April 2011 Industry Watch: Business

The manufacturer’s commitment to customer education on the practical use and application of magnets and metal detection technologies and advancement of inventive magnetic and other types of material handling equipment is accomplished through significant investments in research and development and proactive product training. MPI interacts closely with its customers and expands its offerings to meet the changes of a dynamic marketplace. “This is also a time to focus on our employees whose efforts make us what we are today,” added Rhodes. “The dedication and teamwork of our staff have led to the achievements of the past 30 years. I have never been more optimistic about us than I am today.” www.mpimagnet.com  

GEORGIA POWDER COATING (GAINSVILLE, GA) . . .
launched a new and improved website that features color chart options, helpful articles, galleries of latest projects, industry announcements and more. The company now offers assembly/packaging pickup and delivery in addition to coating removal and powder coating. www.georgiapowdercoating.com

SOUTHERN CRANE (RALEIGH, NC) . . .
lowered a giant 10 ft tall, 1250 lb copper and steel acorn from the sky to help the City of Oaks celebrate the new year, an honor the contractor has handled every year since the inaugural First Night Raleigh 20 years ago. The acorn, created by sculptor David Benson, is displayed in Moore Square of the city throughout the year. First Night Raleigh is presented by Artsplosure – The Raleigh Arts Festival, Inc., a local nonprofit organization that produces high-quality annual festivals to celebrate excellence in the performing and visual arts; to promote and bring recognition to national, regional, and local artists; and to bring artists and the larger community together to improve the quality of life and cultural environment. www.southernindustrial.com 

O’NEAL STEEL, INC. (BIRMINGHAM, AL) . . .
will use Ruan Transportation Management Systems (Des Moines, IA) as its dedicated contract carrier, providing transportation and logistics support for the nation’s largest family-owned metals service center. The partnership allows O’Neal Steel to better manage its transportation costs and focus on its core business of providing a wide-range of metals and specialty metals. The service center will lower risk, reduce overhead and costs, and eliminate associated insurance, maintenance, procurement and disposal costs. Ruan will hire the company drivers, who will continue to use O’Neal equipment and uniforms, and generally serve the same customers.

“One of the most important functions and greatest expenses we have is delivering material to our customers,” said Holman Head, the president and chief executive officer of O’Neal Steel. “We were looking for a more economical way to operate our transportation function without sacrificing service and quality or adversely affecting our employees. After extensive analysis, Ruan stood head and shoulders above the rest.” As a dedicated contract carrier, Ruan will offer operating efficiencies, route optimization systems, focused attention on safety and regulatory issues, investment in the latest technology, resources for driver education and training, and, ultimately, better customer service.

Ruan is the only transportation company that is a member of the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI), a trade association whose members constitute the largest single group of metals purchasers in North America, amounting each year to more than 75 million tons of steel, aluminum and other metals, with about 300,000 manufacturers and fabricators as customers.  Members represent most elements of the metals value chain, including metals producers, distributors, and processors and, to a lesser extent, the interests of metals users. www.onealsteel.com

DAYTON PROGRESS CORPORATION (DAYTON, OH) . . .
acquired the business and assets of Lane Punch Corporation, a manufacturer of metal stamping tools that was established in 1965 and has manufacturing locations in Michigan and North Carolina. Dayton Progress will transfer all production this year from the two Lane plants to its factories in Ohio, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia, nearer to the customers of Lane. “This purchase greatly enhances our position in the metal stamping and forming tooling industry,” said Alan Shaffer, the president and CEO of Dayton Progress. www.daytonprogress.com

HOBART BROTHERS COMPANY (TROY, OH) . . .
recently received the CE mark for four of its tubular welding wires, the Tri-Mark^® Metalloy­­^® Vantage™, Hobart^® FabCO^®  RXR, Hobart Excel Arc™ 71 and Tri-Mark TM-881K2. Also referred to as Conformité Européenne or European Conformity, the CE mark asserts that these welding wires meet the strict safety and health requirements necessary for them to be sold and used in European Union countries, or countries doing work for the EU.

The Metalloy Vantage, FabCO RXR and Excel Arc 71 welding wires are designed for general fabrication, construction, heavy equipment and rail applications, while the TM-881K2 welding wire is specifically engineered for offshore and shipbuilding applications.  To obtain the CE mark, the welding wires underwent more than a year of rigorous analysis, quality control adjustments, additional certifications and label modifications in accordance with the mark’s requirements. To retain the CE mark, the company must maintain the proper level of conformance for the life of these products, in terms of quality, performance and technical information. The company also plans to gain CE mark certifications for more of its tubular welding wires in the near future. hobartbrothers.com 

RENISHAW PLC (GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UK) . . .
recently expanded the 3000 sq ft custom-built molecular diagnostics laboratory and office facilities of Renishaw Diagnostics, Ltd. in Nova Technology Park (Glasgow, Scotland) in a ceremony performed by Sir David McMurtry, its chairman and CEO. Attendees included Renishaw staff from across the UK, representatives from Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Development International, the Scottish Parliament and Nexxus, central Scotland’s life sciences network. Renishaw Diagnostics CEO David Burns said, “We will launch our first products into the molecular diagnostics market in 2011 and plan to become a major supplier of multiplexed molecular diagnostic systems for infectious diseases. This will allow clinicians to diagnose and treat more quickly.”

In other news, the metrology firm recently collaborated with Biomet 3i (Palm Beach Gardens, FL), a leader in implant dentistry (and subsidiary of Biomet, Inc.), to spread its precision engineering expertise in dental manufacturing to a wider global audience. Building on its Patient Specific CAD/CAM Restorative Products portfolio, Biomet 3i uses this collaboration to expand the boundaries of a traditional “dental implant” company by providing a series of innovative digital solutions from which laboratories, clinicians and patients can benefit.