Manufacturing

NEWS - Manufacturing

12/7/2009 - Gulfstream Aerospace, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), announced that its newest business jet and the flagship of its fleet, the ultra-large-cabin, ultra-long-range Gulfstream G650, successfully completed its first flight.

Flown by experimental test pilot Jake Howard and senior experimental test pilot Tom Horne, the G650 took off from Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport with flight engineer Bill Osborne on board. Because pilots were alerted to a slight vibration in a landing-gear door, they curtailed the testing regimen as a precautionary measure. The aircraft landed 12 minutes later.

"We are pleased to announce that the G650 successfully completed its first flight today," said Pres Henne, senior vice president, Programs, Engineering and Test, Gulfstream. "Systems were fully operational. The aircraft achieved an altitude of 6,600 feet and a speed of 170 knots. Flight controls and characteristics performed as expected. We consider this flight a success and look forward to pursuing our full flight-test plan."

Under its own power, the G650 rolled out of the Savannah manufacturing facility on Sept. 29, 2009. It remains on schedule for type certification by 2011, followed by entry-into-service in 2012.

NEWS - Manufacturing

SBJ Staff Report

Nov. 18, 2009 -- Morris Publishing Group LLC, publishers of the Savannah Morning News, was granted more time to convince some of its lending banks to accept a pre-packaged restructuring plan that the company proposed back in September to stay out of bankruptcy court.

The company filed an SEC 8K today announcing that they have until Jan. 8, 2010, to get 99 percent of its lenders to agree to the plans the company has proposed to deal with more than $435 million in debt and overdue interest.  It was welcome news for those who hope that the Morris family of Augusta can retain control of the Georgia-headquartered publishing company.

To date, 75 percent of the bankers that make up a consortium of bond lenders who have called $238 million in bonds have agreed to the Morris family’s plan, but another 25 percent of the lenders have consistently refused to go along.  According to the company’s 8K today, they will now have up until Jan. 8, 2010 to gain their agreement, or must file for bankruptcy protection by Jan. 11. It looks like that will be the last extension.

It’s a complicated financial restructuring strategy the family has devised, with two essential elements.  One part addresses the company’s senior debt of $138 million. The Morris family would be given 150 days to find someone to loan them $110 million.  Meanwhile, they would put $110 million into escrow, as assurance for those lenders, and pay back $28 million immediately.  They have reached agreement on this portion with lenders.

But the second part of the financial restructuring is where they have run into a wall.  Since last February, it’s been clear that 25 percent of the banks that joined together back in 2005 to lend the company hundreds of millions want their money back. Morris Publishing has failed to pay over $20 million in interest payments.  That group of bankers has never agreed to the over 15 extensions granted Morris Publishing Co. since February 2009.

The majority of the lenders have agreed to write off the $238 million in bonds, and take $100 million in new senior notes.  This plan would leave the Morris family in charge of the company, theoretically, with more than 50 percent of the company under control of the lenders.  Total assets of the company are now listed as approximately $171 million.  But Morris must have 99 percent agreement or they will be forced into bankruptcy.

In that event, the federal bankruptcy court will appoint someone to oversee the company, and any restructuring plans proposed by the two sides – the Morris family and the banks – will be negotiated.  Lenders often want the company put up for sale or broken apart, believing that the parts are worth more than the whole.  In the newspaper industry, the latter is often true. 

Philadelpia Newspapers, now in bankruptcy, are being forced into a sale by the lending banks.

NEWS - Manufacturing

11/09/2009 - Another Southern city is getting a new plant and a lot of jobs from Mitsubishi Power Systems, the company that is moving a plant to the Savannah “mega-site” in Pooler.

The company has announced intention to locate a wind manufacturing plant at Fort Smith, Ark., with plans to invest $100 million and create as many as 400 jobs.

MPSA plans to invest approximately $100 million in the project, according to Koji Hasegawa, president and CEO of MPSA, based in Lake Mary, FL.

“After an intensive site selection process conducted during the last 15 months, we concluded that Fort Smith, Arkansas, offers the most attractive site and community support for building and operating our wind turbine plant,” said Hasegawa.

“Additionally, we are also very impressed with Arkansas’s commitment to the renewable energy industry. With the establishment of this wind turbine manufacturing plant, we are also planning to expand our component sourcing in the U.S. so as to shorten our supply chain,” he added.

MPSA intends to locate its wind turbine manufacturing plant in a new 200,000 sq. ft. facility at Fort Chaffee, near Fort Smith, occupying 90 acres.  The company plans on beginning construction by early 2011.

MPSA currently has more than 4,500 wind turbines in operation worldwide, and over 3,000 wind turbines in the United States.
The company’s new plant in the Savannah area is also underway, a projected $325 million investment by MPSA, with as many as 200 jobs in the first two years.

Steam and gas turbines components for power plants will be built, repaired and serviced at the plant.

Hiring will begin in begin in early 2010, with production to begin later next year. Georgia’s Quick Start workforce development training program will head employee training on the needed skills to assemble and service the components.  MPSA has announced that engineers, skilled tradesmen and administrative staff will be hired.

In the future, the company plans to build a new generation of turbines, and may eventually employee 500 people in Savannah, by 2015.

MPSA has begun running its first help wanted ads, advertising for welders for multiple shifts who are able to perform all types of welding, blending and operation of stress relief equipment, and is requiring an associates degree or equivalent from two-year college or technical school; or at least six years of related experience. Applicants must be able to lift and/or move up to 10 pounds, frequently lift/and or move up to 25 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.

NEWS - Manufacturing

11/09/2009 - Gulfstream Aerospace/U.S. Army C-37 Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) program at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., recently received the Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) Special Recognition Award from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The award recognizes employers that have had at least five consecutive years of 100 percent participation in the FAA’s AMT training program. The CLS Program at Andrews has maintained full percent participation for the past seven years.

“This award reflects their dedication and underscores our commitment to safety,” said Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream Product Support.

The AMT Awards Program was established in 1991 to recognize FAA-certified aviation mechanics and their employers for participating in supplemental aviation maintenance training and other continuing-education courses.

NEWS - Manufacturing

Morris Publishing Company, publisher of the Savannah Morning News, Savannah Magazine and a number of local niche products, reported its third-quarter financial results.

Total debt now stands at $415 million, plus $23 million in accrued interest overdue, against total assets of $175,464,000.

And the company got an extension of two business days, until 5 p.m. EDT on Nov. 17, to gain support for its financial restructuring plan from 99 percent of its lenders to stay out of bankruptcy court.  To date, only 72 percent to 75 percent of its banks have ever agreed to numerous extensions on loan default arrangements. 

For the three months of operations ended Sept. 30, advertising revenues dropped 26.9 percent, consistent with trends announced by other metro print daily newspapers around the United States While circulation numbers dropped significantly, revenues increased slightly due to rate increases announced earlier this year.

Newspaper and ink costs were 50 percent lower than the same period last year, due to printing less pages because of declining advertising, and newsprint prices have been lower in 2009 than in 2008.  Unfortunately, significant increases have been announced by the paper mills for 2010.

Labor and employee benefit costs were down 20 percent. The company has announced several layoffs company-wide, and at selected newspapers, cut all pay rates on April 1.

Despite the cuts and lower newsprint prices, the company announced only a profit of  $711,000, versus a profit of $7,484,000 in the same quarter last year on operations. In the third quarter 2008, Morris also reduced the value of its assets by $170,000,000. That write-down brought the loss for the third quarter 2008 to $163,000,000 when combined with the operational profit. 

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2009, the company reported a total loss to date of  $13,164  million versus an operational profit for the same period in 2008 of $15,116 million.
According to the company’s auditors, “…during 2008 and the first nine months of 2009, the company’s financial position and liquidity have deteriorated due to the significant declines in advertising revenue.”

During the third quarter, Morris received only $4 million of a total $11,538 million due from Gatehouse, and wrote off the remaining $7,538 million.  Gatehouse is going through the same financial liquidity issues.

The work of financial advisors has been costly, compounding the company’s problems. The company has incurred $2,508 million and $7,994 million in legal, investment banking and consulting fees during the third quarter and the first nine months of 2009, respectively.

If Morris is forced into bankruptcy, a number of vendors will be hurt by the company’s inability to make payments to them, but more importantly, the Morris family may lose control of the company as the creditors and the bankruptcy court takes over.

A number of newspaper companies have emerged successfully from bankruptcy this year.  Some have sold off some of their newspapers, but others have restructured their debt and kept the publishing companies essentially intact.

In the company’s SEC filing last week, the realities of the effect of bankruptcy were enumerated.  “We believe that seeking relief under the Bankruptcy Code other than in connection with the Prepackaged Plan could materially and adversely affect the relationships between us and our existing and potential readers, advertisers, employees, vendors, suppliers and other stakeholders and subject us to other direct and indirect adverse consequences,” stated Steven Stone, CFO, who signed the SEC filing.  Included in the impacts listed are:
• “Reputational damage could cause subscribers and advertisers to move to our competitors or to alternative media sources;

• Such a bankruptcy filing could erode our customers’ confidence in our ability to produce and deliver our publications and, as a result, there could be a significant and precipitous decline in our revenues, profitability and cash flow;

• It may be more difficult to retain, attract or replace key employees;…”

And, if they go into bankruptcy and cannot renegotiate credit terms, the company acknowledges, “if we were not able to confirm and implement a plan of reorganization or if sufficient post petition financing were not available, we may be forced to liquidate under chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code.”

NEWS - Manufacturing

11/13/2009 - Artificial lighting is a little bit like air. For most of the world, it’s just there when it’s needed. Lighting a room or a building is as easy and instantaneous as flipping a switch. For the most part, how a light bulbs works and how much it costs to light a bulb are problems to be dealt with by engineers and government agencies. As consumers, people expect the familiar convenience in their homes and offices that has become a part of daily life since Edison’s incandescent was first mass manufactured.

But as the global emphasis on energy conservation peaks with new legislation and the eventual phase out of old technology, the lighting industry is being redefined and new technologies and products will emerge to satisfy consumer demands. Lighting accounts for about 30 percent of energy usage worldwide and improving energy efficiency in lighting is widely considered a top global priority. At the same time that lighting manufacturers begin the paradigm shift away from the energy hungry incandescent bulbs that have been the standard for more than 100 years, the bottom line must be served and consumers must be satisfied.

Utilizing proprietary innovations in electrical engineering and circuitry, PureSpectrum, Inc. has developed a series of electrical engineering breakthroughs that can ease the transition from the past to the future for both manufacturers and consumers. For an industry that adapts slowly and a customer base that has rejected change, PureSpectrum is the light at the end of the tunnel.

Beginning with Brazil and Venezuela in 2005, governments began passing legislation which prohibits the production, sale and use of incandescent bulbs in effort to force consumers to adopt more energy efficient lighting products. During the past few years, a growing number of countries in North America, Europe, Oceania and Asia have introduced legislative measures to ban incandescent bulbs, culminating in 2007 with the passage of the Clean Energy Bill which mandated the elimination of most types of incandescent bulbs in the the U.S. by 2014. While these government measures will result in the conservation of energy through the use of much more efficienty lighting products, the global lighting industry is preparing for an unprecedented transition as a massive influx of new and unfamiliar lighting products is introduced into the marketplace. As lighting manufacturers attempt to renew brand loyalty and consumers discover new brands, PureSpectrum’s family of technologies bridges the gap between the old and the new in lighting.

PureSpectrum has developed electronic ballast technology for ballast-driven lighting applications which will enable the performance evolution of fluorescent lighting applications. The technology was developed specifically to address the needs of end users as the hunt for energy efficiency drives the lighting industry’s most significant period of upheaval in decades. At the same time, PureSpectrum’s market driven development strategy accommodates the needs of manufacturers reluctant to retool entire assembly processes. Rather than create an entirely new platform for the delivery of artificial light, PureSpectrum’s engineering efforts have focused on enhancing existing products through superior electronics with the goal of enabling manufacturers to generate products which meet heightened energy efficiency standards but also satisfy consumers.

PureSpectrum’s electronic ballast technology improves the performance of fluorescent lighting applications while also producing comparable energy efficiency ratings. In independent testing, PureSpectrum’s proprietary ballast designs have been proven to produce significant performance gains in areas that are critical to consumer acceptance such as color quality, light quality and dimming capability. The applications and benefits of the PureSpectrum technology are as limitless as the imaginations of lighting manufacturers and engineers around the globe. Wherever an electric current flows through a ballast to produce light, PureSpectrum Technology can enhance the performance of the bulb producing that light. PureSpectrum is committed to making the world a better lit place.

NEWS - Manufacturing

Kazoobie Kazoos, the United States’ sole plastic kazoo manufacturer, will hold its grand opening at 5 p.m. Oct. 13 at its new world headquarters in the Beaufort Industrial Village.

Kazoobie has been selling kazoos since 1997 and has an extensive line, including the world’s first electric kazoo.

In July, Kazoobie relocated its Tampa, Fla., headquarters to Beaufort. The kazoo assembly and packaging factory's new home is located in the Beaufort Industrial Village. The company purchased a 6,500-square-foot building and plans to employ about five people when fully staffed.
"Our company is the last plastic kazoo manufacturer in the U.S.A., and we are very proud to be located right here in Beaufort,” said Stephen Murray, Kazoobie’s president.

The Oct. 13 grand opening will feature the New York City-based Two Man Gentlemen Band (www.thetwogentlemen .com). The band combines hot jazz, vintage rhythm & blues, old-time country, and Tin Pan Alley to create a joyous two-man sound that is all its own.

NEWS - Manufacturing

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will publish an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) in the Oct. 21 edition of the Federal Register as an initial step in development of a standard to address the hazards of combustible dust.

“It’s time for workers to stop dying in preventable combustible dust explosions,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “Workplace safety is not a slogan. It’s a priority clearly embodied by our laws.”

In February 2008, 14 workers lost their lives in a combustible dust explosion at Imperial Sugar in Port Wentworth. Since 1980, more than 130 workers have been killed and more than 780 injured in combustible dust explosions, according to acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jordan Barab.

Support for a combustible dust standard came from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board in 2006 and again in 2008 during a congressional hearing when the board said a new standard, combined with enforcement and education, could ave workers’ lives.

Combustible dust are solids ground into fine particles, fibers, chips, chunks or flakes that can cause a fire or explosion when suspended in air under certain conditions. Types of dust likely to combust include metal (aluminum and magnesium), wood, plastic, rubber, coal, flour, sugar and paper.