Manufacturing

Chrysler Group LLC has announced the repayment of $7.6 billion in outstanding US and Canadian government loans following the completion of new refinancing transactions.

The original loans were repaid in full, more than six years ahead of schedule, along with the payment of accrued interest and additional consideration.

Andrew Bellamy, CEO of Austal, one of the world’s leading aluminium shipbuilders, talks to Jayne Alverca about the winds of change that are blowing in the wake of a major defence contract with the US Navy.

Austal, headquartered in Henderson, Western Australia, is the largest builder of aluminium fast ferries in the world, with a customer base that spans the globe. The company has reached this level of success in just over 20 years—an achievement that CEO Andrew Bellamy attributes to three key factors.

The United States Department of Justice has given the go-ahead for Caterpillar to acquire mining equipment manufacturer Bucyrus International, concluding the antitrust review process in the US.

The clearance by the DOJ will allow the acquisition, valued at approximately $8.6 billion (including net debt), to proceed as soon as all other conditions to closing have been satisfied. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2011.

The acquisition is based on Caterpillar's key strategic imperative to expand its leadership in the mining equipment industry.

Georgia-Pacific Chemicals has said it is expanding capabilities at its Lufkin, Texas facility in order to meet growing demand from the energy industry.

The company, which manufactures resins used to coat proppants for oil and gas extraction, said that demand for its products is growing due to the increased use of hydraulic fracturing techniques within the energy industry over the past few years.

San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and subsidiaries of Soitec Solar Development LLC have announced the signing of two additional 25-year contracts for a total of 125 MW of solar energy to be generated in SDG&E’s service territory.

The additional energy will be produced using Soitec's concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) technology, with solar modules manufactured in a new Soitec factory to be built in the San Diego area.

Both of the projects will be located in San Diego County and will be situated near SDG&E electric substations.

Rolls-Royce and Daimler, through their 50:50 joint venture, have agreed to take over the German engine manufacturer Tognum in a deal worth €3.4 billion.

The two companies first bid for Tognum in early March, offering €24 per share; however it wasn’t until they raised their offer to €26 per share that they secured the backing of Tognum’s board.

Friedrichshafen, Germany-based Tognum is the world’s second-biggest manufacturer of high-speed diesel engines for the defence, marine and energy sectors.

Bombardier Inc. has been awarded the contract to design, build, operate and maintain a monorail system for King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The contract, for a Bombardier INNOVIA APM 300 system, is worth $96 million.

Saudi Binladin Group is the contractor responsible for the design and construction of the KAIA Development Project, which will see existing passenger facilities expanded and an additional passenger terminal building constructed to cater to rising passenger numbers.

Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas has signed an agreement for 70 hectares of land at the Port of Sheerness in Kent, UK, on which it hopes to build a facility to manufacture its new purpose-built offshore wind turbine.

Vestas has secured exclusive rights to the land, with the option lasting for approximately one year with the possibility to extend for another 12 months.

Britannia Industries started as a Calcutta biscuit manufacturer in 1892. Managing director Vinita Bali tells John O’Hanlon about the responsibilities of a food manufacturer in India today.

Bernie Ecclestone is on his second; and Johnny Depp and the president of the Russian Federation each have one. A yacht built in Turkey by Proteksan Turquoise really is the ultimate aspiration.