Manufacturing Industry News: January Roundup + Winter Conferences

Manufacturing Industry News Headlines: Display Technology Wars, Aircraft Manufacturing, Robotics Jobs, Recycled Rockets and the Dark Side of the Moon

Once the home to auto industry and manufacturing, Flint, Michigan’s is left poisoned…
It’s been a while since the Rust Belt city was home to Chevrolet and Buick manufacturing centers. Buick City closed in 1998 and most of Chevrolet’s assembly lines—including Building 35, where the first Corvette prototype was built—are long gone, donated to educational institutions or repurposed as public park land. A 2014 shortcut to cut $1 million a year has left Flint with a $100 million water emergency. The temporary disconnect from the Detroit water system to use Flint River water has ripped through the city’s pipes, flooding lead and other pollutants into the bloodstreams of its citizens.

• Flint residents took notice that the discolored water was making them sick and by August 2014, warnings were in place directing people to boil water due to E. coli pollution.
• Despite treating Flint River water, high levels of chloride led to corroding iron and chlorine consumption—the very pathogen killer that keeps water safe to consume.
• Flint River water is 12 times more corrosive to lead as Detroit water system’s.
• General Motors had concerns that the switch would corrode its auto parts and established a deal for an alternative water supply in October 2014.
• Michigan Governor Rick Snyder estimates the lead service lines’ repairs to be $55 million, while water distribution, testing, water filters, and cartridges for residents could be up to an additional $41 million.

Air-cargo demand lull hits aircraft manufacturing where it hurts…
Boeing made manufacturing industry news by cutting its production rate of 747-8s in half due to a consistently slow market. The jet-maker is steadily reliant on the freighter market, since industry trends point towards smaller, more fuel-efficient planes.

International air freight have been steadily on the decline, with yields below 2009 levels. As the Wall Street Journal puts it: “cargo operators may wonder if the decision signals the end of the line is near for aircraft that helped create the modern era of international air freight transport.”

“Apple envy” fuels Taiwan’s Foxconn’s $5.3 billion offer for Sharp Corp…
The bidding war for iDevices display technology is on between Taiwanese electronics assembler Hon Hai/Foxconn Technology Group and Japan’s Innovation Network Corp. The rival bids are a clear indication of the brutal competition in the electronics supply chain world, where Apple and other device maker giants cause suppliers to contend with one another for cheaper prices.  Japan’s corporate community and government strongly prefer that state-backed Innovation Network envelops Sharp’s display-making business into Japan Display. Sharp is expected to respond by the end of the month.

• This comes after a $6 billion deal to invest in Sharp’s displays collapsed in 2012 and the company has been supported by several financial arrangements between Japanese banks, shareholders, a $2 billion bail-out in 2015, and industry investments from Qualcomm, Samsung, and Apple.

In the face of economic downturns in the global community, robotics jobs are booming…
Manufacturing industry growth is booming with job creation. Automation is making manufacturing industry news headlines by saving companies and bringing jobs to the U.S. while giving manufacturers much-needed support in expanding their production.

China is set to survey the Dark Side of the Moon’s uncharted terrain…
On January 14^th2016, Chinese news outlet Xinhua shared China’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense’s (SASTIND) plans to send a probe to the unexplored “dark side” of the moon. The Chang’e-4 probe’s onboard toolkit is designed to study geology on the cold, tidally-locked landscape which is significantly more cratered and difficult to navigate than the near side.

Recycling rocket boosters could save SpaceX millions…
Elon Musk sees value in wasted rocket boosters: about $16 million to be precise. Once refurbishing first-stage boosters is implemented, costs are set to be cut by nearly half the costs of new boosters. And this is only the beginning, since these savings will allow SpaceX to focus on scheduling more launches and making even more money.

Upcoming Manufacturing Industry Conferences:

1/24-1/26/2016: Texworld USA
New York, New York
Building on the success of Innovation Asia, Lenzing and Messe Frankfurt, Inc. have partnered to produce Texworld USA, a dynamic industry event bringing together apparel textile suppliers and buyers.  Based on the highly successful trade fair, Texworld in Paris, Texworld USA is the prime opportunity for fabric manufacturers to connect with the top buyers in the US market and beyond.
For updates, follow @TexworldUSA on Twitter.

1/23-1/27/2016: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, & Air Conditioning Engineers
1/25-1/27/2016: 2016 AHR EXPO – International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition
Orlando, Florida
The Winter Conference is held in conjunction with the AHR Expo. The two events combine to create the ideal atmosphere for those interested in advancing the building industry to network, inspect the latest technology and learn about the newest practices for the built environment. For three days, the AHR Expo will put on display 465,000 square feet—or 9 football fields—of exhibits from 2,000 companies representing every segment of the electrotechnical, heating, ventilating, air conditioning, refrigeration, and plumbing industries, or HVACR.
For updates, follow @ahrexpo on Twitter.

1/23-1/27/2016: 5^th Annual Conference & Exhibition – Society for Laboratory Automation & Screening
San Diego, California
4,500 of laboratory science and technology community’s most innovative thought leaders will gather for five days of inspiration and education, including scientists, engineers, researchers, and technologists from academic, government, and corporate laboratories. With over 300 exhibitors, the SLAS Exhibition allows participants to make important connections and find repeatable inspiration in the innovative technology products and services that are showcased.
For updates, follow @slas_org on Twitter.

1/25-1/28/2016: Rise 2016 – INDA’s Research, Innovative & Science for Engineered Fabrics Conference
New Orleans, Louisiana
RISE®, INDA’s Research, Innovative & Science for Engineered Fabrics Conference offers three-days to explore “what’s next” and “what’s needed” from industry’s most prescient leaders in materials research, and innovative science as applied to engineered fabrics. INDA networking events have helped members connect, innovate and develop their businesses since 1968.  INDA educational courses, market data, test methods, consultancy, and issue advocacy help members succeed by providing them the information they need to better plan and execute their business strategies.
For updates, follow @INDAwovens on Twitter.

1/25-1/28/2016: IMAC XXXIV – A Conference and Exposition on Structural Dynamics
Orlando, Florida
The theme for the 34^th edition of IMAC is “Dynamics of Multiphysical Systems: From Active Materials to Vibroacoustics” to respond to the need to include the effects of adjacent active control, thermal, fluid, hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical, and acoustic systems as interactive boundary conditions for structural dynamics analysis and testing. In addition to these dedicated sessions, traditional sessions covering a wide range of topics ranging from modal test methods to the dynamics of civil structures will once again be available.

1/25-1/28/2016: RAMS 2016 – The Annual Reliability & Maintainability Symposium
Tucson, Arizona
The Annual Reliability and Maintainability Symposium (RAMS) is the premier event in the reliability, availability, and maintainability engineering disciplines. Combining tutorials, presentations, CEUs, certifications, and networking into one week-long program, the RAMS delivers cutting edge information to all technical industries.
For updates, follow @RAMS_Symposium on Twitter.

2/1-2/3/2016: ACE Summit & Reverse Expo
Atlanta, Georgia
The ACE Summit and Reverse Expo combines a top-shelf education program developed by the ACE Advisory Board with a unique Reverse Expo format, resulting in an event positioned to provide an unrivaled experience for senior healthcare executives, GPO executives, and their solutions partners.
For updates, follow @ACESummitExpo on Twitter.