SWINDON, UK-Honda’s UK assembly plant at Swindon is now
exporting three-door “hot hatch” Civic Type R vehicles back to the company’s
home market of Japan. MORE
KANSAS CITY, MO-Kansas City got a jolt of good economic news Wednesday when a top federal official distributed millions of dollars in grants to boost the area’s fledgling electric-vehicle industry. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke announced a $10 million grant to Smith Electric Vehicles, which is about to begin assembling battery-powered delivery vans locally, and a $30 million grant to Ford Motor Co. to develop and build plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles in Kansas City and Michigan. MORE
BOWLING GREEN, KY-They call it the $200,000 button pusher. But the $1 million computer-integrated manufacturing cell and its pricey “button-pushing” robot arm can do much more. MORE
ATLANTA-Farm equipment giant AGCO Corp. is eyeing a Georgia factory that could employ up to 2,000 workers. The plant would coincide with the $8 billion company’s desire to move more manufacturing to the United States as it aims to take North American market share from competitors Case IH and Deere & Co. MORE
BELLEVUE, WA-PACCAR’s corporate office and its Kenworth manufacturing facility in Renton were recently named as being among the Best Workplaces for Recyclers leaders in King County, WA. Several PACCAR commercial vehicle facilities have achieved “zero waste to landfill,” which has enhanced operating efficiency and contributed to a green environment. MORE
PACCAR’s Renton facility was given our inaugural Assembly Plant of the Year award in 2004. MORE
VANCOUVER, WA-Executives with a Chinese company have met with local officials to discuss locating a solar panel assembly plant here that could employ up to 100 workers. MORE
DETROIT-The state of Michigan and the Big Three
automakers will be awarded $1.3 billion of the $2.4 billion in grants recently
awarded to jumpstart the electric car industry. MORE
DETROIT-The White House’s top economic advisor will tour a Ford Motor Co. plant tomorrow in Metro Detroit. Larry Summers, director of the National Economic Council, will be in Michigan when Vice President Joe Biden announces the first round of advanced battery and electric vehicle research grants. MORE