The Indianapolis Branch of AESF is hosting a reception on Monday June 16, 2008 to welcome everyone to Indianapolis during SUR/FIN.  The event will be at Jillian?s on South Meridian Street and will include food, drinks and the latest in electronic video games.
"The Indianapolis Branch is really thrilled to have the finishing industry come visit our great city. We felt it was important to provide an opportunity for people to meet in an informal atmosphere and talk to other people in the industry. This venue offers a setting of good food, great fun and close proximity to the convention center. The sponsors for the event have made it possible to provide a great evening at a reasonable price. Hopefully many people are able to join us,? said Jerry Phillips, President of the Indianapolis Branch.
For ticket information, please contact Amy Burns or Jerry Phillips at (317) 842-8120 or email aburns@finshing-concepts.com

Forty-one percent of owners and managers of manufacturing companies are expecting the economy to improve during the next 12 months?that?s 18 points higher than the same poll taken in the fourth quarter of 2007. The Small Business Research Board Manufacturing Industry Small Business Confidence Index increased to 43.66 during the first quarter of 2008, 52% increase from the 28.66 recorded the prior period. More than half of the same group said they expect revenues to increase during the coming year, versus 37% who predicted revenue increases during the previous quarter. Plans for hiring were also more optimistic.

Meanwhile, the quarterly report said 41% of the businesses have raised prices in response to increased fuel costs, 22% have reduced business travel and 20% have eliminated routing, or reduced the length of delivery routes, in addition to reducing other costs.  More than 1,000 small business owners participated in the nationwide poll.  For more information, visit www.ipasbrb.com.

After nearly two years of searching for the right partnership, Sessler Corp., one of Germany?s largest automated hoist manufacturing firms, has appointed Goad Co., of Ellisville, MO and Galvanotech, of Roselle, NJ, as exclusive licensees of Sleekrail, the company?s production-proven hoist system, for the metal finishing and electronic manufacturing industries in the U.S. and Canada.

Karl-Heinz Sessler, president of Sessler, said, "U.S. manufacturers will now get to benefit from the same reliable and efficient German engineering that European manufacturers have used for years."

The system is said to bear marked improvements over other systems currently used in the U.S. "We were in one plant in Germany where they operated one of their Sessler machines three shifts per day, 7 days a week for over five years with only one spare part replaced in that period," said Curtis Goad, president of Goad. "That?s more than 99.99% uptime!" For more information, visit www.sleekrail.com.