Quality Engineering Career News by UQSI

Amid expanding recalls, the carmaker begins a PR campaign. An announcement on repairs is due today.

By Roger Vincent and Ken Ben-singer

Toyota Motor Corp. launched a public relations blitz Sunday intended to rebuild its public image amid massive recalls and reports that several models of its cars and trucks could accelerate uncontrollably.

The company, which this weekend ran full-page ads in major newspapers including The Times, said it would announce this morning a plan to fix the vehicles. A top executive was slated to appear on television to discuss the recalls.

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Tom Breckenridge
Plain Dealer Reporter

The region’s aerospace supply chain is an under-recognized but important driver of the region’s economy, a business-attraction group says.

Team NEO is spotlighting the multibillion-dollar aerospace sector in its latest quarterly review. The reviews aim to detail positive aspects of our struggling economy, as a tool to draw new business to the area.

Team NEO reports today that industries whose business includes supplying parts and components to the aerospace industry grew 59 percent in the last 16 years. That’s more than twice the growth rate for the 16-county economy.

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Posted by: Frederik Balfour

GM’s iconic Hummer brand has been acquired by a Chinese heavy construction equipment maker for about $150 million, marking another step in the long march by China to develop a world class local automobile industry. The deal, which was announced on the General Motors website, stipulates the manufacture of all Hummer brand vehicles will continue at its U.S. plants until 2011, ensuring 3,000 workers will keep their jobs. Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. will take 80% and a Chinese entrepreneur from Sichuan province in China’s interior, Suolang Duoji will take 20%.

Tengzhong was an obscure private company until it made headlines in June announcing it was in talks with GM to buy Hummer. Initially the official Chinese press conveyed Beijing’s displeasure over such a deal, claiming that the purchase of the gas guzzling Hummer brand was not in keeping with the country’s goal of cleaning up its environment. However insiders said that what really rankled the authorities was that Tengzhong did not seek approval from the central government before making the bid. All overseas investments require the government’s blessing, and Beijing is particularly sensitive to how attempted overseas purchases would be perceived by a world that is increasingly wary of the country’s growing economic might.

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By Star-Ledger Wire Services

Forget ObamaCare and the federal deficit. Let’s even put aside the mess in the Middle East for a minute. We’ve got real controversy here. The editors at Cars.com have compiled a list of the worst cars of the decade.

For the record, we agree with most of them. We had to paraphrase the editor’s comments, but the rankings — in descending order — are:

1. Smart ForTwo (2008-present): The ForTwo may look cute, but you won’t be smiling after you drive it.

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NEW YORK, /PRNewswire/ — When the government’s Cash For Clunkers program ended on August 24th, dealerships that experienced high sales with the program, went through a huge withdrawal. Participating dealers in the privately funded Automotive Stimulus Program, which is ongoing, have been able to maintain this surge.

Some of the largest automotive retailers in the country created a privately funded stimulus program this July to provide additional incentives for consumers to make it easier for them to get a newer more fuel efficient vehicle. The dealer funded Automotive Stimulus Plan was designed to complement the government’s program and to compensate for some of the gaps that don’t allow consumers to purchase pre-owned vehicles or chose a short term lease.

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The numbers aren’t dizzyingly high. But the conservative methodology used for a recent study counting the number of environmentally friendly jobs makes the study’s conclusions all the more striking. State leaders who review a recent Pew report – as all should – will discover that growth in the clean-energy sector provides Hoosiers with one reason to celebrate.

The Pew Charitable Trust’s study, “The Clean Energy Economy: Repowering Jobs, Businesses and Investments Across America,” found that while overall jobs declined 1 percent between 1997 and 2007, jobs in clean energy grew 17.9 percent. Indiana was one of seven states, as well as the District of Columbia, where the number of jobs fell overall, but the number of jobs in clean energy increased.

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GKN Aerospace

On a number of fronts, engineers at GKN Aerospace are pushing forward the boundaries of current technology – achieving results now and opening new avenues for tomorrow in the drive to develop ever quieter, more fuel-efficient and lower maintenance aircraft.

The Company is in the final stage of developing one piece acoustic engine and inlet liners which have already demonstrated 4db noise level reductions and promise to be 40percent lighter than current liners. This honeycomb technology is ready to go into production in its current form with further development already underway, as Phil Grainger, Senior Technical Director and Chief Technologist at GKN Aerospace, explains:

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Associated Press

HARTFORD, Conn. –

An analyst cut her 2009 earnings estimates Wednesday for Barnes Group Inc., a day after the aerospace and industrial-components manufacturer withdrew its guidance for the year because of the recession and uncertainty in transportation markets.

Analyst Yvonne M. Varano of Jefferies & Co. cut her estimate to 80 cents per share from $1.24 per share.

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WASHINGTON, June 10 (UPI) — The U.S. space agency has awarded a $200 million contract to Jacobs Technology Inc. of Tullahoma, Tenn., for aerospace testing at the Ames Research Center.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration two-year contract has three one-year options and begins July 1. The company will provide support for aerospace tests and facilities maintenance and operations at the Moffett Field, Calif., NASA facility.

The Ames center supports a wide variety of testing requirements for NASA and other government agencies, including the Department of Defense, Department of Energy and Department of Homeland Security. Ames researchers also provide testing services for industry and other non-government entities, NASA said.

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By –Stuart Burns

Aircraft production rates are forecast to drop across the board this year and next, hitting a trough some time around 2012 due to slowing production rates according to an article in Aviation Today. Even though producers and distributors are still reporting strong market demand as we go to press. But to dispel a well circulated myth, the drop in demand will not be because metals will be widely displaced by composites. In fact, overall metal demand for aerospace is set to increase during the next decade once the current trough is past.

The fall in aircraft production volumes has been widely predicted with mention frequently made of both canceled and delayed orders at the principal aircraft makers, Boeing and Airbus. But another popular misconception outside the industry at least is that military is a large percentage of total aircraft numbers. The reality is that although military aircraft production is anticipated to be more stable, out of 4446 aircraft produced in 2008 only 446 were fixed wing military, just 10%, according to a presentation by AeroStrategyto an AMM conference last month. Military spend is set to be more stable and build programs are unlikely to be significantly affected by the general aviation downturn in spite of tight government budgets.

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