ANN ARBOR, MI—North American robotics companies enjoyed one of the industry’s strongest opening quarters ever, according to new statistics released from Robotic Industries Association. Sales are up 30 percent compared with 2011.
JACKSONVILLE, FL—Medtronic’s Surgical Technologies Div. broke ground on a $14 million, 75,000-square-foot, expansion of its assembly plant here. The medical device manufacturer plans to add 175 high-wage jobs.
ELBERTON, GA—Hailo USA, which manufactures subassemblies for wind turbines, will open a new, $10 million assembly plant here. The facility will employ 200.
WASHINGTON—U.S. sales of machine tools totaled $444.06 million in February. That’s a 9 percent increase from January and a 35 percent increase compared with February 2011 sales.
NEW YORK—Consideration of cost components such as labor, taxes, real estate and utilities are the key measures most companies use to decide where to locate assembly plants. However, non-cost factors are often the decisive factor.
WASHINGTON—U.S. corporations were sitting on $1.24 trillion of cash at the end of 2011. However, recent data indicate firms are finally starting to spend that cash on things that will actually grow the economy.
