IEN Radio

A 2021 study by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute projects the manufacturing skills gap in the U.S. could result in 2.1 million unfilled jobs by 2030. Fortunately, manufacturing companies can alleviate the issue by drawing from a large pool of talent known as Generation Z, the oldest members of which are turning 26 this year.  However, a gap in age also comes with a gap in mindsets and manu...

A Reshoring Initiative report estimates that companies bringing operations back to the U.S. helped to create up to 350,000 new jobs in 2022. Dr. Matthew Putman , the CEO of Nanotronics, supports reshoring but encourages companies to consider transforming manufacturing. "If you see a lot of the initiatives right now to bring manufacturing to the U.S., they are $100 billion or $80 billion,&quot...

Stalled contract talks between railway companies and its workers have been causing concerns over a major rail strike. Railway companies say halting rail service would cause a $2 billion-per-day economic hit. However, a bill passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden that bound workers and rail companies to a proposed settlement avoided an economically devastating strike.  The bill's...

Former employees of Florida’s only lead smelter allege their workplace exposed them to dangerous levels of lead dust and other toxic chemicals. Gopher Resource is defending against several lawsuits that involve dozens of former workers and their family members – the most recent of which was filed just last week. The latest complaint contends that Gopher’s Tampa factory was often so full of lead du...

A major Chinese automaker marked the opening of its first design studio in Europe with a striking concept vehicle. But although the sports car is unique, you’d need eye protection to take it on the road. GAC Group, the fifth-largest automaker in China, surprised attendees at a ceremony to launch its Milan advanced design center with the GAC Barchetta, a maroon electric roadster that the company sa...

With Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter also on his plate, Elon Musk's The Boring Company is the lesser known of the billionaire's big swings, but one that promised to upend traditional infrastructure. The company was born with a tweet in 2016 when Musk said he was sick of traffic. He bought a tunnel-boring machine and started digging. At the time, it seemed like a publicity stunt, but then he ac...

Israeli aerospace and defense company Elbit Systems revealed what it calls a versatile drone-based loitering munition. The autonomous drone is named Lanius, and it can be used for short-range operations in urban areas. Part of the Elbit Systems’ Legion-X robotic and autonomous combat solution, Lanius is a racer quadcopter drone with the ability to perform checks for potential threats, relay the in...

When the Rimac Nevera was first revealed in 2018 at the Geneva Motor Show, the company set a bonkers top speed target for its new hypercar. But now the vehicle has hit its goal by going ridiculously fast. Rimac just announced that it was able to get the Nevera up to 412 kilometers per hour (or 258 miles per hour) during a recent test run at the Automotive Testing Papenburg track in Germany. Miro Z...

Many of the industry’s titans have announced thousands of layoffs amid a changing economic landscape and some extremely company-specific turbulence: the shifting e-commerce sector affecting Amazon, Facebook’s various metaverse issues, and whatever’s going on at Elon Musk’s Twitter, to name a few. But although it’s never fun losing a job, on the bright side, there’s certainly no shortage of compani...

A fire broke out at a Symrise chemical plant in Georgia on Monday morning, and the blaze prompted local authorities to evacuate some 100 homes over toxic smoke and potential explosion concerns.  Employees were evacuated after a fire started around 4:00 am at the plant, which makes fragrance ingredients used in detergents, household cleaners and perfumes.  According to WTOC, the chemical involved i...

The phrase “pilot optional” likely strikes fear into the hearts of any autonomous vehicle skeptics but some recent tests showed how a Black Hawk helicopter can successfully fly itself. Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, and DARPA last month demonstrated an unmanned flight with a Black Hawk outfitted with an autonomy system. During the test on the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, the helicopter de...

Ed and Tanya Beaumont founded Beaumont Machine 30 years ago in Cincinnati; the company makes Electrical Discharge Machines (EDM). In 2013, the couple sold their business, but certain circumstances led to the Beaumonts reacquiring the company and reassuming the day-to-day operation of the company. Beaumont Machine, originally Beaumont Machine Repair, serves aerospace, power generation and electroni...

On November 9, 2021, at about 7:00 am, a fire broke out on the Capt. Kirby Dupuis, a towing vessel that was pushing 13 loaded dry cargo barges up the Ohio River near Belleview, Kentucky. The six crew members fought the fire but could not put it out. Local firefighters from Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio finally beat back the flames, but not until the fire caused about $1,800,000 in damage. A new NTSB...

Whales are some of the largest mammals on earth and they can likely take care of themselves just fine in many oceanic circumstances. But even the biggest whale doesn’t stand much of a chance against the biggest boats, so now there’s technology to help ensure fewer whales are killed in ship collisions. According to Reuters , the Blue Boat Initiative has begun installing a network of smart buoys alo...

On Wednesday, a federal judge approved a settlement for Latino meat processing plant employees in Tennessee who were targeted by an immigration raid in 2018, according to the AP .  According to the Tennessee Lookout, about 100 Southeastern Provision Plant employees stand to share $1.75 million dollars. The workers who were held as a result of the raid, sued, claiming that the IRS and Department of...

The release of a group of toxic chemicals called PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are used in firefighting foam, has resulted in separate lawsuits on opposite ends of the U.S. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports a town in Wisconsin named Peshtigo filed a lawsuit against Tyco Fire Products and over 100 other companies involved in manufacturing and designing PFAS comp...

Earlier this year, it appeared. Like a mirage, it was here one minute, gone the next. Just the world’s largest cast iron skillet, rolling down the road on a semi trailer. Then it disappeared for months. But now, it’s ready.  Lodge, a manufacturer that’s been making cast iron for more than 125 years, has officially opened the Lodge Museum of Cast Iron in its hometown of South Pittsburg, Tennessee....

A clothing and goods wholesaler from Brooklyn who sold counterfeit U.S. military uniforms and gear from China has received a prison sentence of 40 months after pleading guilty three years ago to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and trafficking in counterfeit goods.  The wholesaler, Ramin Kohanbash, had been directing the development, manufacture and importation of uniforms and equipment for the U.S...

In late 2020, ExxonMobil fired two computational scientists who the company suspected leaked information to the Wall Street Journal. However, following a federal whistleblower investigation, OSHA concluded that ExxonMobil’s actions were illegal.  The Wall Street Journal published the article in question two years ago and alleged ExxonMobil inflated production estimates and the value of oil and gas...

On Monday, the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed a complaint against what it calls Exxon Mobil's "unlawful" effort to boot the United Steelworkers union that represented workers at a Texas plant. Some 600 workers at the Exxon refinery in Beaumont were locked out of the refinery and lube oil plant for 10 months, from May 2021 to March 2022. According to Reuters , among...

U.S. manufacturing is no stranger to fluctuations. The 2008 Great Recession took its toll on the industry, which eventually found its footing only to run into the COVID-19 pandemic.  This time, employers aren’t looking to fill conventional manufacturing jobs. Lucky for them, a mostly untapped demographic can fill the job void in the ever-growing automated environment. These opportunities are openi...

General Motors emerged from the third quarter of 2022 in a fortunate position: while competitors like Ford, Honda, Nissan and Toyota all posted year-over-year sales declines, GM reported an increase – and not a small one. The automaker revealed sales we up 24 percent in the quarter, compared to last year, and added that the bulk of its supply chain problems may be in the rearview mirror.  Unfortun...

A widely watched case pitting animal welfare advocates against a Fortune 500 company has come to a conclusion and the results could have far-reaching implications in how the courts view the concept of “theft” versus “rescue.” In 2017, two members of an animal rights group called Direct Action Everywhere (or, DxE) were investigating conditions for pigs being raised for slaughter at Circle Four Farm...

We recently learned that Hyundai and Kia owners may be more likely to suffer from the same undesirable fate: having their vehicles stolen. Rampant thefts that were first reported in the Milwaukee area two years ago began to spread, along with the knowledge that certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles were deficient in a certain area that made them easier to steal. Since then, The Highway Loss Data Instit...

The dream of owning a jumbo jet is often squashed for most people when they see the cost. The Airbus A380’s $450 million price tag, and the fact that they don’t make them anymore, likely puts the aircraft out of reach. But with some luck and persistence, you could own a small piece of the plane. Airbus recently announced an auction that will see the aerospace company dismantle an A380 and sell a l...