Lean leverageLeadership in lean is opening up new opportunities for auto components manufacturer Alfmeier Corp., Keith Regan learns from Mark Rose-Innes, director of North American operations. Alfmeier Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Alfmeier Praezision, based in Treuchtlingen, Germany, has been a key tier two supplier in the US automotive sector since 1995, with its specialty components in the powertrain and seat systems found in many of the worldÔÇÖs most popular automobile brands.

Touch Base┬áTouchscreens are so user-friendly itÔÇÖs easy to overlook the technology behind them. AD MetroÔÇÖs Albert David told Ruari McCallion about the current state of the market and future developments. TodayÔÇÖs battlefields are hotbeds of electronics, but some things remain constant. They are dirty and dangerous places, where everything is treated roughly.    Technology is a great servant but it has to be able to withstand dirt, shocks and general beating up.

Mercedes-Benz, a luxury car division owned by Daimler AG, recently suffered a drop in sales causing the German carmaker to post quarterly results that were worse than expected. As a recession is fast approaching the European economy, luxury cars are getting left behind. ┬á Mercedez-Benz car sales fell 17.9 percent to $14.9 billion, and the divisionÔÇÖs pre-tax earnings fell an astounding 91.6 percent to $143.6 billion.

In an attempt to restore the companyÔÇÖs fortunes in the face of declining profits, Yahoo plans to cut about 1,500 jobs, 10 percent of its global workforce. ┬á The US internet group made an announcement as it reported a 64 percent decrease in third quarter profits. YahooÔÇÖs net profit for the third quarter was $54.3 million, compared with $151.3 million a year earlier. ┬á Back in January, Yahoo quickly turned down a takeover from Microsoft who offered to buy the firm for $47.5 billion. Yahoo rejected the offer saying that it undervalued the company.

Catepillar Inc., the worldÔÇÖs largest maker of construction and mining equipment, saw third-quarter profit slip 6 percent, as higher raw material costs offset record global sales. ┬á ÔÇ£We expected that material and freight costs would increase in the second half of 2008, and they did in the third quarter,ÔÇØ Jim Owens, chairman and chief executive of Catepillar, said in a statement.

The Exelon Corporation, the largest US operator of nuclear power plants, made an unsolicited offer to buy rival NRG Energy Inc. for $6.2 billion.  In a letter to NRG president and chief executive office David Crane and chairman Howard Cosgrove, Exelon proposed to acquire all of NRGÔÇÖs outstanding common stock in an all-stock transaction. The deal would create the largest power company in the US, worth about $60 billion and with a generating capacity of about 47,000 megawatts, enough electricity to serve nearly 45 million homes, according to Exelon.

ItÔÇÖs crisis, what crisis? for online search engine Google, which has defied the credit crunch to post a 26 percent rise in profits for the third quarter. ┬á┬á┬á  Google recorded earnings of $1.35 billion in the third quarter of 2008, outstripping analysts' expectations. The company attributed the growth to its core online search and advertising businesses. ┬á┬á Quarterly revenue, including commissions to affiliated advertisers, rose 31 percent to $5.54 billion.

Production at US factories last month fell by 2.8 percent, the largest decline since December 1974, according to a report released today by the Federal Reserve. The decrease in production at factories, mines and utilities far exceeded analystsÔÇÖ forecasts and followed a 1 percent decrease in August, the Fed said. The Fed said that production fell 6 percent for the third quarter, the largest drop since 1991, almost doubling the 3.1 percent drop for the second quarter.

Sales at US retailers dropped in September by the most in three years due to increased job losses, plunging home prices, and the deepening credit crisis rattling consumers. ┬á Purchases fell 1.2 percent, more than forecast, followed by a .4 percent decline the prior month. ┬á Consumer confidence is down, largely due to last weekÔÇÖs big decline in stock prices, the largest in at least seven decades. Consumers are cutting back on non-essentials like new cars and vacations, leading to an even deeper economic slump.

Daimler AG, the worldÔÇÖs largest maker of heavy vehicles, will close its Sterling Trucks division in North America, cutting 3,500 jobs as it aims to halt production and move manufacturing to Mexico. ┬á The Sterling brand, a maker of medium-sized models which accounts for 15 percent of DaimlerÔÇÖs US truck output, ÔÇ£never met expectationsÔÇØ after its purchase in 1998 says Heinz Gottswick, a spokesman for the company.