Industry News
ELIZABETH LARSON

1999 named "Year of the Small Manufacturer"

U.S. Secretary of Commerce William Daley has proclaimed 1999 the Year of the Small Manufacturer. "Small manufacturers are critical to the competitiveness of the entire manufacturing sector and are vital to the U.S. economy," he says. The Commerce Department's Manufacturing Extension Partnership centers provide manufacturers with expertise and services tailored to their most critical needs, including process improvement and worker training. The MEP and its nationwide network of centers will celebrate the achievements of small manufacturers throughout the year. To find information on these activities, visit the MEP Web site at www.mep.nist.gov or call (800) 637-4634.

NTS receives OSHA accreditation

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has accredited National Technical Systems as a nationally recognized testing laboratory for product testing and certification. NTS may now certify products to 12 product safety standards, including telecommunications, medical, electronic and power supply products. The organization will also be able to issue compliance certificates to UL, CSA and European safety standards. "Now we can completely certify all aspects of product compliance from initial testing through product safety certification," says Christine Briggs, NTS director of certification services. Contact NTS at telephone (978) 263-2933 or visit the company's Web site at www.ntscorp.com .

New source for industry standards

CSSinfo, a leading distributor of industry standards information, has launched a new Web site that provides bibliographic standards information from more than 300 different standards-developing organizations worldwide, including ISO, IEC, ASTM, ASME, ANSI, BSI, IEEE and EN. Actual documents can be obtained in print and electronic format. It's free to search the publicly accessible database. For more information, visit CSSinfo at www.cssinfo.com .

U.S. agency accredits Canadian lab

The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation has, for the first time, accredited a calibration facility not located in the United States. Canadian Central Gage Laboratory of Brampton, Ontario, earned accreditation for dimensional metrology in accordance with ISO/IEC Guide 25 and ANSI/NCSL 540 specifications. The first independent calibration facility of its kind in Canada, Canadian Central Gage provides calibration services for firms in Canada, United States, Japan, Taiwan and China for a variety of unusual thread gages and other dimensional masters unique to the electrical industry. Contact the Canadian Central Gage Laboratory at telephone (905) 457-9190.

Software company names new president

Intercim, a provider of factory-floor information management solutions, has named John V. Todd as its new president. Todd, formerly the company's vice president of sales and operations, has more than 25 years' experience in the software industry. "Todd's appointment will allow Intercim to continue to build on the solid base it has established in the manufacturing software marketplace," says Michael D. Dunham, president and chief executive officer of Effective Management Systems Inc., Intercim's parent company. Contact Intercim at telephone (800) 445-7785 or visit the company's Web site at www.intercim.com .

Registrar offers seminar series

TUV Rheinland of North America Inc. is offering a series of half-day seminars titled "Pitfalls of ISO 9000, QS-9000 and ISO 14001 Registration." These workshops provide a forum for discussing quality and environmental regulation issues. Part of the seminar features a panel discussion where attendees may interact with the presenters and TUV Rheinland lead auditors on registration issues. Cities on the seminar roster include Nashua, New Hampshire (April 23); Chicago (May 7); and San Francisco (May 14). Contact TUV Rheinland at (888) 975-3943 or visit the company's Web site at www.tuv.com .

Tecnomatix acquires German company

Tecnomatix Technologies Ltd. has acquired AnySIM Simulationssysteme GmbH, a privately held company based in Munich, Germany. Tecnomatix develops, markets and supports software tools to fully computerize the industrial process. AnySIM develops computer-aided production engineering tools for manufacturing applications like human simulation, numerical control machining, laser cutting and metal stamping. "The acquisition of AnySIM will enable us to offer our customers in industries such as electronics, automotive components and heavy machinery the most advanced solutions for simulating human motion in product assembly lines," says Harel Beit-On, Tecnomatix's president and chief executive officer. For more information, contact Tecnomatix at (248) 471-6140.

IndustryFact:  Small manufacturers employ 12 million people--65 percent of the U.S. manufacturing work force.