Manufacturing

Swedish-owned home appliance manufacturer Electrolux is planning to consolidate the manufacture of cooking appliances in North America by building a new manufacturing facility in Memphis, Tennessee.

After investigating potential locations in the United States and Mexico, Electrolux has chosen Memphis because the site offers an optimal geographical location for customers and suppliers, the company said in a statement.

RPC Group, the UK plastic packaging supplier, has announced it will acquire its Danish rival, packaging maker Superfos Industries, for about €240 million.

RPC said the deal would provide it with factories in Poland and Scandinavia, as well as operations in Turkey and North Africa.

Proterra Inc, manufacturer of zero-emission commercial transit solutions, today announced the completion of its first bus assembled entirely at its Phase 1 manufacturing facility in Greenville, South Carolina.

The Phase 1 facility at 25 Whitlee Court is manufacturing Proterra's EcoRide BE35™ buses and FastFill™ charging stations.

Proterra is working with local support to break ground on its larger state-of-the-art Phase 2 plant located on Clemson University's International Center for Automotive Research campus in the spring of 2011.

Nordic Mine Technology is pushing the boundaries in customised rail haulage systems for the mining sector. Philip Brown talks to Gay Sutton about innovation and growth.

The Mansfield City Council has approved an economic development agreement with leading American tool manufacturer Klein Tools for the location of its new Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center (AMTEC) in the city.

The performance-based agreement could result in the creation of 585 jobs and a $76 million investment by the Chicago, Illinois-based company.

The net economic impact to Mansfield has been estimated at more than $7.6 million over the first 10 years, with a $4.5 billion economic impact over 10 years to the State of Texas.

UK chemicals company Yule Catto has agreed to acquire its German rival PolymerLatex for €443 million (£376 million).

PolymerLatex, which makes a range of rubber-based products similar to Harrow-based Yule Catto’s, is currently owned by private equity house TowerBrook Capital Partners.

Under TowerBrook’s ownership, the company built a €60 million plant in Malaysia and created a new R&D facility near Dusseldorf, Germany.

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc, manufacturer of pharmaceutical packaging and delivery systems, today announced its intention to consolidate selected operations in order to improve operating efficiencies.

The company expects to close its manufacturing facility in Montgomery, Pennsylvania, USA, and to downsize operations at its facility in St. Austell, Cornwall, UK.

South Africa’s automotive sector has undergone fluctuating fortunes over the past four years, reaching its peak in 2007 before the financial meltdown of 2008. Gert Harmse, plant manager for Feltex Fehrer’s Port Elizabeth facility, explains the impact of these challenging times.

Rakesh Rao, CEO of Crown Berger Kenya Ltd, East Africa’s largest paint maker, talks to Jayne Flannery about maintaining the company’s leading position in the region.

Although the global economy is still struggling to recover, Crown Berger Kenya can point to the healthiest of balance sheets. Firmly established as East Africa’s leading paint maker for over 50 years, profits after tax rose by a heady 180 per cent during the last financial year, while overall revenue rose by 34 per cent to $31.5 million.

Siemens Energy celebrates the official opening of its new wind turbine nacelle assembly facility in Hutchinson, Kansas, today.

"We're investing in wind in America because we believe that wind power is here to stay," said Eric Spiegel, CEO of Siemens Corporation. “The US is one of the most important wind power markets in the world and by opening our first nacelle assembly facility in the US we are closer to our customers, allowing us to better meet the strong demand for clean energy right where it's used.