership. However, are the bailouts actually helping anything or is the debt just being shifted to taxpayers?

GM Posts $865 Million Net Income in Push for Public Offering

General Motors Co. reported first- quarter net income of $865 million, helped by higher production and smaller discounts, as the maker of the GMC Terrain and the Chevrolet Equinox works toward an initial public offering.

It's the Best and Worst of Times for Toyota

Toyota cruised back to profit in the latest quarter as the world's top carmaker cut costs and hitched a ride on the global auto sales recovery while fighting to salvage its reputation for quality.

Toyota Waited Almost A Year To Issue Recall!

Toyota waited nearly a year in 2005 to recall trucks and SUVs in the United States with defective steering rods, despite issuing a similar recall in Japan and receiving dozens of reports from American motorists about rods that snapped without warning, an Associated Press investigation has found.

US Cars Superior to Foreign Cars?

In a recent AP-GFK Poll, American consumer sentiment seems to be favoring domestic automobiles over foreign car makers. In the poll, 38% of those surveyed said that American automakers produced the best quality cars. Mean while, 33% of those polled said that foreign automakers produced the best quality cars.

10 Questions Metal Stampers Should Be Prepared to Answer

Competition from offshore metal stamping and declines in demand due to the recession has wreaked havoc on domestic metal stamping suppliers in the last few years. With a declining base of financially solvent metal stampers, OEMs find themselves struggling to find suppliers who they can transition their business to quickly and efficiently.

Lean Proves Lucrative for Medical Device Manufacturer

Thomas Medical has adopted a Lean approach to become one of the top medical device manufacturers in the Greater Philadelphia area. Thomas Medical Products in the Great Valley Corporate Center has adopted a "pay it forward type of mentality" to help spread the benefits of lean manufacturing in the region.

The Pros and Cons of Globilization

People around the globe are more connected to each other then ever before. Information and money flow more quickly than ever.Global Manufacturing Goods and services produced in one part of the world are increasingly available in all parts of the world. International travel is more frequent and international communication is commonplace. Globalization is an economic tidal wave that is sweeping over the world.

Copper On the Rise as Dollar Slides

Copper rose for a sixth session Tuesday as a weakening dollar sent investors in search of other assets seen as stable stores of value. The dollar continued its slide against the euro as economic data suggests that a debt crisis may not be hurting European countries as much as previously thought.

8 Keys to Just in Time Production

Just-in-time (JIT) is defined in the APICS dictionary as “a philosophy of manufacturing based on planned elimination of all waste and on continuous improvement of productivity”. It also has been described as an approach with the objective of producing the right part in the right place at the right time (in other words, “just in time”).

Union Workers Reach New Labor Deal With Hershey

Hershey Chocolate seems to be staying put as unionized workers approved a new labor deal. However, 500-600 workers could lose their jobs. Hershey says they are going to spend approximately $200 million dollars on upgrading their West Hershey plant.

Are U.S. Manufacturers Gaining Ground on China?

Does Chinese manufacturing still yield the benefits it has over the last decade? As the dollar weakened through the economic meltdown, manufacturing in China didn't seemed to make as much financial sense ($$). Over the last decade, many companies have gone over seas for their die building and stamping needs. Die building in China can save sometimes as much as 40-60% off the cost of tooling. However, quality can sometimes be compromised. The tools usually need to be debugged and reworked in the US unless you have a reliable engineer on foreign soil.

Handling Supply Chain Disruptions

With the recent volcano eruption in Iceland, major manufacturers with global suppliers have had to halt operations as flights were grounded throughout Europe. Earlier this year, an earthquake in Chile ground supply chains in the area, halting major food source supplies.

Green Before "Green"... Lean Manufacturing

Going Green seems to be the new marketing ploy for many companies. Everywhere we look, whether on store shelves or on the internet, going green is the new trend and is a way for businesses to try and separate themselves from their competition. Green also seems to be good for business. According to Mintel International, sales of "green" products and organic foods have jumped 15 percent since 2006.

US Manufacturing on the Rebound... Upcycle on the Way?

Recently, I sat down with Richard W. Dennis, the President and CEO of Die-Tech, to discuss some recent trends in the manufacturing/metal stamping industries. Here are 3 of the trends that we discussed. Trend #1... The Rebound of Manufacturing in North America

7 Questions to Ask About Machine Safety

Machinery is involved in one in four workplace deaths, according to the Industrial Accident Prevention Association (IAPA). To protect workers from hazards surrounding machinery, the IAPA urges supervisors to ask these questions: 1) Is the guarding in place and used properly?

Hamburger University is Coming to Die-Tech

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Manufacturing Surging, Housing Suffering

MarketWatch (6/13, Nutting) reported, "US manufacturing is on a tear, one of the few unambiguous positives in an economy that's still struggling to recover from the deepest downturn in generations. In some ways, this economic recovery fits the classic mold, as factories are running overtime to restock inventories depleted during the panic and to meet renewed demand for capital equipment and consumer goods."