Manufacturing

US carmaker Chrysler Group today reported its best January sales since 2008, with US sales of 101,149, a 44 percent increase over January 2011.

Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram Truck brands each posted sales increases in January compared with the same month a year ago, in the 22nd-consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains.

Chrysler brand sales increased the most, with 17,604 units sold, up 81 percent over the previous year, with Ram Truck sales up 42 percent, Jeep up 37 percent, and Dodge increasing by 29 percent.

Finnish stainless steel maker Outokumpu has agreed to acquire Inoxum, the stainless steel unit of Germany’s ThyssenKrupp.

The €2.7 billion deal is set to make Outokumpu a market leader in European stainless steel, with almost €12 billion in revenues, more than 19,000 employees and an approximate 50 per cent market share.

Outokumpu already employs around 8,000 people in more than 30 countries and is headquartered in Espoo, Finland.

Twenty years of continuous expansion have resulted in the launch of Qatar Technical. Deputy managing director Michel Mitri talks to Gay Sutton about the transformation from an industrial refrigeration company to a knowledge-based engineering and manufacturing institution.

Qatar Concrete Company is pioneering a new concrete mixing technology that may well revolutionise the production of this essential construction material in hot countries. Executive directorAntoine Abboud talks to Gay Sutton about the challenges and solutions.

Alan Swaby looks at one of the largest crane manufacturers in the world—which ironically comes from one of the smallest countries in the world.

Watch any strong man competition and the odds are there will be a Finn in the final. For a country with a population of far less than Greater London, Finland manages to create some of the biggest and strongest specimens in the world.

After cleaning and greening South Africa, Judy Nankervis, managing director of Blendwell Chemicals, talks to Jayne Alverca about extending the company’s reach across the African sub-continent and beyond.

In a host of industrial, commercial and manufacturing settings, cleanliness has vital implications for employee and customer safety and satisfaction. Grease and dirt is not only unsightly, it can harbour all manner of unpleasant micro-organisms and easily lead to litigation, especially in food handling industries.

Caterpillar delivered record-breaking 2011 sales and revenues of $60.14 billion, an increase of 41 percent from $42.59 billion in 2010.

Profit in 2011 was $4.93 billion, an increase of 83 percent from $2.70 billion in 2010. Profit per share of $7.40 was up 78 percent from $4.15 in 2010.

Excluding the impact of the acquisition of Bucyrus International, Inc, 2011 profit was $7.79 per share, up 88 percent from a year ago.

Boeing ended 2011 on a high with a 20 percent rise in net income for the fourth quarter, and 21 percent for the year as a whole, partly due to an increase in sales of commercial aircraft.

Net income for Q4 2011 was $1.39 billion, compared with $1.16 billion last year, while net income for the year was $4 billion, compared with $3.3 billion in 2010.

Norwegian Air Shuttle has signed an agreement with both Airbus and Boeing for delivery of a total of 222 new aircraft—the largest such deal in European aviation history.

The order includes 100 new Boeing 737 MAX8s and 22 Next-Generation 737-800s, making Norwegian the European launch customer for Boeing’s new aircraft. The Airbus order—Norwegian’s first purchase from the company—includes 100 Airbus A320neos. The orders include additional purchase rights of 150 aircraft from both manufacturers.

Thomas R. Cutler describes the advantages of the omniwheel, the revolutionary alternative to the swivel caster, and heralds the entry of Rotacaster into the next dictionary.

The Kleenex brand is synonymous with tissues. Other brands, like Hoover, have dominated the market to such an extent at times that they have entered the dictionary to describe the concept itself. You don’t search for something online, anymore. You Google it.