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In the past, robots had been seen as being too unsafe to place alongside humans on the assembly line without the benefit of a safety barrier.
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Known as the "Carpet Capital of the World," Dalton, Ga. has struggled and lost thousands of jobs over the past decade. But carpet jobs are returning, and state officials say 7,000 new manufacturing jobs are coming to Georgia over the next five years.
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Zodiac produces most of the inflatable rafts used by the U.S. military. But a California company challenged that contract, saying it violates a requirement that the Defense Department use products made with American material and by U.S. workers. In response, Zodiac set up a factory in Maryland.
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Steinway Musical Instruments is on the auction block and a mystery bidder, rumored to be hedge fund manager John Paulson, appears to have the winning bid at $458 million. Ilya Marritz explains why the fairly healthy company is seeking a buyout in the first place.
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Fulcrum Acoustic speakers are in some of the hottest clubs in Hollywood, Vegas and Singapore. They're also in Bible-Belt churches and Disney World. Joan Baez uses them for her stage rig. They're made in a tiny enclave outside Boston, by a small team that prides itself on making its work "invisible."
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Sequestration has yet to cause the huge job losses in the defense industry that many had predicted. Many defense firms have been turning to other growth areas — particularly, developing countries, which are growing their defense budgets while the West is cutting back.
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The cheapest place to make brushes these days is China. But there are still people pressing bristles into brushes in a factory in the Bronx, and in small plants across the country.
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Six months after the school shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Connecticut is one of a handful of states that have passed tough new gun laws. Firearms manufacturers in at least two of those states are planning to move their operations elsewhere.
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The Chinese computer maker is trying to boost its brand and U.S. market share as other high-tech firms, including Motorola, plan to manufacture here. North Carolina officials say the plant in Whitsett is a sign of manufacturing's return from overseas.
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Residents in Memphis, Tenn., are thrilled that Swedish appliance giant Electrolux is opening a new factory there this year. The company plans to employ 1,200 people at the new, high-tech facility. But in Webster, Iowa, an Electrolux plant closure in 2011 has left the local economy reeling.