GM's Bob Lutz says hybrids, electrics are future, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 12, 2010
Warren, Mich.—General Motors Co. will keep making big trucks and SUVs because U.S. buyers demand them, but a major portion of them will be gas-electric hybrids in the near future, retiring Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said today.

This week's Toyota headlines:

Did National Highway Traffic Safety Administration do its job with Toyota?, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 11, 2010.
Washington—Government vehicle safety regulators may seek greater authority to investigate defects in cars and trucks and are weighing a range of new safety requirements in response to Toyota's recall of more than 8 million vehicles over brake and acceleration problems.

• Did National Highway Traffic Safety Administration do its job with Toyota?, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 11, 2010.
• Runaway Prius tale prompts new probe, by Neal E. Boudette and Sharon Terlep, Wall Street Journal, March 10, 2010
• Class-action lawsuits could cost Toyota more than $3 billion, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 9, 2010
• Toyota sales up 50 percent from March 2009, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 9, 2010
• Toyota disputes critic who blames acceleration problem on electronics, by Jayne O'Donnell and Sharon Silke Carty, USA Today, March 8, 2010
  
• Toyota to recall Prius models including one in runaway incident on Monday, by Neal E. Boudette and Josh Mitchell, Wall Street Journal, March 9, 2010 (Subscription)
• Toyota slams ABC report on pedals, by Neal Boudette, Wall Street Journal, March 9, 2010 (Subscription)
• Toyota moves to discredit its critics, by Dionne Searcey and Kate Linebaugh, Wall Street Journal, March 6, 2010 (Subscription)

This week's earnings reports:

• Hawk Corp.'s profit shrinks for fourth quarter, year, by Alison Grant, Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 10, 2010
• Park-Ohio Holdings posts fourth-quarter profit, Crain's Cleveland Business, March 9, 2010

Chrysler's Twinsburg plant surrounded by grim mood, by Allison Grant with Robert Schoenberger, Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 11, 2010
Twinsburg, Ohio—The mood inside and outside Chrysler's Twinsburg Stamping Plant was somber Thursday as the reality sunk in that the manufacturing that made the building hum for half a century was likely over.

• Equipment from Twinsburg Chrysler plant likely to go on auction block, by Dan Shingler, Crain's Cleveland Business, March 11, 2010
• Twinsburg Chrysler sale disappoints, WCPN IdeaStream, March 11, 2010
  

Metal milling company in Bryan plans to close, Toledo Blade, March 11, 2010
Bryan, Ohio—New Era Ohio LLC, a company that does metal milling, makes machined parts, and assembles components, told state regulators it will close its Williams County plant by September, idling 138 workers.

Quality Electrodynamics receives $487,000 federal contract, by Chuck Soder, Crain's Cleveland Business, March 11, 2010
Mayfield Village, Ohio—Quality Electrodynamics LLC of Mayfield Village has received a $487,000 federal contract to develop a way to mass produce small devices that improve the quality of images produced by magnetic resonance imaging machines.

Caterpillar joins 'onshoring' trend, by Kris Maher and Bob Tita, Wall Street Journal, March 11, 2010
New York—Caterpillar Inc. is considering relocating some heavy-equipment overseas production to a new U.S. plant. After a decade of rapid globalization, economists say companies are seeing disadvantages of offshore production, including shipping costs, complicated logistics, and quality issues. Political unrest and theft of intellectual property pose additional risks.

Obama pushing a new export initiative, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 11, 2010
Washington—In a speech to the Export-Import Bank conference, President Obama outlined steps to flesh out his trade initiative. Among them: creating a mini-Cabinet of officials to focus on exports, seeking more financing to support trade efforts, beefing up enforcement of existing trade deals and pushing for the completion of stalled ones.

• Analysts: Export growth likely to remain bright spot for United States, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 11, 2010

Canadian liquidator buys Chrysler's Twinsburg plant for $45.5 million, by Robert Schoenberger, Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 10, 2010
Cleveland—Maynards Industries Ltd. of Canada said it was exploring all options after winning the auction held in New York for Chrysler's Twinsburg Stamping Plant. Local real estate brokers expressed surprise at the high price and said the buyer must be motivated by more than the land and the building.

Career day set on engineering, Akron Beacon Journal, March 10, 2010
Akron—Goodyear said its 10th ''Engineering Career Day For Young Women'' will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 17 at Firestone High School.

Babcock & Wilcox unit forms joint venture in India, Crain's Cleveland Business, March 10, 2010
Barberton, Ohio—Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group Inc. has formed a joint venture with India-based Thermax Ltd. to build highly efficient boilers and pulverizers for the Indian utility boiler market. Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation will own 49% of the joint venture, while Thermax will have 51% ownership and the new company will have its headquarters in Pune in the Maharashtra state of India.

Cliffs Natural Resources adds Ferro Corp. CEO to board, by Scott Suttell, Crain's Cleveland Business, March 10, 2010
Cleveland—James F. Kirsch, the chairman, president and CEO of specialty chemicals maker Ferro Corp., has been elected to the board of Cliffs, a producer of iron ore and coal.

Can this car (the Coda) dent the Prius? by Joseph B. White, Eyes on the Road Blog, Wall Street Journal, March 10, 2010
New York—The all-electric Coda car, assembled in China, is scheduled to go on sale in the U.S. late this year. Target price: less than $35,000, after tax credits.

Food makers graded for marketing to kids, by Mike Hughlett, Chicago Tribune via Akron Beacon Journal, March 10, 2010
Chicago—The Washington D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest analyzed 128 food and entertainment companies, evaluating the strength of their nutrition standards for food marketed to children and the thoroughness of their child marketing policies. Two-thirds of the companies analyzed did not have a policy for food marketing to children, earning them an automatic ''F.''

Recovery emerging from U.S. factories, by Don Lee, Los Angeles Times, March 10, 2010
Washington—"We could have a renaissance here," said Ron Bloom, President Obama's manufacturing czar. "Indeed," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke declared late last month, "manufacturing has been leading the recovery so far."

Chrysler names North American Fiat head, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 10, 2010
Auburn Hills, Mich.—Laura Soave, formerly with Volkswagen of America, will oversee the Fiat product portfolio, beginning with the Fiat 500 compact car. Fiat brands have not been sold in North America for more than 25 years.

Parker Hannifin secures more work from Rolls-Royce for Airbus A350 engine, Crain's Cleveland Business, March 9, 2010
Cleveland—The producer of motion and control equipment said Rolls-Royce has exercised its option to add heat management valves made by its Parker Aerospace unit to the pneumatics package it already supplies on the Trent XWB engine program.

Steelmakers prepare to invest in growth, by Alex Macdonald and Alexander Kolyandr, Wall Street Journal, March 9, 2010
New York—Steelmakers and distributors in Europe and the U.S. are allocating larger budgets to growth projects in 2010, signaling a potential return to profitability even though demand growth in some markets, such as Europe, remains lackluster.

Wind advocates say renewable power standards will mean jobs, by Sabrina Eaton, Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 9, 2010
Cleveland—"The renewable energy standard, as we call it, has three main points: jobs, jobs and jobs," said John Grabner of Bedford Heights-based Cardinal Fastener, whose company makes dumbbell-sized bolts that hold together wind turbines.

New program offers assistance for entrepreneurs, by Paula Schleis, Akron Beacon Journal, March 9, 2010
Akron—A new Akron area group has been formed to help those who have a great idea but are unsure of its viability or how to proceed. The Entrepreneur's Idea Exchange will hold its inaugural meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. March 16.

OSHA seeks $3M in penalties for local BP-Husky refinery, by Gary T. Pakulski, Toledo Blade, March 9, 2010
Toledo—The BP-Husky Refining LLC refinery in suburban Toledo was slapped with $3 million in proposed penalties yesterday after federal inspectors found problems similar to those that contributed to a deadly explosion at a refinery in Texas in 2005.

Editorial: Full of wind, Akron Beacon Journal, March 9, 2010
Akron—Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and three fellow Democrats voiced their dismay last week at federal stimulus money for wind and other clean-energy projects going to foreign companies. But the true story is more complicated. Erect obstacles to foreign participation, and Americans will fall further behind countries that are already out ahead of us..

• Energy secretary opposes suspending stimulus grants, by Joseph B. White, Wall Street Journal, March 5, 2010 (Subscription)

Second company bids on Chrysler's Twinsburg Stamping Plant, by Robert Schoenberger, Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 8, 2010
Twinsburg, Ohio—At least one other company has submitted a bid topping Park Corp.'s $27.5 million bid to buy Chrysler's stamping plant in Twinsburg. The auction is scheduled for Wednesday.

Editorial: Power the wind, Akron Beacon Journal, March 8, 2010
Akron—Springfield, Ohio senator, Chris Widener, has introduced a proposal to allow renewable energy companies to seek personal property tax exemptions from the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority. This proposal deserves support in the House and Senate.

In recession, some companies may buy their way out of growth rut, by Dan Shingler, Crain's Cleveland Business, March 8, 2010 (Subscription)
Cleveland—Crain's talks to executives at Advance Paint Technology Ltd. and Polymer Transactions about how they have used acquisitions to grow even during the recession.

Made in Stark: Cammel Saw makes cutting tools, G. Patrick Kelley, Canton Repository, March 8, 2010
Jackson Township, Ohio—In its regular feature, the Repository profiles Cammel Saw, a manufacturer of custom carbide tips and high speed steel circular saw blades.

Berea manufacturer aims to reinvent muscle car glory days, by Dan Shingler, Crain's Cleveland Business, March 8, 2010 (Subscription)
Berea, Ohio—Corsa Performance Exhaust in Berea wants to do more than ride Ford Motor Co.'s coattails to growth. It wants to get right up under the bumpers of the revved-up automaker's new Taurus SHO model, which boasts a Cleveland-made EcoBoost engine that Corsa thinks will be a hit.

Plastics firms play chess with acquisitions in recession, by Dan Shingler, Crain's Cleveland Business, March 8, 2010 (Subscription)
Cleveland—Mergers and acquisitions are not the hot topic they once were, but in Northeast Ohio's plastics industry, they're a chief tool for companies to enter new markets, gain customers and expand capacity.

State of Ohio fails to build on northwest Ohio solar success, by Joe Vardon, Toledo Blade, March 7, 2010
Toledo—In a three-part series of investigative reports, the Blade finds the region has missed out on manufacturing jobs in the solar industry because of a failure by state officials to attract companies with tax incentives or create a viable market for solar panels in Ohio.

• Governor Ted Strickland upbeat on solar job growth, by Joe Vardon, Toledo Blade, March 8, 2010
• Alternative-energy push gets bipartisan support, by Tom Troy, Toledo Blade, March 8, 2010

Talk with the Boss: Christopher Slabe, Slabe Machine Products, by John Funk, Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 7, 2010
Willoughby, Ohio—In its regular "Talk with the Boss" feature, the PD profiles the VP of Operations at Slabe Machine Products, who describes how the company changed its corporate culture to retain skilled employees.

Eaton, Sherwin-Williams, Lubrizol among 100 Best Corporate Citizens, Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 7, 2010
Cleveland—Corporate Responsibility Magazine's 11th annual list of 100 Best Corporate Citizens includes Eaton Corp., No. 41; Sherwin-Williams Co., 68; and Lubrizol Corp., No. 86.

GE project would boost Ohio aerospace growth, by John Nolan, Dayton Daily News, March 6, 2010
Dayton, Ohio—GE Aviation’s jet engine plant in a Cincinnati suburb and its GE Electrical Power Systems business in Vandalia are possible sites for the company's proposed new research and testing center for aircraft electrical power systems. Ohio has offered GE a $7.6 million incentive grant to support the project and hope for a decision later this month.