Started Manufacturing News

At his core Ken Konrad is an innovator and engineer, looking at problems and seeing solutions. Walk around Konrad’s manufacturing and testing facility for even a short time and it is easy to see that Ken Konrad, owner and president, possesses a sharp intellect and an engineer’s mind, as he clearly revels in sharing insight on business and manufacturing practice that goes in each of his company’s rugged stern drive units. While Konrad has quickly established itself as a quality name in the commercial stern drive sector, it is still a newer business line within the company’s overall scope.

In 1940, Jack Walters, Sr. started manufacturing oxy-fuel cutting tips in a makeshift workshop in his home. As the demand for materials and manufacturing brought on by World War II increased, Walters started American Torch Tip Co. (ATTC) in a small, rented garage in Pittsburgh, Pa. Seventy-five years later, ATTC’s manufacturing plant and headquarters now occupy approximately 72,000 sq. ft., spanning three buildings in Bradenton, Fla. There, the company produces about 20,000 parts, encompassing five welding technologies including Plasma, MIG, TIG, Oxy-Fuel and Laser.

Lopolight, a Denmark-based manufacturer of LED navigation lights, announced the formation of a new partnership with E-LED Lighting, Inc. of Jupiter, Florida. On July 1, 2014 E-LED Lighting, Inc. will become the new North American distributor for Lopolight. Eric MacDonald, former Vice President of Euro Marine Trading, Inc. will be joining E-LED Lighting and assisting in the distribution changeover. E-LED Lighting will handle all OEM accounts in North America with an additional focus on the commercial and military markets with the launch of Lopolight’s new Professional Series.

PPG Industries announced it has started manufacturing protective and marine coatings (PMC) at the company’s facility in Ostrów Wielkopolski, Poland. The facility, which previously produced architectural coatings and was part of PPG’s January 2012 acquisition of Dyrup A/S, now produces PMC products for the construction, petrochemical, shipbuilding and energy industries. “The Ostrów manufacturing plant is a key part of our strategy to grow and expand in this region," said Tim Knavish, PPG vice president, protective and marine coatings.

The Great Lakes Shipyard recently started manufacturing tugboats and barges in its new state-of-the-art shipyard facility in Cleveland, Ohio. The first tugboat to be constructed in a U.S. domestic shipyard on the Great Lakes for foreign buyers was sold to Electrica S.A. of San Pedro Sula, Honduras. When delivered to Honduras in September 2008, the tug will be used in the Port of Puerto Cores, a principal port located on the north coast of Honduras at the beginning of the Pan American Highway System connecting Honduras with the other countries of Central America.

Indian firms are increasingly getting into ship building and repairing as shipbuilding orders are expected to rise significantly to meet the boom in seaborne trade and increased offshore oil exploration. The local industry is expected to expand to $20b by 2020 from close to $5b now, a report by maritime consultants i-maritime Consultancy Pvt Ltd said, which is about 1 percent by value of total global shipbuilding orders. Besides subsidies given by the Indian government to local shipbuilders, which is a big incentive, a major part of the world shipping fleet is very old and due for replacement, Chief Financial Officer Dhananjay Datar of ABG Shipyard said.