USA and Canada

A new survey from Deloitte predicts a rejuvenation of the automotive industry, thanks to the purchasing power of Generation Y.

By 2012, Gen Y will account for approximately 40 percent of the car-buying population and represent a new breed of confident consumers who are independent, tech-savvy, engaged, demanding and, according to Deloitte's survey, just the group to help rejuvenate the automotive industry.

Magna Seating, an operating unit of Canadian autoparts maker Magna International, continues its growth in South America with the acquisition of automotive seat supplier Pabsa SA. The new entity will operate as Magna Seating Argentina.

Pabsa, previously part of the L'Equipe Monteur Group, is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and is a vertically integrated supplier of complete seats, foam products, trim covers and seat structures with sales in 2010 of approximately US$110 million.

Siemens Energy has received an order for an instrumentation & controls (I&C) system and two steam turbine-generators for the Ivanpah solar thermal power plant in the Mojave desert in California, extending an initial order made two years ago.

BrightSource Energy Inc., a developer of utility-scale solar thermal power plants headquartered in Oakland, California, has now ordered Siemens’ SPPA-T3000 for all three units of the Ivanpah project with a combined installed capacity of approximately 400 megawatts (MW).

Caterpillar Inc. announced today that it plans to open a new manufacturing facility in Thailand to build underground mining machinery.

The company will break ground on the new factory in early 2011, with production scheduled to begin in late 2012. The facility will produce a full range of underground mining articulated trucks and loaders, which are used by Caterpillar customers around the world in hard-rock underground mining applications.

Energy Fuels Inc. has been granted approval by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for a radioactive materials license for the 500 ton per day Piñon Ridge Mill facility to be constructed twelve miles west of Naturita, Colorado in western Montrose County.

Following years of economic uncertainty and industry restructuring, global auto executives expect US auto brands to increase market share over the next five years, spurred by product innovation, restructuring activities and continued improvement in product quality.  

The outlook marks a dramatic turnaround in their expectations from a year ago, according to the 12th annual global automotive survey by KPMG LLP, the US audit, tax and advisory firm.

General Motors and Powermat, a pioneer in wireless charging technology, announced a commercial agreement today that will eliminate the need for charging cords for personal electronic devices in many future Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac products beginning mid-2012.

GM Ventures, the company's venture capital subsidiary, will invest $5 million in Powermat to accelerate the technology's development and support efforts to grow Powermat's business globally.  

Although Toyota maintains a narrow lead as the strongest automobile brand in the United States, Ford leads the way in factors that matter most to consumers, according to Consumer Reports' 2011 Car Brand Perception Survey.

Under a contract awarded by the United States Army, Connecticut-based M Cubed Technologies, Inc. will develop advanced armor to protect Army vehicles and US service personnel from increasingly lethal enemy ballistic threats. The contract is part of the US Army's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.  

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. today announced two contract awards, one in Idaho, United States, and one in Newfoundland, Canada.

The former is a contract from Bechtel Marine Propulsion Corporation to provide engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services in support of the Expended Core Facility Recapitalization Project.

The total construction project cost is estimated to range from $300 to $500 million.