The Authority For 
httpv://youtu.be/2S3w1h_Pd_8
A fascinating look at the role that a major American manufacturer, the Bucyrus Co., played in the construction of the Panama Canal. In 1904, the Ohio-based firm, now a subsidiary of Caterpillar, supplied 77 of the 102 giant steam shovels used to dig the 48-mile long ship canal that revolutionized global trade.
Thornton, CO – Ascent Solar Technologies Inc. has contracted with Peak Development Ltd. as its preferred distributor to large retailers in the UK for the products manufactured by its EnerPlex Division. .
Ascent Solar is a developer and manufacturer of flexible thin-film photovoltaic modules used in a wide variety of consumer products from flashlights to backpacks.
“The United Kingdom continues to be a high value target market for EnerPlex, one which bears huge potential for growth, and through our new partnership with Peak Development, we intend to push further into the consumer space to realize this opportunity,” said John Maslanik, EnerPlex’s Manager of Business Development.
Peak Development Ltd. is an award-winning specialist distributor of accessories, add-ons and enhancements for today’s digital devices.
Since 1993 the company has worked in partnership with customers and suppliers to provide quality products and services for the retail, ‘e-tail’, OEM and industrial sectors.
10/02/2015
Tampa, FL – Acoustiblok Inc. is expanding its export footprint into the Caribbean region with the appointment of BEXtronics Ltd. as the company’s regional distributor for the Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago.
Florida-based Acoustiblok Inc. is a NASA spinoff-listed company specializing in noise remediation that manufactures a patented, flexible soundproofing material that reduces more sound than 12-inches of poured concrete when added to a stud wall.
Rather than attempting to block or absorb sound as other materials attempt to do, the Acoustiblok material transforms sound energy into inaudible internal friction energy as the soft heavy material flexes from sound waves.
BEXtronics is currently offering Acoustiblok material and QuietFiber, and will over time carry the full range of Acoustiblok products specifically designed to address a full spectrum of types of noise problems, as well as Thermablok, a highly advanced insulation material utilizing aerogel technology developed by NASA.
Acoustiblok products are used in industrial, residential, commercial, and marine sectors worldwide. The company’s products are made and sourced in the US.
The company ships products to more than 60 countries through a network of stocking distributors in the US, on five continents across the globe and throughout the Mid-East.
Acoustiblok products are distributed in the Mid-East by Acoustiblok Mideast.
09/16/2014
Washington, DC – The value of exports from America’s Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs) increased by 13.7 percent in 2013, to a record-high $79.5 billion in merchandise shipped to overseas markets, according to the US Foreign Trade Zones Board.
According to the group’s Annual Report to Congress, at $835.8 billion, the 2013 value of received merchandise into FTZs also reached a new high, surpassing the previous year’s record of $732.2 billion – a 14.1 percent increase.
Nearly two-thirds of the merchandise received by FTZs in 2013 was domestically sourced, with the value of domestic status inputs growing to $545.5 billion. The remaining $290.3 billion in received merchandise consisted of foreign status inputs, it said.
The composition of foreign status inputs received by FTZs has also shifted significantly, according to the report. In 2013, a 16 percent decline in foreign status petroleum inputs was offset by increases in other product categories, such as vehicles, electrical machinery, and consumer products.
According to the report, the $79.5 billion export figure is based solely on material inputs, and does not include the value added to those inputs by US-based manufacturers operating in FTZs.
“CAPTURING THE FULL VALUE OF EXPORTS”
The National Association of Foreign Trade Zones (NAFTZ) is currently working with the US Census Bureau and the US Foreign Trade Zones Board “to more accurately capture the full value of exports from FTZs, including the value added to foreign and domestic status inputs by FTZ user companies,” the report said.
“Record FTZ exports, merchandise received, and employment offer compelling evidence that the FTZ program is expanding and adapting to meet the needs of American-based companies competing in a global economy,” said NAFTZ President Daniel Griswold.
The zone program, he said, “has become vital to US economic policy goals of boosting exports, attracting foreign investment, and creating well-paying and sustainable private-sector jobs on American soil.”
“Since 2009, exports from foreign-trade zones have almost tripled, from $28 billion to nearly $80 billion,” Griswold added. “The FTZ program shows that when US-based companies are allowed to access global inputs at competitive prices, they can become export powerhouses.”
There were 177 active FTZs during 2013, with a total of 289 active manufacturing/production operations. A record high of 390,000 persons were employed at 3,050 firms that used FTZs during the year – an increase of 20,000 employees over 2012.
The FTZ Board processed 65 applications for new or expanded production authority in 2013, and reorganized 23 zones under the alternative site framework (ASF).
The first Foreign Trade Zone was opened on Staten Island by the Port of New York-New Jersey in February 1937.
08/28/2014
Orlando, FL – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America Inc. (MHIA) has received an order from the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) to design, build, operate, and maintain three separate Automated People Mover (APM) systems at Florida’s Orlando International Airport (OIA).
The project, slated for completion in 2018, marks the fourth major international airport in which MHI has implemented an APM in the US and its seventh overall APM system in the country.
The contract calls for MHIA to be responsible for implementing the three systems, which includes the supply and construction of a new, approximately 1.4 mile long system connecting the main airport terminal and the South Airport Complex – a multi-modal transportation hub – as well as the replacement of two existing 2000 ft. long APM systems connecting the main airport terminal to Airside Terminals 1 and 3.
In total, MHI will be supplying 18 new train cars. The Airside Terminals 1 and 3 APMs were originally built in 1981, and MHI will replace these while minimizing any inconvenience to passengers, the company said.
The contract also includes five years of system operations and maintenance after the construction is completed, with two additional five-year options, which will be performed by the Florida-headquartered joint venture of MHIA and Sumitomo Corporation- Crystal Mover Services Inc.
In addition, the South Airport APM Complex will serve as a regional station for the intercity “All Aboard Florida” rail system, which will be implemented in the near future.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., and with the cooperation of Sumitomo Corp.
Since 1981, Mitsubishi has delivered sixteen APM systems with an additional two large scale urban metro APMs under implementation, including the Macau Light Rapid Transit APM system – the single largest APM order in the industry.
08/06/2014
Washington, DC – For decades, state and local governments have offered packages of tax breaks and other incentives before foreign companies in the hope of luring them to the US to create jobs.
A new study published by the Brookings Institute asserts that strategy is “deeply flawed” and that “mergers and acquisitions are driving foreign investment in the US, not the opening of new establishments.”
Civic leaders, in turn,” would accomplish far more by bolstering industrial amenities to retain overseas companies than by offering rich subsidies designed to attract new ones,” it said.
“Policies that narrowly focus on (new business) openings are probably not going to give you a big bang for your buck,” according to Devashree Saha, a senior policy analyst at Brookings and lead author of the report.
In 2011, only 26 percent of all jobs at US locations of foreign companies were created by the opening of a new factory, office or store, while nearly a third were generated by foreign takeovers of US companies, Saha said, citing data from the Organization for International Investment (OFII) that found that, over the past two decades, 84 percent of foreign companies that came to the US did so through an acquisition.
“Federal, state and local governments should invest more to build strong industry clusters by ensuring an adequate supply of skilled workers, modernizing US infrastructure and increasing investment in research and development, among other initiatives,” the Brookings study said.
According to Nancy McLernon, president of the Washington, DC-based OFII, state and local leaders often ignore foreign companies that come to the US through mergers instead of connecting them with suppliers, customers and skilled workers. “That aftercare is critically important,” she said.
The US share of global foreign direct investment plunged from 37 percent in 2002 to 17 percent in 2012, according to OFII. The US is still the worldwide leader, but emerging markets such as China have grabbed a growing share of foreign dollars.”By recognizing the importance of mergers and acquisitions, we can capture more of that market share,” said McLernon.
Foreign-owned companies employ about 5.6 million workers in the US, or about 5 percent of private payrolls, according to the Brookings paper. Their employment grew steadily from 1991 to 2000, but has stagnated since.
Yet, it said, the firms generate outsize benefits, accounting for a fifth of US goods exports and 15.4 percent of all private research-and-development in 2011 with foreign owners of US operations paying higher wages than US companies — $77,000 vs. $60,000, on average.
07/29/2014
Gislaved, Sweden – Polymer band rubber compounder Hexpol has signed an agreement to acquire the business of US-based Kardoes Rubber Co. for $31.8 million.
Kardoes Rubber, with 90 employees at a manufacturing facility in LaFayette, Alabama, had a turnover of $3 million in 2013. The acquisition price will reportedly be paid upon completion of the acquisition, which is expected later this month.
Consolidation of the two businesses is expected in August.
The Hexpol Group develops and manufactures advanced rubber compounds, gaskets for plate heat exchangers, and plastic and rubber materials for truck and castor wheel applications. Customers are primarily OEM manufacturers of plate heat exchangers and trucks, systems suppliers to the global automotive and engineering industries, the energy sector and medical equipment manufacturers.
The Group is organized in two business areas, Hexpol Compounding and Hexpol Engineered Products, which generated slightly more than $8 billion in revenue in 2013 from production units located in Asia, Mexico and Eastern Europe.
Currently, more than 95 percent of sales are to customers outside Sweden.
07/25/2014
Memphis, TN – German auto parts supplier ContiTech has strengthened its position in the US automotive aftermarket with its acquisition of Memphis, Tennessee-based US automotive parts distributor Cadna Rubber Co.
“In ContiTech we have found the right technology partner who will help us to achieve our growth objectives in North America ,” says Cadna CEO Devin Hart who will stay on with the company as its General Manager.
ContiTech, he said, “is among the leading suppliers in the Automotive OE market. Our customers will benefit greatly from the industry expertise they provide.”
The US company generated approximately $15 million in sales in 2013.
ContiTech’s parent, Hanover, Germany-headquartered Continental, is a major supplier of brake systems, systems and components for powertrains and chassis, instrumentation, ‘infotainment solutions,’ vehicle electronics, tires and technical elastomers. The company currently employs around 182,000 people in 49 countries.
It’s ContiTech division numbers among the leading suppliers of a host of technical rubber products and is a specialist for plastics technology. The division develops and produces functional parts, components and systems for the automotive industry and other industries. The company currently has a workforce of approximately 29,700 employees.
7/23/2014
Los Angeles, CA – The trade in US-produced technology goods and services currently tops more than $1 trillion, according to a new industry white paper published by the TechAmerica Foundation (TAF).
Tech imports totaled $351 billion compared to $205 billion in exports in 2013, while tech service exports exceeded imports $303 billion to $161 billion in imports in 2011, the most recent year complete data are available, the group said.
Many of the goods imported into the US “are part of a global supply chain, where US multinational companies create and design tech products in the US and produce the finalized product overseas,” according to the paper.
In these cases, “the bulk of the profit from the products is accrued to the US firm. Often the importation of a technology good represents an ‘intra-company’ transfer as US firms brings their products into the United States for sale from their overseas production facilities,” it added.
The US currently has a tech trade surplus of nearly $5 billion when both tech goods and services are combined, with $501 billion in exports compared with $496 billion in imports. Goods exports and imports have been fairly flat for the last three years after rebounding as a result of the 2009 global market crash.
“The largest destinations for tech goods go to our closest trading partners, Mexico and Canada, which is a testament to the importance of free trade agreements to the American technology industry,” said Burak Guvensoylar, manager of government affairs at the TAF.
The US has free trade agreements with 20 countries, and is looking to create two new large scale agreements – the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP).
These new agreements, in addition to the Trade in Services Agreement, and the expansion of the Information Technology Agreement, could expand US free trade markets to 53 countries, “creating significant opportunities for US technology companies” by “increasing market access, eliminating tariffs, strengthening intellectual property rights, and ensuring the movement of data across the globe,” said Guvensoylar.
Telecommunications, Texas Lead the Way
According to the white paper , the US telecommunications sector, in particular, feeds the rate of tech goods and services exports, noted by the 9 percent increase in telecommunications services from 2011-2012 and the 6.6 percent increase in communications goods from 2012-2013.
Other key tech services include systems design, software, research and development, testing, and Internet services such as cloud computing and mobility strategy, it said.
From a state-by-state perspective, Texas continued to build on its status as the leading state by tech goods exports, growing from $45.1 billion in 2012 to $48.2 billion in 2013, a 6.7 percent growth rate, compared to a national growth rate of 0.8 percent.
California is a close second to Texas in revenue of exports, but the state saw a 5.1 percent decline in year-to-year exports. Texas and California combine to account for 44 percent of the country’s overall volume of tech good exports.
The TechAmerica Foundation is a non-profit technology industry research group headquartered in Washington, DC.
07/21/2014
Dandridge, TN – Wetekam Monofilaments USA, LP has purchased a 93,000 square foot facility in the Jefferson County Industrial Park in Dandridge, Tennessee, where it will manufacture industrial monofilament yarns through a high tech extrusion process.
Established in 1965, Wetekam Monofilaments is one of the largest monofilament yarn manufacturers in Europe.
Currently, 45 percent of its production is for export with 30 percent of production tagged for the North American market.
The new Jefferson County facility will assume production responsibilities for US, Canadian, and South American customers.
In Germany Wetekam operates an in-house laboratory and technical facilities to perform tests required by customers to determine exact properties including strength and flexibility. A similar lab will be a part of the Dandridge plant.
Wetekam Monofilaments yarns are used by a broad range of manufacturers in a variety of products.
The company’s customers include technical weavers, braiders, tufters and knitters in the automotive, medical, sporting goods, and upholstery industries, among others.
07/14/2014