Kinetic Die Casting Blog

Several manufacturers are providing more than monetary donations to help the Haiti earthquake relief efforts. Health-care products, generators and solar lights are among the many items pouring in from manufacturers to the ravaged nation.

Ecolab Inc. will try to assist with sanitation concerns in Haiti by contributing more than $500,000 in product donations and an employee matching gift program, the company said Jan. 18.

“Ecolab’s cleaning and sanitizing products, including waterless hand sanitizers and surface sanitizers, are critical during disasters such as this,” said Douglas Baker Ecolab’s president and CEO. “The extraordinary impact of the earthquake’s devastation is a reminder of our common humanity. Ecolab, along with our global associates, is pleased to be able to send our products and dollars to provide assistance to the people of Haiti.”

On the same day, pharmaceutical manufacturer Abbott Laboratories said it would provide $2.5 million in grant funding and donations of critical pharmaceutical and nutritional products to humanitarian aid organizations.

Some Abbott pharmaceutical and nutritional products already are in use throughout Haiti because of the company’s prior work with humanitarian organization Direct Relief International to prepare for natural disasters. These items include antibiotics, rehydration solutions and nutritional products that are in critical need following the earthquake in Haiti.

Honda will donate more than $300,000 to the Red Cross, as well as portable generators, water pumps, and other company products for use during humanitarian relief and recovery efforts in Haiti.

Solar lighting manufacturer Sol Inc. is working with government agencies to transport solar lights from Florida to Haiti, the company said Jan. 15. The total donation is expected to reach more than $400,000 with assistance from suppliers.

The company has also dispatched a 44-foot catamaran donated by a Florida entrepreneur Deane Blazie to provide ground support and logistics in Haiti.

UPS plans to significantly increase its global service parts logistics (SPL) network by establishing 101 new field stocking locations (FSLs) in China.

With the expansion, UPS will cover 89 cities across China with more than 110 bonded and non-bonded FSLs. Companies in a variety of industries that require same-day and/or next-business-day delivery of critical service parts will be served by UPS’s expansion. Examples of these industries include high-tech/electronics, medical equipment and aerospace.

The FSLs in China, like their counterparts across the globe, will utilize the UPS Post Sales Order Management System (OMS), a Web-based system that enables companies located anywhere in the world to assess their critical parts inventory, determine the most optimal routing strategy to meet customer needs, place orders online and track parts from the warehouse to the end user.

In 2009, UPS announced the expansion of its global FSL network in India and the opening of a new customer support center in the Philippines to meet SPL needs in Asia.

UPS’s SPL network features more than 950 FSLs in 120 countries. This global footprint, which is fully integrated with the company’s global transportation network, helps enable companies to locate their products closer to their customers and suppliers. UPS’s SPL services include: critical parts order fulfillment for inbound inventory, warehousing and management of critical parts worldwide; returns and recycling management; and parts and inventory planning.

What is Consumer Parts Die Castings? Die Casting Tooling are tools used in a process known as die casting. In this process, the metal alloy which can be zinc, copper or aluminum, is melted into liquefied metal by heating it in intense temperatures. After the metal alloy is liquefied, this will then be poured into the die casting tools and after it cools down, it becomes the finished product. This process is commonly used to create consumer parts. Consumer Parts Die Cast Tooling is the fastest and cheapest way to make bulk numbers of parts that are commonly used in everyday items.

Consumer Parts Die Castings come in many forms, shapes and sizes. This process is very useful to many manufacturers around the world as aluminum parts are used almost anywhere and everywhere. Automobiles rely heavily on aluminum parts, the same goes with lighting fixtures and consumer electronics. Heat sinks and brackets are usually made of aluminum because the properties of this metal alloy are perfect for the purpose.

There’s a huge demand for Consumer Parts Die Castings. Any manufacturer can lower his or her cost by applying this technique in making parts for new products. If a manufacturer doesn’t have the resources to purchase the machinery required for die casting, then it could opt to contract the services of another company which offers die casting jobs. Their services are available all over the country and around the world for that matter. Sometimes overseas companies can offer cheaper rates even with higher transportation costs with the same or even higher quality of the finished product.

Chinese Solar Panel Manufacturer to Open Plant in Arizona. Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd., a China-based maker of solar modules, recently announced plans to open its first U.S. manufacturing plant, near Phoenix.

The plant will have an initial production capacity of 30 megawatts and is expected to begin production in the third quarter of 2010.

The Suntech plant will employ more than 75 full-time workers at launch and may double its staff within the year if the North American market grows as expected, according to the company.

Suntech said it selected the Phoenix area “because of Arizona’s leadership in research through Arizona State University, and statewide renewable energy policies, particularly its Renewable Energy Standard and distributed generation set-aside, as well as a supportive local business climate represented by the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.”

‘Long-Term, Strategic Investment in the North American Market’

Locating the plant close to Suntech’s U.S. customers will reduce the time, costs and emissions associated with long-distance shipping of Suntech panels, the company said.

“This is the first step in what I see as a long-term, strategic investment in the North American market,” said Suntech Chairman and CEO Zhengrong Shi. “Over the last two years we have grown our U.S. team to more than 60 employees. As a result of that effort, we have developed a network of more than 200 solar dealers and integrators installing Suntech products and are actively involved with a number of large-scale solar project developers serving the utility market.

“We also have developed strong partnerships with U.S. companies such as MEMC of Pasadena, Texas, our largest supplier of silicon wafers used in our modules. The leadership shown by the U.S. government in advancing renewable energy will only improve the environment for further investments in the coming years.”

Videogame giant Electronic Arts posted a net loss for the 11th consecutive quarter on Nov. 9 and said it was cutting 1,500 jobs, or 16% of its workforce.

EA reported a net loss of $391 million in its fiscal second quarter, which ended on September 30, compared with a net loss of $310 million a year ago.

EA said revenue rose 2% in the quarter to a record $1.147 billion behind the launches of “FIFA 10,” “Madden NFL 10,” “The Beatles: Rock Band,” “Need for Speed,” “SHIFT” and “NCAA Football 10.”

The Redwood City, Calif.-based videogame publisher said it was cutting some 1,500 jobs as part of a plan to “narrow its product portfolio to provide greater focus on titles with higher margin opportunities.”

It said the plan, expected to be completed by March 31, 2010, will include the closure of several facilities and will result in annual cost savings of at least $100 million and restructuring charges of $130 million to $150 million.

EA announced earlier on Nov. 9 that it has acquired London-based social network game maker Playfish in a deal that could be worth up to $400 million. EA said it had bought Playfish, which makes games for Facebook, MySpace and other social networks, for $275 million in cash and $25 million in equity retention arrangements for employees. In addition, EA said it will pay up to $100 million if the privately held Playfish reaches certain performance milestones through December 31, 2011.

“EA is performing well, with quality, sales and segment share up so far this year,” EA chief executive John Riccitiello said. “We are making tough calls to cut cost in targeted areas and investing more in our biggest games and digital businesses,” he said.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009