Situated on the University of Michigan campus in Dearborn, MI, is the Institute for Advanced Vehicle Systems (IAVS). Faculty and students conduct research on low-mass vehicles, power trains, manufacturing processes, and auto body and chassis systems.
KVH Industries Inc. knows that people love to be entertained in their vehicles. This is why they developed the TracVision satellite communications system about 10 years ago. TracVision can provide hundreds of channels of live satellite television and music to cars, motor coaches, RVs or boats. The most recent version of the system is the A7. Assembling the antenna for the A7 posed an adhesive-related challenge for KVH.
Vibration welding uses heat generated by friction at the interface of two thermoplastic parts to produce melting in the interfacial area. The molten materials flow together under pressure and bond, forming a weld upon cooling.
The 2011 Assembly Plant of the Year was designed from the ground up to be an environmentally friendly facility. Even the carpets, paint and windows are “green” at the Philips Respironics plant in New Kensington, PA.
What do metal water tanks, pickup trucks and RV chassis have in common? They’re all assembled in state-of-the-art facilities that were finalists for the 2011 Assembly Plant of the Year award.
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.
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