Obama Administration Injects $5 billion in to Auto
Supplier Base
AE Light Metal Casting Files for Bankruptcy; Closes Plant
Government Affairs Conference Hotel Deadline
Harper Says Canada’s Automotive Plans Will Track U.S.
Diversions Ahead for North America's Auto World
Hazardous Risk: Survey Finds 89% of Workers Fail to
Wear PPE
Obama Administration Injects $5 billion in to Auto Supplier Base
According to a press release issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury on
March 19, 2009, the Treasury announced an Auto Supplier Support Program that will provide up to $5 billion in financial assistance
to suppliers. The purpose is to inject confidence in to the markets and help suppliers, and allow them to continue to ship parts,
pay employees and overall business operations. To read the entire press release in full,
click here.
AE Light Metal Casting Files for Bankruptcy; Closes Plant
According to an article just published by Jennifer Serda Anchor WRBL
News 3 today, AE Light Metal Casting based in LaGrange, GA filed for bankruptcy earlier this month and are expected to close
the plant by the end of May. During more prosperous times, AE Light Metal Casting employed as many as 100 people: Today the
aluminum die caster for the auto industry employs just 33 people.
Click here to read the complete article.
Government Affairs Conference Hotel Deadline
The Metalcasting Industry Government Affairs Conference
may still be weeks away, but the deadline is MONDAY to reserve a room at the Capitol Hilton at a discounted
rate. The room rate is $269 per night, at the conference headquarters hotel, conveniently located just two
blocks from the White House. For reservations, call (800) 445-8667. Be sure to identify yourself as attending
the 2009 Metalcasting Industry Government Affairs Conference to receive our conference discounted room rate.
This year's conference will be focusing on HyperCAST, Employee Free Choice Act, Expansion of the Family Medical
Leave Act, Healthcare Reform and Climate Change, as well as the congressional visits.
Click here for additional information.
Harper Says Canada’s Automotive Plans Will Track U.S.
According to an article at Bloomberg.com, Canadian Prime
Minister Stephen Harper said his government’s plans to help General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC will
track similar efforts by President Barack Obama’s administration.
“Our plans will obviously be very close in nature,” Harper said in an interview today in Washington.
Harper said Canadian officials are in close consultation with the U.S. on the automotive industry, though
he declined to comment on the specifics of the discussions or the U.S. plan.
“I’m very confident the United States government has its sights firmly on the objective of a restructuring
where the tough decisions are made such that the restructuring will be successful,” he said. “They do
understand that if one were to pursue a restructuring without making the stakeholders make all the tough
decisions, then the restructuring could well fail.”
To read the entire article, click here.
Diversions Ahead for North America's Auto World
According to an article by Nicolas Van Praet in the
Financial Post (April 2), North America is entering a period of severe chaos in the automobile industry
supply chain that will shut down car factories repeatedly for hours or days at a time, wipe out hundreds
of parts companies and cause psychological torment for thousands of workers.
That’s the dire view of Craig Fitzgerald reported in the article, a financial consultant who advises
car-parts companies at Plante & Moran in Southfield, MI. He says a developing situation at the Vannatter
Group Inc. plant in Wallaceburg, Ont., which drew police to the facility Thursday and shut down Chrysler
LLC’s two Canadian assembly plants, marks only the beginning of what will be several similar disruptions
involving suppliers and automakers across the continent in coming weeks.
Chrysler and General Motors Corp., under government orders to cut costs drastically or face bankruptcy by
June, are looking for the cheapest and most stable parts makers to supply their assembly lines. Hundreds
of those suppliers, readying their annual financial statements in the days ahead, are staring down bankers
unwilling to lend them any more money.
"You’re going to see an increase in the number of suppliers who run out of cash," Fitzgerald said.
To read the entire article,
click here.
Hazardous Risk: Survey Finds 89% of Workers Fail to Wear PPE
U.S. workers are risking workplace injuries by
not complying with important safety procedures, according to a recent survey conducted by Kimberly-Clark
Professional. The survey found that 89% of safety professionals polled at the 2008 National Safety
Council (NSC) Congress have observed workers failing to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) when
they should have been. These results are disheartening because they demonstrate that people continue to
put themselves at risk by failing to wear PPE when undertaking hazardous tasks. Despite the importance
of PPE, there is still an unacceptably high rate of noncompliance in the workplace. To find out how to
address this issue, read the full article in LINKS magazine by
clicking here
and logging in.
