Northrop Grumman Moving HQ to East Coast

Major defense contractors all have offices, if not major operations, near Washington, D.C., to more easily convey their interests to Congress and the executive branch of government. For these reasons and more, Northrop Grumman, one of the largest contractors, is moving its headquarters to the D.C. Area. The Baltimore Sun reports, "Northrop Grumman officials met privately Friday [Feb. 12] in Annapolis with Gov. Martin O'Malley as the defense company weighs whether to relocate its Los Angeles headquarters to Maryland, Virginia or the District of Columbia. Wesley G. Bush, chief executive officer, and Gaston Kent, a vice president in charge of the search for a new facility, attended the hour-long meeting at the State House."

Gene Canale, Michael Brendes and Chris Hemminger are the IAMC Active members with Northrop Grumman, which ranks 69^th on the Fortune-500 list and 5^th on Fortune's list of aerospace and defense companies.

Boeing Opens New Helicopter Facility in New Jersey

The war in Afghanistan and Iraq is increasing the U.S. military's demand for helicopters to ferry troops and equipment in areas with few or no roads. Boeing has signed a defense contract to modify some of these aircraft before they are shipped overseas. A news article reports, "Boeing signed its lease with the Delaware River and Bay Authority on Monday and will begin shipping helicopters this month to its new facility at Millville Airport. The company plans to hold a career fair to begin hiring the first 25 employees set to be brought on this year, Boeing spokesman Brad Mudd said Tuesday. Boeing has a contract with the U.S. Army to modify new Chinook CH-47 helicopters produced in Ridley Park, Pa., before the helicopters are shipped through Baltimore to Iraq and Afghanistan."

Jeff Adelson is the IAMC Active member with Boeing, which ranks 34^th on the Fortune-500 list and 1^st on Fortune's list of aerospace and defense companies.

CN Plans Calgary Logistics Center

CN shipping facility in Halifax, Nova Scotia Photo courtesy of CN

Canada National Railway Company (CN) will invest in a major inter-modal shipping facility near Calgary to open in 2013. Logisticsmgmt.com says, "The facility will be located northeast of Calgary in Conrich, which is part of Rocky View County and is expected to open up in 2013. Company officials said the 680-acre park will include a state-of-the-art inter-modal terminal, with room for shippers to co-locate with CN and custom-build their facility in place. They added that the logistics park will be designed to include a multi-commodity trans-load and warehousing facility, an automotive compound, and a liquid-bulk trans-load and distribution facility."

Michelin Moves to Support Growing China Auto Industry

With China's 1.3 billion-person population demanding more automobiles by the month, China is destined, at some point, to become the world's largest manufacturer of cars and parts. Knowing this, French tire maker Michelin has decided on a major investment to upgrade its manufacturing capabilities in the country. Tyrepress.com reports, "On January 22, Tyres & Accessories brought news of plans by Michelin to invest US $989 million in China by 2012 to build a passenger car and truck tyre manufacturing facility. China Knowledge reported on January 26 that this figure may well be higher. The business information provider states that Michelin Shenyang Tire Co., Ltd., plans to spend US$1.5 billion, an amount equivalent to RMB 10.5 billion, to build its new tyre plant in the Shenyang Economic and Technological Development Zone, Liaoning Province."

Chris McNutt is the IAMC Active member with Michelin, which ranks 376^th Fortune's Global-500 list and 23^rd on Fortune's list of global motor vehicles and parts companies.

DuPont Boosts Ohio Solar Panel Plant Capacity

With oil prices staying high and the Obama administration supporting development of alternative energy sources, DuPont sees a growing business opportunity in its existing solar energy products. Industryweek.com says, "DuPont will invest $175 million to increase production capacity at its Circleville, Ohio, plant to build solar-panel films, the company said on Jan. 19. Ohio is offering up to $6.1 million in financial and other incentives." On the project, Utilities-me.com reports, "The ... facility will use existing and retrofitted assets. The increased capacity means the firm can support global demand of over 10GW of photovoltaic module production."

Judith Passwaters is the IAMC Active member with DuPont, which ranks 75^th on the Fortune-500 list and 2^nd on Fortune's list of chemicals companies.

CSX Gets Stimulus Funds for National Gateway Project

In what would seem to be an ideal application of federal stimulus dollars to build up national transportation infrastructure, the CSX rail company has been awarded funding for a plan to improve railroad traffic flows from east coast ports to the U.S. heartland. The CSX Web site says, "By creating a more efficient double-stack cleared rail corridor between East Coast sea ports and consumption centers and Midwest distribution centers, the National Gateway will yield an estimated $22 in public benefits for every dollar of public money invested. This public-private partnership will create greater capacity for goods moving in and out of the Midwest, reducing transit times between coastal ports and major population centers by 24 to 48 hours; reduce highway congestion and transportation emissions; and create over 50,000 jobs."

Greg D. Breedlove is the IAMC Active member with CSX, which ranks 240^th on the Fortune-500 list and 3^rd on Fortune's list of railroad companies.

Alcoa Architectural Product Seen in Olympic Village

This Vancouver Olympic dorm features Alcoa's bright orange façade material. Photo courtesy of Alcoa

Some of the dormitories of the Vancouver Olympic Village are constructed with architectural facing material made by Alcoa. The company's press release says, "Athletes participating in the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games starting Friday in British Columbia will sleep, eat, and watch sporting events in buildings that include Alcoa's energy–efficient, recyclable and colorful Reynobond® aluminum composite material (ACM). Athletes staying in the Olympic Village are housed in apartments that are clad in Alcoa Architectural Products' Reynobond® ACM. The material, used on the facades of several buildings constructed for lodging, stands out due to some unique colors, such as Electric Orange and Brite Red, a key feature of the composite panel."

Jim Winter is the IAMC Active member with Alcoa, which ranks 90^th on the Fortune-500 list and 1^st on Fortune's list of metals companies.

Deere Surfs Exchange Rates, Cost Cuts to Improved Profits

Following the pattern of some other global manufacturing companies, Deere & Company has eked out improved profits in spite of lower revenue. A Google News article says, "Heavy equipment maker Deere & Co. reported a 19 percent jump in first-quarter profit Wednesday despite the 'stubbornly weak' economy as lower costs and favorable exchange rates helped offset a 6 percent drop in revenue. The company also boosted its outlook for 2010, which helped send shares up 7.6 percent to $57.85 in premarket trading Wednesday. ... Deere, the world's largest manufacturer of agricultural equipment, also makes construction and forestry equipment, such as backhoes, excavators, riding mowers and leaf blowers."

Daniel McConaghy and Robert Hand are the IAMC Active members with Deere & Company, which ranks 87^th on the Fortune-500 list and 2^nd on Fortune's list of construction and farm equipment companies.

Caterpillar's Global Facilities Portfolio

Cat has one of the best global supply chains among Fortune 1000 manufacturing companies. It was also one of the first U.S. manufacturers to begin bringing back furloughed employees. Maybe the top-performing supply chain and early recovery from the recession are related. Browse this catalog of Cat's plants, distribution centers, service locations and sales offices.

Marty Collier is the IAMC Active member with Caterpillar, which ranks 44^th on the Fortune-500 list and 1^st on Fortune's list of construction and farm equipment companies.

BASF Manager: Good People Key to Supply Chain Success

BASF's Verbund site in Antwerp, Belgium Photo courtesy of BASF

Continuing with the supply chain theme, in a special interview conducted in conjunction with the LogiChem 2010 conference, BASF's Business Process Education Manager Alan Milliken says he subscribes to Colin Powell's primary emphasis on good people as the key to success. Milliken places the human resources element first in the traditional trilogy of supply chain keys: people, process and technology. He argues, "As Colon Powell says in The Powell Principles, 'Our ability to perform our mission depends first and foremost on the quality of our people.'"

Bill Pearson and Charlie Waltz are the IAMC Active members with BASF, which ranks 59^th on the Fortune-500 list and 1^st on Fortune's list of global chemicals companies.

* With each project, we provide the name(s) of the IAMC member(s) from the organization(s) involved. This is for information purposes. We are not indicating or suggesting that the member was involved in the project.