April Industry Watch: Business

CARL ZEISS (MAPLE GROVE, MN) . . .
announced that Crescent Gage and Tool Sales is now a distributor of Zeiss metrology equipment for Central and Northern Texas, Northern Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Crescent Gage and Tool Sales, with Precision Measurement Centers in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex (Rowlett) and Austin, TX, will represent the full line of Zeiss coordinate measuring machines (CMMs).

"With Crescent Gage and Tool Sales, we have selected a competent and knowledgeable partner. A full staff of employees who are trained and focused on metrology, coupled with state-of-the-art facilities, allows Crescent Gage and Tool Sales to provide our customers with excellent sales and applications support throughout the region," said John Grzybowski, National Sales Manager-West, Carl Zeiss IMT Corporation. "The Zeiss product line will significantly enhance our overall product offering and we are proud to be a part of the Carl Zeiss team," adds Mike Freauf, president of Crescent Gage and Tool Sales. Their Dallas-area office is equipped with a demo showroom to promote Carl Zeiss metrology solutions. www.zeiss.com

AMERICAN PRIDE FASTENERS
(BAY SHORE, NY) . . .
received the 2009 Fastener Supplier of the Year Award by Tyco Electronics (CIS) Communications Industrial Solutions. Selection criteria for the annual Fastener Supplier of the Year award include quality, consistency, cost-effectiveness and delivery. The award presentations took place at the TE Supplier Technology Show, held at the Sheraton Hotel, Harrisburg, PA. Presenting the award were Lori Moyer, Strategic Procurement Development, and M. Shane Northcraft, Vice President of Operations for Tyco Electronics Communications, Computer and Consumer Electronics business unit. APF was also presented the CIS Operational Excellence Award for Delivery Performance.

American Pride Fasteners is a Long Island manufacturer and distributor of high quality miniature and micro fasteners, including captive and shoulder screws, sems, socket caps, pins, rivets and specialty components serving the construction, automotive, electronics, medical and jewelry industries. Now in their seventh year of operation, they have maintained steady growth while effectively competing in an increasingly demanding global marketplace. www.fastenerindustry.com/american-pride-fasteners.htm

HEMCO GAGE (HOLLAND, MI) . . .
acquired selected assets of the Ekonogage product line of hardened tool steel pin gages and sets, previously a division of Perfekt Punch. Ekonogage by Hemco is now carrying pin gages in the following sizes:
? .005 in to 1.0005 in in .0001 in increments Class X in both plus tolerance and minus tolerance
? .005 in to1.0005 in in .0005 in increments Class Y bi-lateral tolerance
? 0.13 mm to 25.55 mm .01 mm increments Class Y bi-lateral tolerance
Hemco Gage manufactures a full line of fixed limit gages and variable gages, both thread and cylindrical or plain. Hemco also manufactures gages to American Petroleum Institute (API) specifications and is one of only two manufacturers in the United States licensed to manufacture API Master Gages. www.hemcogages.com

TRUMPF, INC. (FARMINGTON, CT) . . .
announced that its customer service department recently received a Stevie® Award (named the "Stevies" for the Greek word for "crowned) in the Customer Service Department of the Year category. The award was presented during the fourth annual Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service. Stevie Awards organizes several of the world's leading business awards shows, including the prestigious American Business Awards. More than 500 entries from companies of all sizes and in virtually every industry were entered in this year's competition. Nine companies were nominated for the Customer Service Department of the Year award by business professionals worldwide during preliminary judging.

Trumpf was selected winner from among the finalists. "We implemented important changes in the Service Department and made big steps toward delivering excellence in customer service," said Kevin Domingue, Vice President of Customer Service. "This wouldn't have been possible without the dedication and hard work from my people, and I would like to say 'thank you' to my team." "This year's honorees demonstrate that even in challenging economic times, it's possible for organizations to continue to shine in sales and customer service, the two most important functions in business: acquiring and keeping customers," said Michael Gallagher, president of
the Stevie Awards.www.us.trumpf.com

PRIMA INDUSTRIE S.P.A. (CHICOPEE, MA) . . .
was named best-performing Italian public company in the industrial machinery sector, and second of all large companies according to an independent study by A. T. Kearney, the global management consulting firm. Rankings of the A. T. Kearney study were based on sales growth and total shareholder return for the period 2004 through 2008. Prima ranked first in sales growth ahead of well- known Italian companies such as Datalogic (8th), Fiat (16th), Finmeccanica (23rd) and the consumer company Campri (24th). During that period, Prima's sales grew by a compounded annual growth rate of 39 percent, from 97 million Euro in 2004 to 367 million Euros in 2008.

"This study acknowledges the great achievements of the PRIMA Group of companies, which includes Prima North America," stated Terry L. VanderWert, president of Prima North America, Inc. "PRIMA is a world leading manufacturer of industrial laser systems and this study
further verifies our standing as a leader not only in our industry but in businesses overall. Prima has operating divisions in 15 countries and manufacturing facilities in the United States, China, Finland as well as Italy. We continue to invest over 6 percent of our annual revenues in research and development which is one of the key reasons for our standing as an industry leader and for our rapid worldwide growth." Prima's industrial laser machinery is used in the fabrication of metal in aircraft, automobiles, tractors, appliances and furniture. Long-time users include world-leading companies such as Boeing, Airbus, Fiat, Eaton, Whirlpool, Mercedes, BMW, Rolls Royce, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Volvo among many others. www.prima-na.com

AMT (MCLEAN, VA) and AMTDA (ROCKVILLE, MD) . . .
reported that manufacturing technology consumption was up 22 percent through February. February U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $163.96 million, according to AMT, the Association For Manufacturing Technology, and AMTDA, the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association. This total, as reported by companies participating in the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Consumption (USMTC) program, was up 28.8 percent from January and up 22.1 percent from the total of $134.34 million reported for February 2009. With a year-to-date total of $291.27 million, 2010 is up 22.3 percent compared with 2009.

These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTC program. "Manufacturing technology orders start off 2010 up 22 percent through February, showing that the market has turned and is slowly recovering from the worst single-year downturn in our industry's history," according to Douglas K. Woods, AMT president. "That increase could be twice as large if banks would ease credit restrictions. Our banks have a tenth of our GDP and nearly 24 times the required reserve in the Federal Depository when that money should be working to rebuild America."

The USMTC report, jointly compiled by the two trade associations representing the production and distribution of manufacturing technology, provides regional and national U.S. consumption data of domestic and imported machine tools and related equipment. Analysis of manufacturing technology consumption provides a reliable leading economic indicator as manufacturing industries invest in capital metalworking equipment to increase capacity and improve productivity. U.S. manufacturing technology consumption is also reported on a regional basis for five geographic breakdowns of the United States.

Northeast Region
Northeast Region manufacturing technology consumption in February rose to $26.64 million, up 6.1 percent when compared with January's $25.11 million but down 3.1 percent when compared with February 2009. With a year-to-date total of $51.75 million, 2010 was up 9.6 percent when compared with 2009 at the same time.

Southern Region
February manufacturing technology consumption in the Southern Region totaled $19.00 million, down 33.2 percent when compared with the $28.42 million total for January and off 11.0 percent when compared with February a year ago. The $47.42 million year-to-date total was 32.1 percent more than the total for the same period in 2009.

Midwest Region
With a total of $43.06 million, Midwest Region manufacturing technology consumption in February was 19.7 percent higher than January's $35.96 million and up 9.0 percent when compared with last February. The year-to-date total of $79.02 million was 16.2 percent above the comparable figure in 2009.

Central Region
Totaling $53.20 million, Central Region manufacturing technology consumption in February rose 102.1 percent above January's $26.32 million and was 76.6 percent higher than the total for February 2009. At $79.52 million, 2010 year-to-date was up 42.8 percent when compared with last year at the same time.

Western Region
At $22.07 million, February manufacturing technology consumption in the Western Region was up 91.9 percent from January's $11.50 million and up 39.1 percent when compared with February a year ago. The $33.57 million year-to-date total was 7.3 percent more than the 2009 total at the same time. www.amtonline.org, www.amtda.org

NIKON METROLOGY, INC. (BRIGHTON, MI) . . .
was formed for industrial-based metrology customers by Nikon, combining Nikon Instruments Inc.'s industrial instruments business with the former Metris business, acquired by Nikon Corp. in 2009. Nikon Metrology, Inc. will focus specifically on the industrial and manufacturing business markets for precision measuring and industrial microscopy. "The formation of Nikon Metrology, Inc. strengthens Nikon's commitment to the industrial marketplace and offers a renewed focus on the company's industrial business," says Myles Richard, managing director, Nikon Metrology. "This new company brings greater product offerings to the market while continuing Nikon's tradition of top-quality customer service." www.nikonmetrology.com

PRAB (KALAMAZOO, MI) . . .
welcomed Bill Payne of BHE, Inc. (Ludington, MI) as a manufacturer's representative of its conveyors and chip and fluid management systems. Payne brings more than 35 years of experience in process engineering and has been representing some of the most respected companies in processing and packinging for 25 years, including Hapman for the last three. "Bill has a powerful track record of success that is fueled by his enthusiasm and passion for the lines he represents," said Mike Hill, vice president, sales and marketing, PRAB. "We're looking forward to shared success as he represents our proven material handling and chip and fluid processing solutions for the metalworking industry." PRAB is a leading engineer and manufacturer of conveyors and chip and fluid management systems. Its customized solutions automate metal handling, reduce labor costs, reclaim and recycle expensive cutting fluids/coolants and maximize return on recycling metals. www.prab.com

MICHIGAN ROLL FORM (FRASER, MI) . . .
purchased the intellectual property and inventory items of Tru-Tech Tool and Machine Company in March, including all machine and tooling designs/records, parts inventory, engineering drawings, sales records and other customer-related items of Tru-Tech Tool and Machine Company. Michigan Roll Form also has obtained the exclusive rights to use the brand name, copyrights and trademarks. All of the items have been moved from the former Muskegon, MI, location to the current MRF facility in Fraser.

Steve Arens, president of Michigan Roll Form, said, "Our intent in making this acquisition is two-fold. First, as the exclusive owner of Tru-Tech's original engineering, we will provide the parts and service support that these customers deserve and will need going forward. Second, we will welcome this opportunity to showcase the full range of our abilities to new customers and offer them whatever products best serve their needs. We acquired the Contour Roll and Pneu-Powr brands back in 2000 under similar circumstances. That broadened our product line and gave us new customers in some different markets. We are fully expecting the same benefits from acquiring Tru-Tech and anticipate having to increase our staffing to meet the new demands." Michigan Roll Form manufactures a complete line of metal fabricating machines and the related tooling. Products include pay-off reels, roll mills, presses, perforators, along with cut-off and pre-notch dies and roll tooling. www.mrf-inc.com

PANGBORN CORPORATION (FAIRBURN, GA) . . .
agreed to make Always Dependable Service (ADS) (Ontario, Canada) an authorized distributor of genuine Pangborn equipment and parts. ADS established itself as the largest independent shot blast service company in the metal finishing industry. This increased coverage in Canada is expected to bolster the expanding coverage of Pangborn equipment while increasing the availability of Pangborn parts to a wider audience. "We are excited that ADS has joined the Pangborn team. Our high tech product line, along with their incredibly experienced staff, makes for a great team approach to servicing the customer base in Canada," says Mike Bishop, Pangborn director of equipment sales. Bishop also stated that ADS will reciprocate by giving Pangborn the opportunity to sell ADS airblast products through its own sales network, thus increasing the Pangborn product offering. www.pangborn.com

HEXAGON METROLOGY (NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI) . . .
announced that the Santa Fe Springs and Berkley, CA, regional offices of Ellison Technologies will become authorized distributors of Hexagon Metrology's dimensional measurement products for California and Nevada. Hexagon Metrology products are used in quality control applications for manufacturing and include programmable coordinate measuring machines, portable articulated arms, and software solutions under brand names such as Brown & Sharpe, ROMER, PC-DMIS, Sheffield and more. "This new partnership represents a tremendous opportunity for our California customer base," said Graham Hooper, president of Ellison Technologies, Western Region. "Our focus is to provide our customers with the latest technological advances needed to stay competitive. Hexagon's broad line of superior measurement products reconfirms that commitment."

"We are extremely pleased to have a distributor of Ellison's caliber onboard on the west coast," said Angus Taylor, president and CEO of Hexagon Metrology, Inc. "The western U.S. has long been an important market for Hexagon Metrology products, particularly in the aerospace and medical markets. With the addition of Ellison's extensive coverage and unrivaled expertise in applying manufacturing solutions to technologically sophisticated applications, we will be able to bring our unique lineup of metrology products to more customers than ever." www.HexagonMetrology.us

IDEAL INDUSTRIES, INC. (SYCAMORE, IL) . . .
agreed to acquire Pratt-Read, the third largest manufacturer of screwdrivers in the U.S. and one of the country's oldest companies. Founded in 1798, Pratt-Read manufactures screwdrivers that it sells to a wide range of customers under its own brand name as well as to other tool manufacturers. The company started making screwdrivers in 1834. Since the 2005 acquisition of American Industrial Manufacturers, Pratt Read has manufactured a complete line of screwdrivers, handles, blades and bits, making it a leader in providing solutions for the screw driven products industry.

This latest move follows Ideal's purchase of Western Forge (Colorado Springs, CO), a manufacturer of pliers, screwdrivers and adjustable wrenches. "Acquiring Pratt-Read in addition to Western Forge enhances the capabilities of Ideal and expands the product offering in the hand tool market to further emphasize our strong, strategic focus on American-made quality, service and value," said Jim James, CEO and president of Ideal Industries. The company will operate as Pratt-Read Tools, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Ideal Industries, Inc. www.idealindustries.com