Ford Wants Better Relationship with Suppliers

IndustryWeek (Amend) - Company will source two-thirds of its global programs from preferred parts suppliers...Ford Motor Co. intends to slash its global supplier list to 750 from the 3,000 it employed just a few years ago. The reduction is part of the company’s vaunted "One Ford" strategy, Birgit Behrendt, Ford's newly appointed purchasing director of global programs and the Americas. For full story click here

The stuff electric vehicles will be made of...

cars21.com - In the endeavour to reduce weight in order to improve fuel efficiency in normal cars and range in electric vehicles, the automotive sector has come up with a number of material changes over the last few years. cars21.com summarises some of the trends. Manufacturers are experimenting with aluminium and carbon fibre to replace steel, the real deal however seems to lie in a new generation of polymers, composites and fabrics that will help build the light-weight, ultra-performant, climate friendly car of the future...

Virginia Tech and GM announce creation of the National Tire Research Center

Virginia Tech (Box) - Virginia Tech announced today the establishment of the National Tire Research Center (NTRC), an advanced tire research and test facility to be established in Southside Virginia. The facility is a partnership between the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, General Motors (GM) Company, the Department of Mechanical Engineering in Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering, the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR), the Southside Virginia community, and the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Relations Revitalization Commission. Funding for the center will total $14 million with $5 million provided by GM, $5 million from the Tobacco Commission and $4 million from Virginia Tech.

Hat Tip: Innovation Daily

Congressional Report on Manufacturing

Joint Economic Committee - A report released on Monday by the Democratic majority staff of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), observed fragile and uneven growth for the U.S. manufacturing industry.

Targeted Policy Actions Needed to Bolster Fragile Manufacturing Recovery
Congress and the Administration are targeting the manufacturing sector with policies aimed at rebuilding the industry and are committed to growing the country’s exports in the coming years. Actions to support the manufacturing sector include: support for exports, tax credits for clean energy manufacturing, and efforts to spur domestic demand for vehicles. The House has already passed many of these critical actions. Pending Senate action, Congress is poised to take significant steps toward insuring that this bright spot in the economy continues to light the way toward a better tomorrow. The attached table highlights legislation and presidential actions taken that may help support the manufacturing sector during the recovery...

Suppliers Made Deep Cuts to Research and Development Budgets

APICS e-News (Detroit Free Press) - After auto suppliers made deep cost cuts to survive the downturn, research and development (R&D) budgets are looking thin, according to a study by accounting firm Grant Thornton. The Detroit Free Press reports that Grant Thornton analyzed 20 publicly traded parts makers that supply directly to automakers. The study shows that those suppliers cut their R&D budgets by a total of $3.3 billion in 2009, or an average of 29 percent compared with 2008.

Hiring for research and development appears to have slowed significantly. A May study by the Original Equipment Suppliers Association shows that 26 percent of suppliers surveyed expect to make no net gains in headcount for salaried personnel, while 9 percent of suppliers said they would make no net gains in hourly personnel. The outlook for smaller parts makers down the supply chain also isn’t upbeat, and their R&D budgets have seen similar cuts. “They don’t have access to the capital markets that [direct suppliers have],” Mellville says.

House Pitches Bill to Spur Green Manufacturing

IndustryWeek (Alpern) - Democrats propose tax incentives to modernize manufacturing facilities and encourage renewable energy...Thee House is moving forward on a bill that would provide $25 billion in tax credits to manufacturers of renewable energy equipment and funding for other sources of clean energy. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Lavin (D-Mich.) introduced legislation on July 26, referring to it as a “discussion draft”, which includes $6.5 billion worth of investment tax credits for manufacturers that re-equip, expand or establish domestic manufacturing facilities that produce advanced energy equipment.

The bill is part of an effort to build on top of the $2.3 billion of investment tax credits provided by the 2009 economic stimulus package and give financing tools to state and local governments to encourage energy-efficiency. The new bill would extend federal subsidies for wind and solar power facilities that received funding last year.

Lithium Battery Oversupply Debate Rages

greentechmedia (moslet) - Makers of lithium-ion batteries are rapidly expanding their factories in anticipation of a ballooning market for electric cars. The trouble is, none of them can be sure what the demand will be..For many battery makers, the consequence of long-term oversupply could be catastrophic. A flooded market will push down prices and send profits tumbling. Start-ups with innovative technology could find it hard to survive.

Recovery Act funds have played a big role in the build-out. One company to benefit is Johnson Controls-Saft. Without stimulus funds, the company would have built a factory in Asia, says John Schaaf Jr., vice president of market development at Johnson Controls. John Gartner, a senior analyst at Pike Research, says oversupply is possible. He projects that by 2015 the installed price of battery systems (including thermal management gear and other finishing equipment) will be cut in half.

US Recovery Act: the progress so far in electrifying America’s transport
cars21.com - The US Department of Energy has released a report which documents how the funds from the Recovery Act have been allocated so far in projects related to electric vehicles, how investments interact to stimulate both supply and demand for electric vehicles, as well as the progress so far and the future expectations in terms of advancing electromobility in the US. Read the report

U.S. Automakers Back on Top

IndustryWeek (Katz) - Plant-floor and engineering quality improvements pay off for domestic OEMs...It was the first time in the 24-year history of the J.D. Power report that U.S. brands as a whole scored higher than foreign competitors, though Chrysler still lags near the bottom with 122 defects.

Some of the quality improvements come from the significant strides U.S. automakers have made in the area of lean manufacturing, says Ron Atkinson, past president and current fellow at the American Society for Quality in Milwaukee. Detroit automakers have been practicing lean for several years, but it appears that the companies' continuous-improvement efforts are finally beginning to mature, says Atkinson. The workforce has begun to accept that lean is beneficial and that it doesn't mean firing employees, he says. The waste reduction enabled by lean eventually leads to good quality. "If lean is done properly right from design to the customer receiving the product, you will have a quality product," Atkinson says.

Obama says U.S. will make 40% of advanced vehicle batteries in five years

autobloggreen (Blanco) - President Obama was in Michigan today to visit the construction site of LG Chem/CPI's new advanced battery plant in Holland. The federal government is involved in the plant through a $151.4-million grant, and the visit gave the President the chance to promote American manufacturing...As for where the U.S. will be going in the plug-in vehicle space, Obama said this country will make 40 percent of the world's automotive batteries in five years. Right now, the U.S. makes around two percent.

The feds have put money into nine battery manufacturing projects around the country. Most of the government's $2.4 billion help for advanced batteries went to Michigan. [Source: Lansing State Journal]

Tesla to build electric Toyota Rav4

CNNMoney (Valdes-Dapena) - Tesla Motors will produce electric Rav4 crossover SUVs for Toyota Motor Co. beginning in 2012, the two companies announced Friday. Toyota announced in May that it planned to invest $50 million in Tesla Motors upon the completion of the electric car maker's initial public offering, which took place on June 29.

A fleet of electric Rav4 prototypes will be delivered later this year, the two automakers said. The first prototype has already been built, the automaker said, and is undergoing evaluation. "Tesla seeks to learn and benefit from Toyota's engineering, manufacturing, and production expertise, while Toyota aims to learn from Tesla's EV technology, daring spirit, quick decision-making, and flexibility," the automakers said in the joint announcement.

Webcast: Achieving Total Employee Engagement in Energy Efficiency

Department of Energy - On Thursday, August 5, 2010, from 2:00-3:00p.m Eastern time, the Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) Thursday Webcasts for Industry series will feature Steven Fugarazzo, Manager, Facilities Engineering, Integrated Defense Systems (Raytheon Company) and Mary Alice Kurtz, Global Best Practices Lead, Worldwide Facilities Group (General Motors Company). Mr. Fugarazzo and Ms. Kurtz will deliver the Webcast "Achieving Total Employee Engagement in Energy Efficiency." The presentation will provide information on how to motivate employees to participate in energy efficiency, including:

DOE Releases New Report on Economic Impact of Recovery Act Advanced Vehicle Investments

Department of Energy - [DOE] released a new report on the economic impact of Recovery Act investments in advanced batteries and vehicles. The report, "Recovery Act Investments: Transforming America's Transportation Sector," documents how Recovery Act funds are being matched with private capital to create new jobs, construct new plants, add new manufacturing lines, install electric vehicle charging stations across the country and help build the emerging domestic electric vehicle industry from the ground up. Read the report (PDF 341 KB). Among the key highlights of the report:

NGA Report Indicates Collaboration is Key for Readying the Workforce for a Global Economy

National Governors Association - A new report released today by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center), A Sharper Focus on Technical Workers: How to Educate and Train for a Global Economy, provides a model for how states can work collaboratively with industry, community colleges and each other to provide opportunities for workers to build their skills and ensure America's future economic security and prosperity. The report outlines actions governors can take to shape a new future for job training in a way that will nurture the largest and fastest-growing industries, including:

Firm harnessing Detroit's expertise in manufacturing

Detroit News (Trop) - Local workers who once welded engine racks for the auto industry may soon be stamping sheet metal for Boeing airplane roofs or NASA rocket platforms. That's the plan under way at former auto supplier W Industries, which is capitalizing on the dormant automotive base here to buy cheap facilities, win manufacturing contracts and employ precision workers..."Our goal is to refurbish and retool former automotive facilities and retain talent with the latest technology," said chief executive Edward Walker. Hat Tip: AMD

A New Detroit Rises in India's South

Wall Street Journal - In an article titled "A New Detroit Rises in India's South," The Wall Street Journal reports that Chennai is becoming an automotive hub in India, as Ford, Hyundai, Renault SA, Daimler AG, BMW AG, and Nissan Motor Co. have all opened plants in the area. When all of these factories are operating at capacity, the city will manufacturer almost 1.5 million vehicles per year. Furthermore, subsidiaries are looking to Chennai as a destination to open factories, with France's Michelin SA and Saint-Gobain SA are going to open large factories in the city. Hyundai and Ford have invested $2 billion and $1 billion respectively into the city, enjoying the benefits of cheap factory labor in addition to cheap engineers who design and program the robots that craft the vehicles. The Journal notes that the city is also building new malls and apartments to keep up with the growing middle class of automotive workers. The Wall Street Journal also offers a slideshow of manufacturing-related pictures of Chennai on its website. Via NAM

Nanotechnology offers better way to coat steel

Daily Commercial News (Dafoe) - A team of three American companies has been awarded $1.79 million from the National Institute of Standards and Technology to create a new way to coat steel faster, cheaper and greener...It will use a high-intensity infrared light source to bond nanocomposite metal-ceramic and polymer coatings onto steel surfaces for use in infrastructure projects. The research team is hoping that the process will replace the electroplating, chromate primers, hot-dip galvanizing and fusion-bonded epoxy technologies that are commonplace today.

The smaller they go with the engineering process, the harder the material becomes in many metals and ceramics. The technology also increases corrosion resistance because the bonded materials move well with the metals below them. “That gives us the advantage of having these hard particles that have the wear and corrosion resistance in a metal matrix that is more ductile and tough,” Engleman said.

FreedomCar and Fuel Partnership Given 'Thumbs Up' in new NCR Report

USCAR - National Research Council report says continued near- and long-term Government /Industry R&D is needed to reduce petroleum dependence and greenhouse gases. In its third report on the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership (FC&FP), the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies commended the Partnership’s government/industry joint technical teams as important and effective in pursuing sustainable automotive transportation solutions. The report also called for an even greater blend of near- and long-term research and development to urgently address the nation’s transportation needs.

In its “Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership, Third Report,” the NRC Committee on Review of the FC&FP said the Partnership structure is “an effective means of identifying high-priority, long-term precompetitive research needs while also addressing societal needs such as reducing petroleum dependence and greenhouse gas production.” It also said that while some research areas still face “very substantial barriers,” the Partnership is effectively advancing the science to benefit the American people. “The Partnership is effective in progressing toward its goals” and has provided “evidence of solid progress in essentially all areas,” the report states.

Steve Zimmer Named USCAR Executive Director

USCAR - Steve Zimmer has been appointed executive director of the United States Council for Automotive Research LLC (USCAR) as announced by the USCAR Council (June 21). He succeeds retiring USCAR Executive Director Don Walkowicz effective July 1. Zimmer comes to USCAR with 35 years of automotive experience, including 24 years at Chrysler and 10 years at Ford Motor Company. Most recently, he served as executive director of USAutoPARTS, following his retirement from Chrysler LLC in 2007. While at Chrysler, he served as its director for the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership, a collaboration among the members of USCAR, the U.S. Department of Energy, five energy companies and two utilities. 

Energy Star Helps Auto Plants Improve Energy Efficiency

EPA - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program has helped improve the energy efficiency of the auto manufacturing industry, which has cut fossil fuel use by 12 percent and reduced greenhouse gases by more than 700,000 tons of carbon dioxide, according to a recent report by the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University.  The emissions reductions, which help to fight climate change, equal the emissions from the electricity use of more than 80,000 homes for a year.

The report, Assessing Improvement in the Energy Efficiency of U.S. Auto Assembly Plants, affirms EPA’s energy management strategy, particularly the importance of performance measurement and recognition for top performance. The report also demonstrates that the gap between top performing plants and others has closed and the performance of the industry as a whole has improved. Read the report: http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/Duke_EE_WP_10-01.pdf

Shanghai GM Green Supply Chain Program Saved $19M in 2009

GreenBiz - A major initiative to help Chinese auto industry suppliers reduce their environmental impacts successfully improved productivity and generated annual savings worth millions of dollars. Shanghai General Motors (SGM) partnered with the World Environment Center (WEC) for a "Greening the Supply Chain Initiative" targeting 125 suppliers. The 50/50 joint venture between General Motors and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. is one of China's largest vehicle producers; it also imports and sells Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and Saab products.

The program focused on reducing water, waste and energy use, while also boosting competitive advantage. It demonstrated a strong business case for efficiency: The 125 suppliers invested about US$21 million in 498 projects, generating annual cost savings of roughly US$19 million. Many projects had ROIs of less than a year. In a report (PDF) releasing the findings, the partners said the program had the benefit of strengthening the supplier relationships and making the participants more adaptive to evolving government requirements. The participation by the majority of suppliers was described as "excellent."