Hot Off the Press
ARC Automotive Sending Production
from Arkansas to China, Mexico
Monday, January 16, 2006
The ARC Automotive unit of Sequa Corp., a manufacturer of energetic components for airbag inflators at its plant in Camden, AR, announced that, as of the new year, it was to transfer that production to plants in Reynosa, Mexico, and Xi’an, China.
Over the next several months, as a result of the shift, about 300 plant employees will be released and be offered severance packages including continued wages and health-insurance coverage.
“(The production move) was a difficult choice, but was necessary in light of the economic realities of the global marketplace,” says John Skladan, ARC Automotive president and general manager. “We believe that this move will enhance our ability to remain competitive and will strengthen our position in world markets.”
Online Seminars Address Production
and Tool/Die Machining
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Makino, Mason, OH, will host a series of online seminars in 2006 aimed at operations involved in production machining, metal cutting, micromachining and die/mold making. The events, free of charge, kick off on January 19, addressing Automation & Integration. Wire EDM is the topic of a seminar slated for January 26; Micromachining and Micromilling, February 9; Competing Globally in the Die/Mold Market, February 16; Hard Milling Solutions, March 16; and Built for Die/Mold, March 23. Learn more and register at
www.makino.com/events.
Metalforming Educator Receives
First-Ever Leadership Award
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Metal stamper E.J. Ajax and Sons, Inc., Fridley, MN, has presented its first-ever American Eagle Leadership Award, a lifetime-achievement award for the metal-stamping industry, to Joe Fredkove, director of training and business development for Hennepin Technical College (HTC) Customized Training Services. Fredkove has worked for 22 years in higher education, served on the board of directors of the PMA Educational Foundation and, as a member of the foundation’s board of trustees, oversees a $2 million endowment in PMAEF funding used to strengthen the metalforming industry.
HTC, a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, serves more than 10,000 students at campuses in Brooklyn Park and Eden Prairie, MN, and at its Customized Training Center in Plymouth. In addition to a plaque, the award includes a $1000 scholarship in Fredkove’s name.
