The Fabricator - February 2010

Plant openings, expansions, closings Boeing Co., Seattle, has chosen its North Charleston, S.C., facility as the location for a second final assembly site for the 787 Dreamliner program. In addition to serving as a location for final assembly of the aircraft, the facility also will support the testing and delivery of the airplanes.

Boeing Charleston performs fabrication, assembly, and systems installation for the 787 aft fuselage sections. Across the street, Global Aeronautica, which is 50 percent owned by Boeing, is responsible for joining and integrating 787 fuselage sections from other structural partners.

Until the second 787 assembly line is brought online, Boeing will establish transitional surge capability at its Everett, Wash., location. When the second line is up and operating, the surge capability in Everett will be phased out.

Approximately 55 airlines have ordered about 840 of the 787 airplanes since the program was launched in 2003.

Caterpillar Inc. will spend more than $30 million to build a new manufacturing plant in Waco, Texas, creating 60 new jobs. The facility is the company’s fourth in Waco.

The 75,000-sq.-ft. plant, which will sit next to a Caterpillar facility that makes excavator buckets and quick couplers, will produce work tools, especially large hammers that can be attached to machines and used like jackhammers.

Clampco Products Inc., a manufacturer of stainless steel clamp products, has announced the completion of an 18,750- sq.-ft. manufacturing plant expansion in Wadsworth, Ohio. The expansion has increased total manufacturing plant space to more than 60,000 sq. ft.

“The additional square footage will allow for improved manufacturing flow and additional capacity required for many new OEM contracts secured in 2009 for pending 2010 diesel emission projects,” said Derek Sandborn, national sales and marketing manager.

The expansion also allows for further implementation of lean cellular manufacturing and increased product warehouse space to accommodate kanban and JIT daily shipments to OEM customers.

Currahee Welding, Toccoa, Ga., has added waste management truck manufacturing to its portfolio of business offerings. The new venture, Currahee Waste Products, plans to hire 10 to 12 employees and will manufacture residential rear-loading waste management equipment, also known as rear-loading garbage trucks.

Appliance-maker Electrolux plans to close its Webster City, Iowa, plant in early 2011 and a smaller facility in Jefferson, Iowa, by late 2010. The closings will result in the loss of 850 jobs as operations are moved to Mexico.

The company is consolidating its North American laundry manufacturing at a plant in Juarez, Mexico, that opened in 2008.

Fiskar Automotive, Irvine, Calif., has selected the Wilmington Assembly plant in Wilmington, Del., to build plug-in hybrid cars. The plant will support the company’s Project NINA, the development and build of a family-oriented, plug-in hybrid sedan.

Production is scheduled to begin in late 2012 and create 2,000 factory jobs and more than 3,000 vendor/supplier jobs when production reaches full capacity in 2014.

GrindInCorners! GrindInCorners!

Rolei® BE5

NN Inc., Johnson City, Tenn., will close its manufacturing facility in Tempe, Ariz., which was acquired in the 2006 acquisition of Whirlaway Corp. The facility produces metal components, including fluid control components and assemblies, shafts, and other metal parts. The closing impacts about 130 employees.

According to Roderick R. Baty, chairman and CEO of NN, “…current economic conditions, coupled with the long-term manufacturing strategy for our Whirlaway business, necessitate

(continued on page 20)

Multifunctional Grinding and Polishing System • Ideal for stainless steel – both flat surfaces and pipe/railing constructions • Grind from a coarse to shadow-free brush finish, up to a mirror polish • Remove welds, deep scratches, oxidation, rust and paint
PTX

PTX Eco Smart Kits

Slip-on Abrasives!
Boa Pipe Sander is the
Handrail Polishing Solution
• Polish stainless pipe, etc.
• Grind down weld seams
• Snakes around radius of
the pipe, up to 360˚
Beveling & Deburring Solutions Beveling & Deburring Solutions

Sheet with burr after cutting

The EDGE you’ve been looking for is right here:
• Simple, one-step deburring
• Counter-rotating flap wheels
• Ideal for stainless steel,
aluminum and more
Double-sided Deburring of
Sheet Metal up to . 2" Thick

Deburring on both sides of the sheet edges

• Adjustable beveling angle from 30˚ to 60˚
• Hand-held and table-top units for small
and large applications
Bevel, Deburr & Chamfer Faster
• Bevel 15˚ to 60˚ angles
on plate or pipes
• Fast, easy preparation
of weld seams