Assembly Technology Expo will take place Sept. 28-30 in Rosemont, IL, and will feature a keynote address by actor John Ratzenberger, producer and host of the Travel Channel's John Ratzenberger's Made in America series that honors the creative and entrepreneurial spirit of American manufacturing. Ratzenberger will share insights that he has gained visiting American factories and working alongside the men and women who produce many of America's best-loved products, including Harley Davidson motorcycles, Chevy Corvettes, John Deere tractors, Craftsmen tools, Zippo lighters and Slinky toys.

"We can't imagine a more fitting way to mark ATExpo's 25^th year than a tribute to the greatness and inventive spirit of American manufacturers," said Kelvin Marsden-Kish, vice president of the assembly family of events, produced by Reed Exhibitions. "Mr. Ratzenberger is clearly passionate about great American products and respects the skill and dedication of the men and women who create them. He has become a highly effective advocate of American ingenuity at work and of manufacturers who invest in the effort to maintain a competitive edge here in the U.S."

For Ratzenberger, manufacturing is much more than an abstract concept. It's a way of life and a source of pride that ties communities and generations together. The son of blue collar working parents in one of the northeast's leading industrial cities, Ratzenberger grew up with the idea that Americans were hardworking inventors and problem solvers. Before turning to an acting career, he worked as a carpenter and takes pride in pointing out the houses that he helped build to his children. Despite his celebrity status, Ratzenberger still regards himself as a garage tinkerer. He holds five patents for a packaging process that he invented.

"I've always had a high regard for people who put their hands to something useful," Ratzenberger said. "A tool and die maker is an artist on par with those who display their works in expensive art galleries. A painter can always paint over a mistake. But when you work with tolerances of 1/1000th of an inch on a spinning lathe, you can't afford to be careless."

Ratzenberger is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the know-it-all, nebbishy mailman Clifford C. 'Cliff' Clavin, Jr. in the sitcom Cheers. His movie acting credits include roles in Superman and Superman II; Star Wars V-The Empire Strikes Back; Ghandi; and all five of Pixar's animated feature films, providing the voices for Hamm in Toy Story and Toy Story 2, PT Flea in A Bug's Life, the Abominable Snowman in Monsters, Inc. and a school of moonfish in Finding Nemo.

 www.atexpo.com

www.travel.discovery.com

Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.

Led by its members, IPC (Northbrook, IL) pushed for a fair, open and rules-based international trading system at its recent Capitol Hill Day, an industry lobbying event.

In more than 50 appointments with lawmakers, senators and their staff, IPC's Government Relations Committee and more than 40 industry leaders lobbied Congress to enforce the U.S.' international trade agreements and more aggressively officiate U.S. trading partners' obligations under the World Trade Organization and other international trade agreements. In particular, Capitol Hill Day attendees asked Congress to keep the pressure on U.S. trading partners that manipulate their currency in order to gain a competitive and trade advantage over their U.S. counterparts.

During his keynote address, Rep. Donald Manzullo, chairman of the House Small Business Committee, emphasized that lower business costs, not protectionist trade policies, will revitalize the U.S. manufacturing sector.

Congressman Phil English (R-Pa.) concurred with Manzullo in his address, as he discussed his countervailing duty bill and other congressional efforts that help level the playing field with foreign competition.

"After a three-year absence, IPC's GR Committee decided to bring back this important program to assist our members in continuing the industry recovery," said IPC President Denny McGuirk. "IPC's lobbying efforts, though, extend beyond this one-day event and cover a vast array of policies that greatly impact today's U.S. electronics manufacturer. Presently, we are lobbying to reduce the corporate tax rate on U.S. manufacturing and production income by 3%, and, to maintain competitiveness, we are supporting the extension of the research and development tax credit and the bonus 50% depreciation. IPC staff is also working on several important environmental initiatives, including a reduction of Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reporting burdens, a broader exclusion of all recycled materials and development of lead-free labeling and materials declaration."

After recent lobbying efforts at the state and local level, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's recently signed the California's Workers' Compensation Reform Bill, which promises to save up to $7 billion a year for the state's employers. IPC also successfully opposed a bill in Maine that would have banned all brominated flame retardants, including TBBPA-the main flame retardant in printed circuit boards.

www.ipc.org

Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.

Siemens Dematic Electronic Assembly Systems Inc. (Norcross, GA) has announced the appointment of Gregg Schoenrade as the new Senior Sales Engineer for the South Central U.S. He will be based out of Fort Forth, TX, and will be responsible for Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. 

Schoenrade comes from Technical Solutions, a sales rep organization that he owned and operated for the past two years. 

Jeffrey Timms, vice president of sales and marketing at Siemens Dematic, said, "We are excited to have Gregg join our team. As a seasoned sales professional, with more than 14 years experience in the surface-mount technology industry, we know customers will be pleased with his professionalism and enthusiasm."

www.siplace.com

Cookson Electronics Assembly Materials (Jersey City, NJ) is joining fellow Cookson Electronics companies Polyclad and Enthone in adopting the six sigma system to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its business processes. The goal will be to enhance customer satisfaction, improve profitability and to train employees to understand and effectively employ the six sigma philosophy throughout the organization.

"Six Sigma is not another ‘TQM' program," said David Zerfoss, president of Cookson EAM. "It involves a sustainable, measurable culture shift for the companies that embrace it, and our company is doing just that. In fact, we have over 35 assembly materials employees either in or about to begin black belt training globally. Our black belt candidates have been carefully selected and, upon graduation, they will have developed the skills required to lead six sigma projects for us."

Motorola first made six sigma popular in the 1980s. Allied Signal employed it in the 1990s, and General Electric has made it arguably the most popular management philosophy in history. Polyclad and Enthone both launched their six sigma programs three years ago.

Cookson EAM develops, manufactures and sells materials used in electronic assembly processes, including: solder paste, stencils, squeegee blades, stencil and printed circuit board cleaners, bar solder, cored wire solder, wave soldering fluxes and surface-mount device adhesives. 

www.alphametals.com