Hot Off the Press

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Balluff Expands U.S. Headquarters

Balluff Inc. has completed construction of a 18,000-sq.-ft. addition to its Florence, KY, U.S. headquarters. The addition expands the facility by 45 percent to enhance product-design and manufacturing capabilities. Balluff manufactures sensors, transducers, identification systems and industrial automation components. A large portion of space in the addition will be used to manufacture and test lines of proximity sensors and Micropulse magnetostrictive linear-position sensors.

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Faro Contracts with European Automakers

Faro Technologies Inc., Lake Mary, FL, has sold its fourteenth CAM2 SPC Process software license to DaimlerChrysler AG, Stuttgart, Germany, for use at plants in Europe, South Africa and the United States. Since 1997, the automaker has used Faro software to perform quality checks in the initial and final stages of auto manufacturing. Also, BMW AG, Munich, Germany, has contracted with Faro Europe to use CAM2 SPC Process for assembly of its 7-series and 5-series vehicles. Faro designs, develops and markets computer-aided-manufacturing-measurement systems. For more details, visit www.faro.com.

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Bettcher Adds Presses to Mexican Operation

Bettcher Manufacturing has added two 440-ton presses to its Reynosa, Mexico, lineup. The new presses can handle a variety of stamping processes, according to Paul LeMaster, general manager at the Reynosa facility. “Even though both of the presses have medium beds and 12-in. strokes, they have different feeders that can accommodate different material widths,” he said. One new press has a 30-in.-width coil feeder that can accept material in thicknesses from 0.028 to 0.230 in. The other press has an 18-in.-width feeder that handles material from 0.021 to 0.187 in. thick. Bettcher, a manufacturer of precision metal stampings, is headquartered in Cleveland, OH.

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