John Deere begins production of protective face shields for health-care workers
Employees started production on Wednesday, April 8, at the John Deere Seeding Group in Moline, Illinois. The factory manufactures planting equipment and precision ag solutions for a global customer base. Deere expects to produce 25,000 face shields in the initial stages of production and has ordered materials and supplies to produce an additional 200,000 face shields. The first 25,000 protective face shields will be delivered to 16 U.S. Deere factories in eight states as well as the company’s U.S. Deere-Hitachi factory for local distribution. The initial run will help meet the immediate needs of health-care workers in those communities. Source
Trelleborg comments on the impact of the Coronavirus
Sales for Trelleborg for the first quarter 2020 have been negatively impacted by the pandemic, particularly during the latter part of the quarter. The Group has continuously initiated measures to offset the development, entailing that the earnings trend and cash flow have been relatively stable despite the downturn in sales. The measures implemented address both costs and cash flow, and comprise focused cost-savings in the form of, for example, shortened working hours, lay-off notices and redundancies, temporary facility closures and reduced investments, and an intensified focus on working capital. All units have initiated local actions that address their unique situation. Source
New CEO of Komatsu Forest
On April 1, 2020 Jens Bengtsson will take up the position as CEO of Komatsu Forest AB, one of the world's leading manufacturers of forest machines and related services and accessories. Jens has worked in the company for 11 years and has recently held both the role of CFO and COO. Former CEO Mitsuru Ueno is now taking on a new role as Senior Fellow for the Forest Division of the parent company Komatsu Ltd. During his time as CEO, he has had two important focus areas; to ensure a new production facility with a safe and good working environment, that is prepared for an upcoming expansion of the business, and to broaden the forest machine business through strategic acquisitions such as Quadco, Southstar, TimberPro and Oryx Simulations. Source
Resources for during the COVID-19 pandemic
ARTBA is compiling information from a variety of resources to help keep its members and other transportation construction professionals informed on key issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Source
Komatsu rebrands company-owned distributors in eastern, western and southwest North America
To better support customers and leverage the power of their wholly-owned network, Komatsu has created a new structure in North America to strengthen the growth of company-owned distributor branches. A new corporate unit within Komatsu has been created and effective immediately, all company-owned distributor locations will be branded simply “Komatsu” to reflect their inclusion in the company’s global footprint. Source