Regardless of where you do business, when discussing, analyzing or worrying about “The Economy” these days, you’re not thinking Main Street - you’re thinking global. With that stipulation, it is also accepted wisdom that quality products and sharp pencils are not enough to be and remain competitive. Accordingly, everyone is looking for an edge, an advantage, in order to beat back - or at least keep up with - the competition.

Fairchild International, a U.S.-based manufacturer of underground mining equipment, has produced battery-powered DC scoops since the early 1980s. With 17 different models available, Fairchild offers a size to fit any coal mining operation, making it the leader in the industry.

Air bearings provide a more-precise view of print head variations.

Our April 2012 launch of this column highlighted several key themes; we will re-state each and highlight developments, relying on our monitoring of 75 key global industrial companies and ongoing fieldwork.

The National Fluid Power Association (NFPA) is an organization consisting of manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and educators working together to strengthen the fluid power market. Its mission is to serve as a forum where all fluid power channel partners can advance fluid power technology and successfully compete in the global industrial market.

S.S. White Provides Twisting, Turning Power Transmission with Flexible Shafts

Welcome to the first installment of Market Update - a by-the-numbers, in-the-now snapshot of industrial markets worldwide, along with some prognostication to assist in planning your next moves - when to hold ‘em, when to fold ‘em, etc. Look for Market Update in future issues.

Compact loaders are employed where large machines have no access or are over dimensioned. New hydrostatic drives from ZF meet the demanding needs of this market.

Next time you are strolling across a manufacturing plant, check out the hardware on the ground. Shop floors are nothing but cables plugged into machines, cables plugged into computers, cables plugged into other cables...

Though the original definition of mechatronics derived from the Yasakawa Electric Company in the late 1960s (the company won trademark rights for the term in 1973), the word has remarkably evolved.