POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Over eight hundred strong, a committed team of proud American workers at the Briggs & Stratton plant in Poplar Bluff, MO, have been steadily working towards a key milestone – 70 million engines manufactured. Over its first 23 years, the Poplar Bluff plant has consistently produced millions of engines each year while improving the efficiency of the facility and maintaining high quality standards. The plant recently surpassed 69 million engines produced, a great accomplishment for the employees and evidence that Briggs & Stratton, like many companies, is solidly committed to U.S.-based manufacturing.
Help Educate Students on Manufacturing – Share Your Videos Today
Do you have a video that shows applications or processes of manufacturing? Chrisandjimcim.com, a website dedicated to making Computer Integrated Manufacturing more exciting and easier for students and educators, is looking for videos in areas such as welding, molding, forming, EDM/ECM, CNC, robotics and prototyping. The website that was created a little over a year ago is geared towards helping teachers get kids interested in and excited about manufacturing. By continuously updating and adding as many resources to this site as possible they hope to create a one stop shop for teachers of manufacturing. If you have material that you would like to share please contact Jim Hanson at jhanson2@warren.in.us.
DOE Announces $54 Million In Energy Efficiency Grants For Manufacturers
The Detroit News (6/12, Shepardson) reports that the DOE announced $54 million in grants that will be “matched with $17 million in private-sector funding for 13 projects to advance new technologies, materials and processes that can help US manufacturers dramatically increase the energy efficiency of their operations and reduce costs.” Energy Secretary Steven Chu said of the awards, “The projects announced today will improve the competitive position of US industry and help Michigan’s manufacturers produce more while saving energy, saving money and protecting our air and water.” Dow Chemical Co. will receive $9 million “to create a low-cost carbon fiber production process that could reduce the cost of manufacturing carbon fibers by 20 percent and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent,” and General Motors Co. “will receive a nearly $2.7 million grant to develop an integrated die-casting process that is expected to achieve a 50 percent energy savings for the process used to manufacture car doors,” the News adds.
The Detroit Free Press (6/12, Bomey) adds that David Danielson, assistant energy secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy, said of the projects, “We’re only funding things that are on the edge of their roadmaps, where given the constraints of quarter-to-quarter profitability they’re not able to invest.”
Natural Gas Falls To Six-Week Low On Supply Glut Concerns
Dow Jones Newswires (6/12, Strumpf, Subscription Publication) reports natural gas prices fell to a six-week low Monday as traders weighed warmer weather against supplies that remain at record levels. Natural gas for July delivery settled 8.1 cents, or 3.5 percent, lower at $2.218 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement price since April 27. Although MDA EarthSat Weather has forecast above- average temperatures in many parts of the Midwest and Northeast over the next two weeks, suggesting a rise in cooling demand in the short term, but according to the Energy Information Administration’s weekly inventory report last week, supplies have reached 2.877 trillion cubic feet, which is the highest level ever for that time of year and 33% higher than the five-year average.
Reuters (6/12, Silha) adds that moderate weather forecasts for the Northeast and Midwest in the short term are also weighing on traders, despite hot weather in Texas.