Manufacturing

The South African seafood division of Lonrho has signed a deal to supply the US retailing giant Walmart.

Walmart will be stocking Oceanfresh’s pure hake fillets in 500 of its stores from October this year.

The Oceanfresh fillets come from wild caught, sustainably sourced white hake that is caught in the Benguela current off the coast of Southern Africa.

US aerospace and defense executives are looking at strategic acquisitions and expansion into new markets to promote company growth, according to a recent survey by KPMG.

Faced with tighter federal defense budgets, stiffer competition and a struggling home economy, nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of A&D executives say their companies will be involved in a merger or acquisition as a buyer in the next two years.

AgustaWestland, the Anglo-Italian helicopter company, has secured a contract that marks the first entry of its AW169 model into the UK market.

The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rome-based industrial group Finmeccanica, has signed a preliminary contract with the Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA) for two AW169 helicopters.

The aircraft will be delivered in 2015, and will be specially designed for the WNAA’s air ambulance mission requirements.

AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines and American Eagle, announced landmark agreements today with both Airbus and Boeing to replace and transform American's narrowbody fleet over five years.

These new aircraft will allow American to reduce its operating and fuel costs and deliver state-of-the-art amenities to customers, while maximizing financial flexibility for the company.

Global pallet and container pooling services supplier CHEP has secured a new contract in the US with compact industrial vehicle producer Bobcat Company.

The companies have formed a three-year partnership under which CHEP Automotive Americas will be Bobcat’s returnable packaging provider for its manufacturing operations in North Dakota.

Having cornered the global export market for the right-hand drive Polo and total production for the derivative Cross Polo, automotive manufacturer Volkswagen Group South Africa has embarked on a major development programme to upgrade facilities, and improve productivity and efficiency. Manufacturing planning division head Chris Glover talks to Gay Sutton about the latest project—the construction of a new press shop.

Mahmood Ismail, managing director of Shoreline Beverages, tells Jane Bordenave about the importance of innovation in his business and how to compete against the big boys.

austriamicrosystems, a designer and manufacturer of high-performance analogue ICs, has acquired the Texan manufacturer Texas Advanced Optoelectronic Solutions (TAOS).

The value of the deal is $320 million (approx. €226 million).

General Motors is to invest $129 million in powertrain plants in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan as part of a $2 billion investment program in 17 facilities in eight states over the next 18 months.

For the plants in Toledo, Ohio, and Bedford, Indiana, which make transmissions for Buick and Chevrolet models with eAssist fuel-saving technology, this is a second helping of investment since May, bringing total investment at the plants to $287 million and $81 million respectively.

Greencore, the UK’s largest maker of sandwiches, has agreed a deal to acquire its industry rival Uniq in a deal worth £113 million.

Greencore said that Uniq represents an excellent fit to its UK strategy, which will help the combined group achieve greater scale in the food-to-go and chilled desserts markets, as well as adding add new and complementary customer relationships, in particular with the food retailer Marks & Spencer.

Uniq was put up for sale by its pension fund earlier this year after struggling to manage its pension deficit.