Alabama pickup

Flanders acquires Alabama Electric Motor Services Pursuing its seemingly insatiable drive for expansion, the privately owned FLANDERS company has added another jewel to its crown of acquired motor businesses. The recently announced acquisition of Alabama Electric Motor Services increases the number of Flanders’ Regional Service Centers and field offices to 18, including outposts in Australia, Africa, […]

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Downturn updates

Many more plant closings than we like to see February closed with reports of factory shut downs across the country. In Lacey Township, New Jersey, the nation’s oldest nuclear power plant is closing its doors more than one year ahead of schedule, in October. Oyster Creek Generating Station has been active since December 1969, and […]

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Carrier’s cozy deal

No bid $2.5B gov’t contract awarded to UTC The most recent news from world of Carrier appears to only muddy the waters further. Carrier’s parent company, United Technologies, recently received a $2.5 billion injection of federal funding, according to multiple reports, by way of one of its subsidiaries. UTC Aerospace Systems—Carrier’s cousin, if you will—was […]

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Baldor no more

Call it ABB from now on Say goodbye to familiarity. Well, not entirely, since ABB is one of the more recognizable names in the industry…but don’t expect to hear the name ‘Baldor’ as much anymore. The familiar motor maker’s parent company, ABB, will take over the namesake beginning in March. ABB announced it will integrate […]

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Breaking — Trump tariffs announced

Controversial move roils markets U.S. Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross’ recommended steel tariffs, last mentioned on this blog a week ago, became an even bigger than expected reality today. At a meeting of aluminum and steel industry executives, President Donald Trump announced that steep tariffs will be imposed on steel and aluminium imports next week […]

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Train your Rexnord replacement?

..and lose your longtime co-worker friend? A video posted this morning by the New York Times captures how the closing of Rexnord Corp’s Indianapolis bearing plant has affected two assembly line workers. Once close friends and coworkers, their relationship ended after Mark Elliott volunteered to help the company train new workers, who would be located […]

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Feeling the heat in Europe

Top manufacturers work to quash unregulated products It’s a formidable group with a focused mission: ABB, DEHN, ETI, Eaton Electric, Legrand, Schneider Electric, Siemens, and other electrical manufacturers are expanding their joint efforts to combat “non-regulation” electrical products in the European market, with Poland as their next targeted area. The initiative, termed the Market Surveillance […]

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Down the Drain

Whirlpool bids Sears goodbye A pricing dispute appears to be responsible for the latest bad news to hit Sears Holdings. The department store has ended a relationship with Whirlpool that began more than a century ago. Effective immediately, shoppers will no longer find Whirlpool appliances, as well as many other products made by Whirlpool divisions, […]

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Searching for fire clues at PGandE

Repair records tell an unsettling story Lawsuits, petitions and investigative journalism have all been pointing fingers in the direction of California’s Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and it doesn’t look good for PG&E. According to Jaxon Van Derbeken of the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit , PG&E had a more than 3,500-repair-job backlog in Sonoma and Santa Rosa, the […]

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Caterpillar a stock market hero

Approval ratings rank high on Wall Street  With the Dow at record highs, Caterpillar is one of the companies “fueling optimism about economic strength,” according to Reuters.  Indeed, the Illinois giant is at the top of the news too, with headlines blaring that, “Caterpillar’s big bet on China may finally be paying off” (Market Watch), […]

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