Manufacturing

Johnson Controls, a major US-based supplier of automotive seating systems, interior components and electronics, has signed a purchase agreement to acquire the C. Rob. Hammerstein Group (CRH).

CRH is a global supplier of metal seat structures and mechanisms and is recognized for its high level of quality. CRH's headquarters and main development facilities are based in Solingen, Germany.

ABB continues to make news this week, with the announcement of an offer to purchase US electric-motor manufacturer Baldor Electric Co in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $4.2 billion, including $1.1 billion of net debt.

The transaction closes a gap in ABB’s automation portfolio in North America by adding Baldor’s strong NEMA motors product line. Baldor also adds a growing and profitable mechanical power transmission business to ABB’s portfolio.

Electric vehicles are still in the slow lane according to a new study by Kelley’s Blue Book, which found that only seven percent of people shopping for a new car would consider purchasing one.

For the majority of respondentsto the Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence study, the primary concerns about electric vehicles included the drivable range on a single charge (87 percent) and availability of charging stations (84 percent).

Todd Bolanz, president of LCD manufacturer LXD LLC, tells Jane Bordenave how the company grew from producing screens for digital watches to being one of the biggest players in high reliability displays for use in industry.

ABB has won an order worth $43 million from South African electric utility Eskom to supply equipment for a new thermal power plant being built in Mpumalanga, South Africa.

The new Kusile coal-fired plant comprises six supercritical combustion units with a total generating capacity of 4,800 MW.

Based in Russia, Vagonmash has achieved a number of firsts in the railway car production sector; and with a commitment to innovation and excellence in design, the company is continuing to go from strength to strength.

Rolls-Royce has won an order worth $1.8 billion from Air China to supply and service engines to power 20 new aircraft.

The contract, , is for engines for ten Airbus A350 XWBs and ten A330s, and includes a TotalCare long-term service agreement.

Rolls-Royce will supply Trent XWB engines for the A350s and Trent 700 engines for the A330s.

The Chinese market is fast growing with a clear need for additional aircraft capacity. Rolls-Royce is well established in China, where it now enjoys a 56 per cent share for large civil aero engines.

General Motors returned to Wall Street in grand style yesterday with the largest IPO in US history, raising $23 billion to start paying back its $50 billion government loan.

Almost half of the US Treasury’s share holding went up for sale at $33 a share for preferential buyers ($35 for others), but still leaves the government some way short of recouping its total investment.

Multi-industry manufacturer SPX Corporation today held an official ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start of construction of its new 53-acre manufacturing campus in the FOHO Economic Development Zone in China.

The planned campus represents a $40 million investment by SPX over the next three years to support the company's business expansion in China and facilitate product localization efforts serving both China and global markets.  

Volkswagen is devising a plan to take full control of Swedish truckmaker Scania and Germany’s MAN, according to reports.

The German automotive giant is said to be planning to increase its 46 per cent stake in Scania, thereby assuming full control—after which it would then transfer its 29.9 per cent stake in truck and diesel engine group MAN to Soedertaelje, Sweden-based Scania.

The plan was first reported in German weekly magazine Der Spiegel.

It is thought that VW would increase its stake in Scania to between 75 and 80 per cent.