Manufacturers, appliance designers and engineers are seeing viability in renewable energy offerings and also for metal welding equipment for renewable energy applications ranging from solar panels to wind turbine components.

Ultrasonic energy has been used to join thermo-plastics for over 35 years. Ultrasonic welding of thermoplastic materials is by far the most common form of ultrasonic assembly, and is used extensively in all major industries including appliance, electronic and medical.

WASHINGTON—President Obama has issued a pair of executive orders that aim to help U.S. manufacturers. The first will create three manufacturing institutes using $200 million from the budgets of five agencies. The second requires that government data be made available to the public—and to entrepreneurs—in manageable formats that could be more easily used by researchers and businesses to jump-start new products and services.

WASHINGTON—In another sign that America is becoming more competitive in manufacturing, the United States is now equal to Mexico in “attractiveness” as a source for manufacturing operations and is on track to achieve cost parity with manufactured imports from China by 2015. That’s according to new research released by AlixPartners.

NEW YORK—In a move to attract the next generation into manufacturing, ThomasNet has launched the North American Manufacturing Scholarship Program. Up to 30 graduating high school seniors with an interest in manufacturing careers will each receive a $1,000 scholarship to pursue studies at a two-year or four-year college, or a vocational-technical school.

Manufacturers often fail to recognize the ability of their employees to learn and think.

WASHINGTON—CEOs’ expectations for the economy over the next six months have improved due to expected higher sales and capital spending, but expectations for hiring remain flat, according to the last economic outlook survey from the Business Roundtable.

TALLAHASSEE, FL—Florida Gov. Rick Scott has proposed eliminating sales tax on manufacturing machinery.

WASHINGTON—Production workers averaged 41.9 hours a week in February, according to the Labor Department. That tied December 1997 and January 1998 for the highest average since May 1944.

Application specific coatings, in addition to more traditional fastening and joining work, can enhance reliability of assemblies.