Layoffs have become a fact of life in the manufacturing industry. Being prepared is the best defense against the threat of downsizing, which often occurs with little or no advance warning.
Several leading manufacturers are experimenting with employee evaluation rating systems to determine pay raises and promotions. However, the job new review practice is extremely controversial.
The Panoz AIV Roadster is 70 percent aluminum and has a curb weight of 2,600 pounds. It is hand-built by the Panoz Auto Development Co. (Hoschton, GA) and is the first aluminum-intensive vehicle manu-factured in the United States. Only 200 are built each year.
For over 40 years, Ray Jacobson's sculptures have appeared in galleries and are often commissioned by architects, civic organizations and private individuals.
For almost 100 years following Thomas Edison's first recording, not much changed in audio technology. Then high fidelity, stereo, 8-track and cassettes, compact disks and digital audio tape emerged.
Increasingly, responsibility for automotive assembly and quality is being pushed down the supply chain, and parts suppliers with little or no assembly experience must often become assembly experts.
When Porsche AG (Stuttgart, Germany) was planning and designing its new engine assembly plant, the company initially counted on the skills of its own internal production machinery department. This department, however, had to compete with external offers.
