ASHEVILLE, NC—President Barack Obama visited a truck parts assembly plant here to highlight the role of U.S. manufacturing in reviving the economy, and to follow up on his State of the Union message of strengthening the middle class.

LONGVIEW, TX—After implementing lean manufacturing, the BorgWarner assembly plant here has increased profits, raised productivity, and improved employee health and morale.

WASHINGTON—Women could help manufacturers fill their need for skill workers, but companies will need to improve the image of the industry as a female-friendly workplace.

WASHINGTON—U.S. sales of machine tools totaled more than $5.7 billion in 2012, a 2.6 percent increase compared with 2011 and the highest total since 1996.

CHENNAI, India—Nokia Corp. has filed a complaint with the Indian government after tax officials raided its assembly plant here.

CAMBRIDGE, MA—Researchers at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology have developed new technology to enable people and robots to safely work together side-by-side.

CLAYTON, NC—PCX Corp., a manufacturer of electrical power systems, has successfully commissioned a 500-kilowatt rooftop photovoltaic system at its assembly plant here.

NOŠOVICE, Moravia—At Hyundai’s assembly plant here, a single, flexible robotic welding line can assemble doors for multiple models at the same time.

HUBER HEIGHTS, OH—Systems integrator Process Equipment Co. has gone from a building with a partially collapsed roof to a new facility that’s a “paradise of precision.” Now the company is looking to hire.

TOKYO—Researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology have developed an organic material that can be liquefied or hardened by shining different types of light on it. The result is an adhesive that can be used over and over again.