BASSETT, VA—Bassett Furniture is producing furniture here for the first time since May 2007. The company has opened a new assembly plant to make chairs, tables, fixtures and cabinets.
MACUNGIE, PA—The Mack Trucks assembly plant here is among the sites helping Volvo Group North America achieve its goal of reduced energy consumption under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Better Plants Challenge five years earlier than expected.
FORT WAYNE, IN—GM will spend $1.2 billion to revamp its pickup truck assembly plant here. Plans call for improving the paint shop, expanding the body shop, and upgrading the assembly area.
BLAGNAC, France—Airbus is poised to increase assembly of the A350 after getting off to a deliberately slow start to curb risks. After delivering one aircraft in December and another in the first quarter, Airbus expects to deliver six aircraft between now and August.
GAINESVILLE, GA—Kubota Manufacturing of America Corp. plans to increase production capacity the U.S. by building a 502,000-square-foot assembly plant and expanding its existing operations here.
DETROIT—A protracted labor dispute that slowed the shipment of products through ports on the West Coast has forced some West Michigan manufacturers to rethink their just-in-time production model.
CAMBRIDGE, ON—Just two months ago, efforts by the Canadian union Unifor to organize two Toyota Motor Corp. plants in Ontario had all but ground to a halt. But an April announcement that Toyota will move production of the Corolla from its 27-year-old plant here to a new factory to be built in Mexico ignited fears of job cuts. Now, the Unifor campaign is springing back to life.
DETROIT—Automotive suppliers that have quality relationships with OEMs are more willing to give price concessions, share technology and offer support beyond what contracts stipulate, according to a new report on automaker-supplier relations.
AUBURN HILLS, MI—ABB will begin manufacturing robots in the United States, making it the first global industrial robotics company to do so. The company made the announcement at the opening of a new robotics factory here. Approximately 300 new jobs will be added to the facility by 2017.