UMA MEMBERS IN THE NEWS:
FIRST WIND BEGINS COMMERCIAL OPERATIONSUtah Business
First Wind, an independent U.S.-based wind energy company, announced that the construction of the 102 megawatt (MW) Milford Wind Corridor Phase II (Milford II) project has been completed and commercial operations have begun.
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RIO TINTO'S KENNECOTT UTAH COPPER RELEASES 2010 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT REPORT
Business Wire
SOUTH JORDAN, Utah--One of Rio Tinto's largest business units, Kennecott Utah Copper, has released its 2010 Sustainable Development Report now available online at www.kennecott.com.
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LITEHOUSE TO BRING JOBS (UMA welcomes Litehouse as a brand new member)Approximately 100 workers needed to make food products
By Scott Kerbs – The Spectrum
HURRICANE — Litehouse Foods is expected to bring dozens of new jobs to Washington County in the coming months as the company staffs its new manufacturing facility in Hurricane.
The Idaho-based manufacturer of salad dressings, dips and other food products is scheduled to begin production at its Hurricane facility Monday, said John Shaw, director of operations for the company’s southwest division “By the end of the summer, we expect to have about 100 employees,” said Kelly Prior, chief financial officer and executive vice president of Litehouse Foods.
Kathy Stelzer, the company’s human resources director, said Litehouse is still accepting applications for the available positions at its Hurricane plant.
Litehouse is expected to generate $37 million in new wages during the next 10 years while paying $2.5 million in state taxes throughout the same time period, said Gary Harter, managing director of business creation for the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development.
“We’re really looking forward to Litehouse having success for many years to come in Utah,” Harter said.
The state is offering Litehouse a postperformance tax credit incentive of as much as $502,400 during the next 10 years, Harter said.
The facility in Hurricane offers nearly 89,000 square feet of space and is expected to begin operating at full capacity by July 13, Shaw said. The facility is set to produce 75 million packets of salad dressing annually, in addition to other food products.
While the company is set to bring about 100 jobs to Washington County in the coming months, Shaw said he expects the facility to employ about 160 workers by next year.
Representatives from the company considered a variety of factors while determining a location for their new facility — including economic conditions, logistics and the cost of labor and utilities — before selecting Washington County, Prior said.
Scott Hirschi, director of the Washington County Economic Development Council, said the company chose Southern Utah for a variety of reasons, including improved access to key areas of the country.
“The location, logistically, is important for them,” he said. “They were looking for an area to serve the West Coast and the mountain states.”
Hirschi said Washington County’s ample s upply of vacant commercial property also served to attract the company.
“We had a building that they could use,” he said. “They didn’t have to go through the process of constructing a building.”
The Hurricane facility now occupied by Litehouse was originally built to serve as a warehouse, requiring the company to convert the structure to meet its manufacturing needs, Prior said.
Shaw said the process of overhauling the facility began last fall.
As the company plans to provide new manufacturing jobs in Washington County, Prior said he encourages residents to apply for the available positions. He said the company offers competitive benefits in addition to an employee stock ownership plan.
ATK TO MAKE JET PARTS IN CLEARFIELD
By Steven Oberbeck - The Salt Lake Tribune
Alliant Techsytems said it has received a new $110 million contract from Lockheed Martin to produce additional components for the F-35 Lightening II — Joint Strike Fighter.
Production of the carbon-fiber composite components will take place at ATK’s existing facility in Clearfield beginning later this year and continuing through 2015.
The F-35 Lightening II is a fifth-generation fighter that was designed to combine stealth technology with speed and agility. Several types of the fighter are being produced, including one for conventional take-off and landings and the other offering short take-off/vertical landing capability for use on aircraft carriers.
"We will be producing components for all the variants in Clearfield," said Heather Kralik, a spokeswoman for ATK in Utah.
A year ago, ATK announced it had received a $240 million contract to produce components such as the upper and lower wing-box skins and engine nacelle skins for the F-35 aircraft. That contract called for the company to produce the components using its automated fiber-placement technology.
The new $100 million contract calls for ATK to produce a variety of additional parts, including "upper fixed aft skins" using its "hand lay-up" techniques, or hands-on production.
"With those two contracts we are supporting more than 500 aircraft," she said.
The new contract will result in an estimated 50 new jobs at Clearfield over the next three to four years," Kralik said, indicating ATK now employs about 900 people in Clearfield.
Gary Harder, managing director at the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, pointed out the military work will take place at ATK’s existing facilities in Clearfield. "It is a nice contract and signals their core business has the work to continue on."
ATK announced last fall that it intended to invest $100 million to develop an additional manufacturing facility for commercial aviation projects in Clearfield. Work on that facility is still underway with the company estimating it will contribute to the creation of an additional 802 high-paying jobs in Clearfield over the next 20 years, generating almost $1 billion in wages along the way.
"That facility is scheduled to be completed at the end of this coming summer and hiring will ramp up slowly," Kralik said.
Quick Manufacturing News
Manufacturing technology consumption totaled $511 million. Click to continue
Quick Manufacturing News
MagneGas Corp., which developed and patented a process to gasify liquid waste into a 'clean burning fuel,' reports it is able now to separate commercial-grade hydrogen from its MagneGas fuel, using common wastewater as the process feedstock. Click to continue
Quick Manufacturing News
One rule aims to strengthen FDA's ability to prevent potentially unsafe food from entering commerce and the other requires anyone importing food into the United States to inform the FDA if any country has refused entry to the same product. Click to continue
Quick Manufacturing News
According to a new study, offering employees incentives as part of wellness programs can spell better health and reduced corporate health care costs. Click to continue
Quick Manufacturing News
40% of Midwestern CFOs intend to increase head count, up from 28% six months earlier Click to continue
Today in Manufacturing
Microsoft has agreed to buy the popular Internet telephone service Skype SA for $8.5 billion in the biggest deal in the software maker's 36-year history ... continue
Today in Manufacturing
China is using high-level meetings to urge the U.S. to allow more technology exports into the booming Chinese economy as a way of balancing trade ... continue
Today in Manufacturing
Barry Jaruzelski of Booz & Company discusses how he sees the supply chain changing in 2011 ... continue
Bloomberg News
Bloomberg reported today that House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and subcommittee chairmen Reps. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) and Cliff Stearns (R-FL) have asked the Environmental Protection Agency "about how it analyzes the effect of new rules on the power industry, according to letters released today by the committee. Requests also were made to the Energy Department and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees power distribution." In a statement, Upton's panel said, "The committee is concerned that the Obama EPA has been regulating too much too fast, without fully analyzing the feasibility and economic impacts of its new rules."
ADAAA – WHAT DO I NEED TO DO NOW?
The Employers CouncilFinal regulations implementing the ADAAA (ADA Amendments Act of 2008) become effective May 24th!
They contain important changes from the proposed regulations issued in January 2009. With these changes, more people will qualify as "disabled" and the focus will be on reasonable accommodation. To educate and prepare you for the changes, we are offering a webinar, ADAAA Final Regulations - What Do YOU Need to Do to Remain Compliant?, scheduled for May 20, 2011 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. (MST). Register now via this link to our webinar library. The webinar is taught by a MRA staff attorney and approved for 1 hour of HRCI credit. Take advantage of this fast and easy way to learn the steps you must take to comply with the ADAAA. See the attachment for ideas on types of accommodation.
MANAGING THE GENERATIONS
The Employers CouncilWe live in a unique time. Never before have employers faced the challenge of managing a workforce that spans so many different and distinct generations. An employee's generation can affect values, work ethics, motivating factors, etc. Increased understanding of the differences and resulting perspectives and behaviors gives managers better tools to more effectively manage, motivate, and prevent conflict. Register now for the webinar, Managing the Generations, via this link to our webinar library.
Convenient and affordable, the webinar is scheduled for Friday, May 20th from 9:00-10:00 a.m.
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