Assembly - December 2008 - (Page 34) Capital Spending Assemblers Demand Faster Payback 70 60 50 42 Percent of plants 40 30 20 10 0 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Less than 2 years 2003 2004 2005 More than 2 years 2006 2007 2008 2009 40 39 41 40 37 42 41 46 44 60 58 61 59 60 63 59 58 54 56 50 50 51 49 57 One sign that the credit crunch is already affecting assemblers can be seen in how quickly they expect to see a return on their equipment investments. Only 43 percent of respondents can wait 2 years or more to get payback on new technology. That’s the lowest percentage in five years. 43 28 percent of plants in NAIC 334 will spend more next year than they did this year. That’s slightly less than the 30 percent for all U.S. plants. Getting new products to market is an imperative in this industry. Indeed, half of all plants in NAIC 334 will buy equipment to assemble a new product. That compares with 41 percent for all U.S. plants, and it’s the sixth consecutive year that this industry has outpaced the nation in this percentage. Fabricated Metal Products In August, Sherwood Valve LLC closed its assembly plant in Niagara Falls, NY, and shifted the work done there to facilities in Cleveland and Washington, PA. The Niagara Falls facility made a variety of metal valves for industrial and medical applications. The consolidation at Sherwood Valve is emblematic of a broader trend throughout the fabricated metal products industry (NAIC 332). For the third consecutive year, manufacturers of windows, cans, tools, springs, bearings, Custom machined parts for manufacturing and assembly support — in 1 business day! No NRE Charges! First Cut Prototype’s process for machining parts allows you to get the custom parts you need to solve your manufacturing and assembly problems. First Cut custom parts are: Convenient — Upload your 3D CAD model and receive a FirstQuote® interactive quote within hours. Place orders on-line via credit card. Real — Machined from solid blocks of material. Affordable — No Non-Recurring Engineering charges — we’ll make just 1 if that is all you need. Fast — Parts ship in as little as 1 business day. Ideal — For manufacturing, production, test and design engineers who need small quantities of custom parts for projects. Get a FirstQuote ® for your custom parts. Visit www.fixturesandjigs.com or call 763-479-8600 34 ASSEMBLY / December 2008 www.assemblymag.com http://www.fixturesandjigs.com http://www.fixturesandjigs.com http://www.assemblymag.com
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