Mazak Exporting Kentucky-Built Machines
A range of machine models – designed and manufactured at Mazak's Florence, KY plant – are being exported to Brazil, Europe, and several Asian countries.

Mazak Corp. is currently exporting the Kentucky-built Quick Turn Smart. Exports to Europe will begin with the Quick Turn Nexus 450-II MY multi-tasking machines and the Orbitec 20 machining centers.

The decision to export machines from Kentucky comes as a natural progression for Mazak Corp., reflecting the company's continued growth in the North American market, the ongoing commitment to the highest quality standards, and incorporation of new product designs from the United States.

"Exporting Kentucky-designed and built machines reaffirms the fact that the United States remains a very competitive manufacturing environment for advanced technology products," says Brian Papke, president, Mazak Corp. "In fact, we see the exporting of Kentucky-built machines as a catalyst that lays the groundwork for future expansion of our North American manufacturing operations." mazakusa.com

Manufacturing Technology Orders Up 91.9% in 2011
September U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $606.56 million according to AMTDA, the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association and AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTO program, was up 22.9% from August and up 51.9% when compared with the total of $399.32 million reported for September 2010. With a year-to-date total of $4,074.00 million, 2011 is up 91.9% compared with 2010.

"September numbers were the second highest monthly dollar total in the last 15 years!" says Peter Borden, president, AMTDA. "American manufacturers are still rushing to beat the end-of-year bonus depreciation deadline." amtonline.org
 

Plans for IMTS 2012
Plans are well underway for IMTS 2012 – The International Manufacturing Technology Show, held September 10-15, 2012, McCormick Place, Chicago, IL.

The show theme for 2012 is Be There, and is a call to action for the more than 82,000 industrial decision makers from more than 106 countries who will attend IMTS to get ideas and find answers to their manufacturing problems and challenges, but most important, to stay ahead of the competition.

To help guide visitors around the more than 1,000 exhibits and find their areas of interest quickly and easily, IMTS is organized into 10 pavilions:

• Abrasive Machining/ Sawing/Finishing
• Controls & CAD-CAM
• EDM
• Gear Generation
• Industrial Automation North America
• Machining Components/ Cleaning/Environment
• Metal Cutting
• Metal Forming & Fabricating/Laser
• Quality Assurance
• Tooling & Workholding Systems

Other highlights for IMTS 2012 are:

• Emerging Technology Center (ETC)
• IMTS 2012 Conference
• Advanced Manufacturing Center
• National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) Student Summit
• Co-located Midwest
• Clean Tech 2012 Conference

There will be two other features in the ETC – Additive Technology and MTConnect.

The IMTS 2012 Conference, extended to a five-day program, will include more than 70 sessions that explore five topic tracks.

To learn more about IMTS 2012, visit IMTS.com

Vestas Turbines Chosen for Michigan Project
A 59MW order, from Exelon Wind to Vestas, is for 33 V100-1.8 MW turbines for the Harvest II Wind Project in Huron County, MI.

The contract includes delivery and commissioning along with a 10-year service and maintenance agreement. Delivery is scheduled for mid-2012, and commissioning is expected in late 2012.

The contract includes Vestas' Active Output Management (AOM) 4000 maintenance program. The AOM 4000 program guarantees turbine availability and includes all planned and unplanned maintenance services. AOM 4000 also includes continuous remote monitoring and surveillance of the project via the VestasOnline SCADA system.

The Harvest II Wind Project will provide enough electricity to power nearly 18,000 Michigan homes.

All the blades, towers, and nacelles for this project will be built at Vestas' manufacturing facilities in Colorado. vestas.com; exeloncorp.com

DeKalb Breaks Ground on Renewable Facility
DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer Burrell Ellis, in conjunction with the Clean Cities Atlanta Petroleum Reduction Program and Energy Systems Group, held a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new renewable natural gas (RNG) processing facility.

The program is funded through DeKalb County and a U.S. Department of Energy grant.

Through this program, the DeKalb County Sanitation Department will convert 70 vehicles to run on RNG, produced by the DeKalb County Renewable Fuels Facility, providing a fuel that is cleaner and less expensive than diesel fuel. Compared to the cost of diesel fuel, DeKalb County is forecasting fuel savings of $3 million during the next 8 years. sustainableatlanta.org

Relocating Michigan Precision Center
The Hexagon Metrology Michigan Precision Center is now located in a purpose built, state-of-the-art facility in Wixom, MI. The Wixom Precision Center's 26,000ft² office and distribution warehouse includes a spacious calibration lab and enhanced portable metrology training facilities. Located 35 miles northwest of downtown Detroit, the facility offers greater energy efficiency, modern building systems, and convenient freeway access for customers. The Precision Center will house more than 50 employees with an additional 110 service engineers based and dispatched from this office. hexagonmetrology.us

Global Brands Pledge for WindMade Label
Major global companies, including Motorola Mobility, Deutsche Bank, Bloomberg, and Vestas Wind Systems, have procured or have pledged to procure at least 25% of their operations' power consumption from wind energy.

The companies pioneering the use of the world's first wind power consumer label were unveiled at an event hosted by WindMade and the UN Global Compact in New York, NY.

The label allows participating companies to communicate the share of wind power and other renewable sources as part of the overall power demand of their operations.

"These companies are at the forefront of the global sustainability movement," says Henrik Kuffner, CEO, WindMade. "We are delighted to have them on board the unique WindMade initiative, and are confident that many others will follow suit in the coming weeks and months." windmade.org