Mixed-mode manufacturing favoured

Nearly half (48%) of electrical equipment manufacturers use an automated, integrated system to manage their mixed-mode manufacturing processes, writes Reuters.

This is 18% more than the composite average of comparable industries. An automated, integrated system often results in reduced inventory cycle times and costs.

This is according to a 2009 research report by software maker Cincom Systems, based on a national survey of sales and IT executives that sheds light on how these electrical-equipment manufacturing organisations are managing their businesses for increased efficiency and effectiveness.

Saying thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in cutting-edge research could be at risk, a group of hi-tech, biotech and manufacturing firms have urged Congress to extend and strengthen a research and development tax credit that's set to expire at the end of the year, reports Mercury News.

The annual R&D tax credit has been in place since 1981 and has been allowed to expire a dozen times, although each time Congress eventually restored it. But with the economy struggling to emerge from the recession, the companies said this is an especially bad year to let it lapse.

"At a time when the American economy is weak, research and development across industry sectors makes it possible to create and maintain good, high-paying jobs at home and sharpens the ability of companies to compete in the global marketplace," stated a letter from the R&D Credit Coalition, a group of 300 companies including Silicon Valley groups Adobe Systems, Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Oracle.

AJ Excel Automation, a private company headquartered in Weston, Wisconsin, US, is setting up offices in Nigeria to provide manufacturing solutions to manufacturing concerns in the country, states AllAfrica.com.

The company, which offers automation solutions, manufacturing intelligence implementation, and project management consulting services, is to unveil the manufacturing solutions on 27 October, in an effort to introduce the software to manufacturers in Nigeria.

The goal of the company, which recently began a technical partnership arrangement with ActivPlant, according to its country business manager, Joshua Akinbanjo, is to ensure that Nigerian manufacturers not only stay in business, but also compete effectively at world-class levels, through the use of cutting-edge technology to remarkably improve production efficiencies.