The Assembly Top 50 devoted $110.6 billion to capital expenditures in 2010. That’s 9 percent more than they spent in 2009, but it’s 21 percent less than they spent in 2008. Only 15 of the Top 50 spent more on property, plants and equipment in 2010 than they spent in 2008.
In 2010, the Top 50 employed 6.86 billion people worldwide. That’s 4 percent more than they employed in 2009, but it’s slightly under the total for 2008.
During the past 100 years, Whirlpool has withstood labor unrest, mergers and acquisitions, product design changes, new technology, new materials, changing consumer tastes, globalization and restructurings. But, one thing has remained steady-its production prowess.
It took several years, but self-tapping screws for plastic assembly have come of age. OEMs were lukewarm toward this type of fastener in the 1980s and early 1990s, that trend has changed in recent years.
Automakers are often the driving force behind the latest product and process innovations in assembly. Case in point: European automakers have been using flow drilling screws since 1996 to assemble body panels and chassis made of aluminum and thin materials-which continue to gain favor to make cars lighter.
In his recent State of the Union address, President Obama challenged Americans to be more innovative. That means developing new materials, new products and new production processes. To tackle that challenge, manufacturing engineers must harness the power of “smart assembly” tools and systems.
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