March U.S. car sales rise in sign of industry rebound, by Jeff Bennett, Wall Street Journal, March 19, 2010 (Subscription)
New York—A rise in U.S. car sales during the first half of March is lifting expectations that totals for the month will show the industry's recovery is picking up speed. Helped by higher customer incentives, sales by makers including Ford Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. and even troubled Toyota Motor Corp. showed dramatic increases in the month's first two weeks compared with the same period a year ago, said dealers and industry analysts.

Honda eyes Toyota's hybrid lead, by Makiko Kitamura and Yuki Hagiwara, Bloomberg News via Akron Beacon Journal, March 19, 2010
New York—Honda, Japan's second-largest carmaker, plans to introduce lithium-ion battery-powered hybrid cars as it struggles to narrow Toyota's lead in sales of gasoline-electric cars.

Toledo-built vehicles rated below average, by Larry P. Vellequette, Toledo Blade, March 19, 2010
Toledo—J.D. Power & Associates survey of owners of three-year-old 2007-model vehicles found that the Jeep Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited, Jeep Liberty, and Dodge Nitro from that year displayed a higher degree of problems than the average vehicle in their segment.

• Porsche takes top spot in dependability study, AP via Toledo Blade, March 19, 2010
• Cobalt improves in dependability survey, by Larry Ringler, Warren Tribune Chronicle, March 19, 2010

O-I to produce glass in Argentina, Toledo Blade, March 19, 2010
Toledo—Owens-Illinois Inc. yesterday revealed it will produce glass in Argentina for the first time as part of a renewed thrust into emerging markets across the globe.

This week's Toyota headlines:

Toyota not only brand with fatal acceleration, Bloomberg News via Toledo Blade, March 16, 2010
New York—59 of 110 fatalities attributed to sudden acceleration in NHTSA records occurred in vehicles made by Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group LLC, and other companies, according to data compiled for Bloomberg News by the traffic safety administration.

• Toyota disputes Prius driver's account, by Alexandra Berzon and Kate Linebaugh, Wall Street Journal, March 16, 2010 (Subscription)
• Toyota to pay $250 million to close California plant, by Kate Linebaugh, Wall Street Journal, March 15, 2010 (Subscription)
• Orange County district attorney suing Toyota over defects, AP via Youngstown Vindicator, March 13, 2010

This week's earnings reports:

• PolyOne Corp. forecasts strong first-quarter results, by Scott Suttell, Crain's Cleveland Business, March 19, 2010
• Preformed Line Products Co. reports big increase in fourth-quarter earnings, Crain's Cleveland Business, March 16, 2010

KraftMaid moving headquarters, by Joshua S. Flesher, Warren Tribune Chronicle, March 18, 2010
Middlefield, Ohio—The Masco Cabinetry organization announced it will relocate its KraftMaid brand headquarters to Ann Arbor, Mich. before the end of the year. The move of corporate operations will not affect the manufacturing or customer service operations.

• KraftMaid moving headquarters from Middlefield to Michigan, by Olivera Perkins, Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 16, 2010

Denman files for Chapter 7, by Joshua S. Flesher, Warren Tribune Chronicle, March 18, 2010
Leavittsburg, Ohio—Following several weeks of uncertainty, the Denman Tire Corp. filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court Northern District of Ohio, according to court documents.

• Denman to sell its Trumbull tire plant, by Don Shilling, Youngstown Vindicator, March 18, 2010

Federal safety agency fines northwest Ohio company, Toledo Blade, March 18, 2010
Spencerville, Ohio—The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Ohio Decorative Products Inc. $91,000 for alleged safety violations that led to a worker being injured by a machine last year.

Baldwin-Wallace College launches sustainability institute, by Shannon Mortland, Crain's Cleveland Business, March 18, 2010
Berea, Ohio—Baldwin-Wallace College has launched the Institute for Sustainable Business Practice to help Northeast Ohioans integrate sustainability into their business plans.

General Motors' new CFO says company has chance to make profit this year, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 17, 2010
Detroit—General Motors Co.'s new financial chief Chris Liddell says the company has a reasonable chance of making a profit this year but it's still a work in progress.

Omnova Solutions annual meeting provides reason to celebrate, Akron Beacon Journal, March 17, 2010
Fairlawn, Ohio—Polymer company Omnova Solutions shareholders celebrated the company's $26.2 million profit for its fiscal year ended Nov. 30 at Wednesday morning's annual meeting.

Editorial: Ohio legislative leaders should fix Workers' Compensation Council, Columbus Dispatch, March 17, 2010
Columbus—Starting a new agency from scratch indeed takes time, but it shouldn't take 20 months and nearly half a million dollars to do almost nothing.

• Editorial: General Assembly should abolish its do-nothing Workers' Compensation Council, Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 13, 2010

Restart of Severstal Warren begins, by Don Shilling, Youngstown Vindicator, March 16, 2010
Warren, Ohio—Crews began work Monday that is needed to fire up the mill’s blast furnace, which has been down since October 2008. The plan calls for the basic oxygen furnace to go into operation later this week, said Bette Kovach, a company spokeswoman.

• USW talks on as Severstal Warren steel mill reopens, by Larry Ringler, Warren Tribune Chronicle, March 16, 2010

Stoneridge opens China tech center, Warren Tribune Chronicle, March 16, 2010
Warren, Ohio—Stoneridge Inc., a manufacturer of vehicle sensors, switches and other vehicle electrical products, announced Friday the opening of a new 7,000-square-foot technical center and sales office in the Xu Hui District of Shanghai, China.

Smucker sells Hungry Jack potato brands, Akron Beacon Journal, March 16, 2010
Orrville, Ohio—The J.M. Smucker Co. and Basic American Foods announced Monday the sale of and a licensing agreement for Hungry Jack brand potato products.

B&W buying unit from GE, Akron Beacon Journal, March 16, 2010
Barberton, Ohio—Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group Inc. is buying an emissions-monitoring business from GE Energy, a division of General Electric. Terms of the acquisition of the ''electrostatic precipitator'' and emissions-monitoring business unit were not disclosed.

First lady to food makers: Hurry up on healthy food, by Maggie Fox, Reuters, March 16, 2010
Washington—In a speech to the Grocery Manufacturers Association, U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama praised them for reducing calories and salt, but asked them to "move faster and go farther" to improve the health of children.

• First lady asks foodmakers to be on front line tackling childhood obesity, by Jane Black, Washington Post, March 16, 2010
• Michelle Obama to take anti-obesity campaign directly to food giants, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 16, 2010

Saab to open headquarters in Detroit, by Jeff Bennett, Wall Street Journal, March 16, 2010 (Subscription)
Detroit—Spyker Cars NV is outlining plans Tuesday to locate its Saab Cars North America headquarters in in Royal Oak, Mich., near Detroit. Saab will manage its advertising, sales and dealership development from the location.

Winds of change for Beoing, Airbus, by Peter Sanders and Daniel Michaels, Wall Street Journal, March 16, 2010 (Subscription)
New York—For years, Airbus and Boeing have split the market for big passenger jets. But a series of shifts in the sector could start to erode that dominance, leading to big changes in the commercial aircraft industry.

Sifco Industries taps current executive for chief operating officer post, Crain's Cleveland Business, March 15, 2010
Cleveland—Sifco Industries, a provider of aircraft parts and maintenance services, has named James P. Woidke its chief operating officer responsible for Sifco's three operating segments: Aerospace Component Manufacturing, Applied Surface Concepts, and Turbine Component Services and Repair Groups.

P&G makes 'future friendly' environmental push, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 15, 2010
Cincinnati—Procter & Gamble Co. said today it will launch a major multimedia "Future Friendly" campaign late this month. Besides TV and online ads, there will be new labeling for products in stores meant to save water, energy and waste.

GE Lighting must educate public during transition to LEDs, by Dan Shingler, Crain's Cleveland Business, March 15, 2010 (Subscription)
Cleveland—At Nela Park in East Cleveland, General Electric Co. is taking on the big job of replacing the incandescent light bulbs it helped make ubiquitous with new, more efficient—and more expensive—LED lighting.

Mittal producing power using furnace exhaust, by Dan Shingler, Crain's Cleveland Business, March 15, 2010 (Subscription)
Cleveland—ArcelorMittal won its third straight Energy Star award last month, in part because in Cleveland it has begun generating its own electricity using exhaust gases from its blast furnace—a move it says will save the company $3 million in 2010 and $6 million a year beginning in 2011.

Incentives spark local interest in 'solar special improvement districts,' by Jay Miller, Crain's Cleveland Business, March 15, 2010 (Subscription)
Cleveland—The Ohio General Assembly, in the biennial state budget, last year created something called a “solar special improvement district,” or solar SID, and this year the Legislature is looking for more ways to make renewable energy systems more attractive to commercial and residential property owners.

Industrial production rises 0.1 percent in February, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 15, 2010
Washington—The Federal Reserve reported that manufacturing took a hit from February winter storms that shut down most of the Northeast, decreasing hours worked at factories and restraining workers' earnings.

Ozone relief urged in Northeast Ohio, by Bob Downing, Akron Beacon Journal, March 13, 2010
Cleveland—The governing board of the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency on Friday approved a resolution urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to set reasonable, practical, achievable limits to reduce ozone that won't cause more economic problems for the Akron-Cleveland area. The federal EPA is expected to make its decision on tighter ozone limits in August.

Surgical-device firm walks fine line, by Thomas M. Burton, Wall Street Journal, March 11, 2010 (Subscription)
New York—The Justice Department is investigating whether companies that make surgical-ablation devices have been violating the law by actively marketing them for non-FDA-approved uses, such as treating atrial fibrillation. AtriCure, of West Chester, Ohio, agreed to pay $3.8 million to resolve allegations it marketed its surgical ablation devices for the unapproved purpose of treating irregular heartbeats. The company didn't admit wrongdoing.

Hugo Boss unswayed by Oscars boycott, still plans to close Cleveland plant, by Dan Shingler, Crain's Cleveland Business, March 12, 2010
Cleveland—Union efforts to keep Hugo Boss tuxedos off the red carpet at the March 7 Academy Awards seem to have worked. But the company hasn't changed its mind about shuttering its Cleveland facility and moving its work overseas.