MAG Industrial Automation Provides Congressional Testimony on Auto Bail Out

MAG Industrial Automation Systems' (Erlanger, KY) Chief U.S. Technical Officer Richard Curless testified before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming December 9, urging Congress to include incentives or guidelines requiring the Big Three automakers to spend any bail out monies with U.S. manufacturing technology suppliers.

Curless told the committee the bail out funding is vital for the carmakers to retool their U.S. factories and product lines for greater efficiency and competitiveness. However, he stressed that allowing bail-out monies to be spent with overseas companies will not help build the broader base of U.S. suppliers that support, or want to support, domestic auto manufacturing. "Today, for every $100 taken in by the automotive companies, $30 goes overseas for materials," he asserted. "Equipment, R&D and other purchases add to this outflow. Every other country in the world is offering incentives to their domestic technology providers. Similarly, taxpayer assistance to the automotive companies must require, by means of incentives or guidelines, that the funds be used to buy U.S. technology."

According to Curless, U.S. companies like MAG represent critical manufacturing infrastructure for automotive, aerospace and similar high-tech industries that define "global superpower" status. Without them, he says, the country may find itself dependent on foreign nations for the very technology that personifies America's many freedoms ? the automobile.

Testifying at the request of Michigan Congresswoman Candice Miller (Tenth District), Curless stated that "MAG represents the largest and only U.S. machine tool company with the technology and skills to meet the manufacturing needs of U.S. automotive companies.? MAG is also the world's largest supplier of aerospace manufacturing systems used to build composite structures for aircraft from Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Airbus. The company is working to transfer its aerospace expertise to automotive products in a drive to build strong, lightweight components to increase energy efficiency.

MAG Industrial Automation systems employs approximately 4,200 people globally and 1,600 in North America, where it has operations in Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, California and Ontario. Curless has been with the company 35 years and has more than 40 years' experience in the machine tool industry. He serves on the boards of directors for the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences, TechSolve, PEM Alliance and the U.K.'s Aerospace Manufacturing Research Center.

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