TOKYO—Kenichi Yamamoto, who led the engineering team that produced a commercially viable rotary engine at the company now known as Mazda Motor Co. and later became its president and chairman, died on Dec. 20. He was 95.
CHARLOTTE, NC—Three manufacturers plan to bring 639 jobs and almost $73 million in investment to the extended Charlotte area. Automotive supplier Tristone Flowtech USA Inc. is investing $23.6 million to build a new assembly plant in Iredell County, creating 302 jobs. Dhollandia Manufacturing, which makes hydraulic lifts, will spend $30 million to open a new assembly plant in Gaston County, creating 150 jobs. And, Sunrise Global Marketing, which makes battery-powered outdoor equipment, will hire 187 people and spend $23.2 million to open an assembly plant in Burke County.
ROCHESTER, NY—General Electric has decided to keep 90 manufacturing jobs at its assembly plant here. The conglomerate had been planning to shift those jobs to China by June 2018.
CHICAGO—Two vehicles assembled in the greater Chicagoland area—the Ford Taurus and Ford Explorer—rank among the top vehicles with the most American-made parts, according to two studies.
NORTH CHARLESTON, SC--According to a permit application filed last week with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, Mercedes-Benz Vans plans to ramp up production of its Sprinter commercial vehicles in three phases at its campus here.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Wis.--Foxconn Technology Group (FTG) has made its first financial commitment for a planned flat-panel plant in Wisconsin, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., known as FTG outside of Taiwan, on Friday deposited $60 million to special bank accounts in Wisconsin. The money is to be used by the village and Racine County to buy land for the $10 billion flat-panel plant, the construction of which is to begin next month.
SPOKANE-–Greater Spokane Inc. and Spokane International Airport say they are forming a task force to attract the design, production and final assembly of Boeing’s new midsize airplane. Boeing’s proposed new airplane is called the NMA, and the company plans to announce the launch of the project in 2018.
QINGDAO, China--Earlier this month, the New York-based Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) announced a proposal to develop an international mass customization standard led by Chinese electronics manufacturer Haier at the National Engineering and Scientific Commission conference. It is the first international standard created by IEEE based on the model, and to serve as its technical framework since the organization was launched more than 50 years ago.
FORT WORTH, TX—Lockheed Martin delivered its 66th F-35 this month, hitting its delivery target for the year and boosting its production level by more than 40 percent compared with last year. Lockheed is ramping up production of the F-35 and plans to hire an additional 1,800 workers by 2020.
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