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PLANT|NEWS N FORD'S VIRTUAL REALITY DEVICE COMES TO NWTC ortheast Wisconsin Technical College instructors and students recently got a taste of the virtual engineering and manufacturing technologies that Ford Motor Co. uses in its labs. Ford's Virtual Reality Buck, which is a part of Ford's immersive Environment Lab (FiVE), was on campus in late March. According to Ford, the lab is a facility with stations that allow designers and engineers to experience a vehicle before it's built, using virtual 3-D technology. With the Virtual Reality Buck, a person can interact with the interior of a vehicle to evaluate designs. Ford says the virtual reality tools speed up production times and reduce costs to make adjustments to designs. F SARGENTO EXPANDS HILBERT FACILITY Sargento Foods Inc. is investing $12 million in its Hilbert location to expand its production space. The 30,000-square-feet of additional space will be used for the company's growing sauce business. The space will be ready for production by January. Sargento officials estimate the TWO MORE SHIPS FUNDED The U.S. Navy has issued a Lockheed Martin-led industry team a $715 million contract modification to add funding for construction of two Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) – the third and fourth in a 10-ship contract awarded in December 2010. The ships will be built at Marinette Marine Corp. The Marinette shipyard is currently 26 | INSIGHT on Manufacturing • May 2012 Richard Jakacki, a digital build master for Ford Motor Co., explains how the Virtual Reality Buck works at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. Ford brought some of its virtual engineering and manufacturing technologies to the school. expanding its indoor production area to accommodate the increased workload. Smet Construction Services Corp. of Green Bay is currently building a new blast building that will be able to hold two production lines. The building will be ready for production in early August. expansion will create up to 50 new jobs within the next five years at the plant. purchased the Sheboygan firm for an undisclosed price. J.L. French has six manufacturing plants in North America, Europe and Asia. An estimated 900 people are employed at the Sheboygan operation. J.L. French filed for protection Inc., a manufacturer of automotive components, was purchased by a Mexican automotive supplier. Tenedora Nemak S.A. de C.V. from creditors in July 2009 when the J.L. FRENCH SOLD TO MEXICAN FIRM J.L. French Automotive Castings allow J.L. French to thrive under the new ownership of a company that has a high stake in our success," says Tom Musgrave, J.L. French's chief executive officer, president and chairman. "This transaction will provide long-term financial support with J.L. French with an automotive supplier parent company." TIMBERPRO EXPANDING IN SHAWANO TimberPro is adding 35,000-square- feet to its Shawano facility. Keller, Planners, Architects and Builders is constructing the addition. Keller originally built TimberPro, a manufacturer of tree harvesting equipment, in 2003 and then an www.insightonmfg.com automotive industry collapsed and emerged from that bankruptcy filing in September with creditors taking over the company's ownership. "We feel that this acquisition will COURTESY OF JOHN BRYSON