“Peterbilt permanently closing Nashville plant - WATE” plus 4 more

Peterbilt permanently closing Nashville plant - WATE
Photos: SYLVANIA EcoBright(TM) Headlight Bulbs Help Protect Drivers ... - Biloxi Sun Herald
GM's Venture With EBay To End This Week - Source - CNN Money
TN Peterbilt plant will close for good - Nashville Tennessean
Texas accuses ex-Zanesville man of kidnapping - Zanesville Times Recorder

Peterbilt permanently closing Nashville plant - WATE

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 07:49 AM PDT

NASHVILLE (AP) -- Peterbilt Corp. is permanently closing its truck plant in Nashville.

The Tennessean quoted plant manager Larry Vessels who said the decision means the loss of about 390 jobs at the idled plant.

Peterbilt manufactures over-the-road commercial trucks and said it will consolidate work at its plant in Denton, Texas.

Peterbilt General Manager Bill Jackson called the move "a difficult, but necessary decision" because sales have dropped about 70 percent in the last 18 months.

United Auto Workers Union Local 1832 President Mike Pardue said the Texas plant is nonunion and the UAW believes that's the main reason the Madison facility is the one being closed.

Vessels said a labor dispute that stopped production at the plant last June had nothing to do with the closure.

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Photos: SYLVANIA EcoBright(TM) Headlight Bulbs Help Protect Drivers ... - Biloxi Sun Herald

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 07:56 AM PDT

EcoBright bulbs use nine to 21 percent less energy than SAE maximum design specifications, and are 25 percent brighter compared to aged standard bulbs. Over the life of a pair of bulbs, drivers can save from $2 to $19 in fuel costs and reduce a car's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions nine to 21 percent, or from 13 to 107 pounds, compared to bulbs operating to SAE standard maximums.

These environmental savings add up. If only one percent of registered cars switched to EcoBright, 21 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions would be avoided annually. The spirit of environmental responsibility extends to the production of the bulbs as well. EcoBright bulbs contain no cadmium or mercury, and qualify as lead-free by automotive regulatory agencies and the National Drinking Water Regulation for Public Water Systems.

"EcoBright is the perfect option for drivers who are concerned about being environmentally responsible, yet don't want to sacrifice performance," says Joe Verbanic, Marketing Manager for SYLVANIA Automotive Lighting. "At SYLVANIA, we're continually looking for ways to minimize the environmental impact of our products, production and packaging. We also want to offer our customers outstanding performance and increased visibility."

The company's automotive lighting plant in Hillsboro, New Hampshire has an ongoing environmental program that has decreased water use by 94 percent over a 10-month period and reduced greenhouse gas (CO2) emissions by more than 4,410 tons over the past three years. The plant is an ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems certified facility, ensuring that there are formal environmental goals in place, systems to reduce environmental impact, careful monitoring, and independent compliance audits. These initiatives are all part of Global Care, OSRAM SYLVANIA's commitment to social and environmental responsibility worldwide.

EcoBright(TM) bulbs will be introduced in retail stores across the country in September and will retail for $29.99 for a set of two bulbs. Actual performance results may vary by product type, vehicle model and usage.

About OSRAM SYLVANIA Automotive Lighting

OSRAM SYLVANIA, together with OSRAM GmbH, is the world leader in automotive lighting for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and the aftermarket. The company's global automotive lighting division has its principal North American operations in Hillsboro, N.H., with nearly 500 employees. In addition to TS 16949, this facility has also achieved ISO 9001 and 14001 certifications. Automotive Lighting designs, develops, manufactures and markets state-of-the-art automotive light sources, including auxiliary, advanced halogen, LED and high-intensity discharge lighting for interior, exterior and forward lighting applications. More than 400 lamp types are produced for cars, trucks, and electronics in facilities throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Automotive applications for OEMs are marketed under the OSRAM brand while products for the aftermarket are sold under the SYLVANIA brand. For more information, visit www.sylvania.com/auto.

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GM's Venture With EBay To End This Week - Source - CNN Money

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 07:56 AM PDT

DETROIT -(Dow Jones)- General Motors Co.'s short-lived effort to sell cars online through eBay Inc. ( EBAY ) will end this week, a person familiar with the situation said Tuesday.

The program, launched Aug. 11 as a pilot program in California , had not driven major sales for the auto maker, according to dealers and early sales figures.

The eBay venture was one of GM's first moves after emerging from bankruptcy protection in July. At the time, GM CEO Fritz Henderson said the project was part of an effort to make car shopping more convenient.

GM, now controlled by the U.S. government, is under intense pressure to stem a decades' long slide in U.S. market share.

The auto maker, struggling to get new consumers to even consider buying a new GM vehicles, has gone to great lengths to woo buyers. The latest effort is a 60- day, money-back guarantee launched earlier this month.

The eBay deal was initially set to end on Sept. 8 but was extended through the end of the month.

Under the program, shoppers using special eBay sites can purchase GM cars and trucks at a "buy it now" price, or bargain online with a dealer.

Separately, GM on Thursday will announce that it has completed a deal to sell its Saturn division to Penske Automotive Group Inc. (PAG). GM has been working since June to finalize a sale of the brand to auto magnate Roger Penske. Under the deal, Penske, the second largest U.S. auto retailer by revenue after AutoNation Inc. (AN), will buy Saturn's brands, service and parts and distribution operations, but not its manufacturing operations.

The Penske deal was first reported by the Detroit Free Press.

-By Sharon Terlep ; 248-204-5532; sharon.terlep@dowjones.com

 (END) Dow Jones Newswires 09-29-09 1103ET Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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TN Peterbilt plant will close for good - Nashville Tennessean

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 06:37 AM PDT

The Peterbilt truck plant in Madison, which has been shut down since employees were locked out in a labor dispute in June 2008, will close permanently as of Dec. 1, the company said Monday.

About 390 workers will lose their jobs, said plant manager Larry Vessels.

Peterbilt Corp., which manufactures over-the-road commercial trucks, said it would consolidate production at its other plant in Denton, Texas, which has remained open while the Madison plant has been idled.

"This was a difficult but necessary decision," said Bill Jackson, general manager of Texas-based Peterbilt. "The current and projected market conditions are very challenging, and Peterbilt is aligning its production capacity with market demand."

The Madison plant has been in operation 40 years, and most of the employees have been there most of that time, said Mike Pardue, president of United Auto Workers union Local 1832, which represents the hourly workers.

"I'm definitely surprised," Pardue said of the decision to close the plant, which he learned of Monday at a meeting with Vessels.

Workers locked out in June '08

"We had a top-notch facility," Pardue said. "I've been there 33 years. I'm proud of our people, and I hate it had to come to an end like this."

The workers were locked out June 30, 2008, after the union declined to call a vote on a contract offer presented to the union. Vessels said the labor dispute had nothing to do with the plant's demise. Sales of big trucks have dropped about 70 percent in the past year and a half, leaving Peterbilt with excess capacity, he said.

Consolidating production at the Texas plant made more sense, Vessels said. "They make one of our models there that we're not able to build here."

The Texas plant also is nonunion, and Pardue said the UAW believes that's the main reason the Madison facility is the one being closed. "We've been here a long time, and we have set records for safety and quality," he said. "I thought we were a good, viable plant."

Peterbilt is a subsidiary of PACCAR Inc., which also makes Kenworth trucks.

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Texas accuses ex-Zanesville man of kidnapping - Zanesville Times Recorder

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 06:37 AM PDT

ZANESVILLE -- A 9-year-old Texas girl remained calm in the face of uncertainty after she was abducted by a registered sex offender, who authorities say is from Zanesville.

The girl was walking to school Thursday and as she approached a bus stop near her home in Austin. She noticed a man tinkering with the tires on a red truck with a white camper, according to Cpl. Scott Perry of the Austin Police Department.

Police have identified the man as Charles Eugene Butcher II, 42, formerly of Zanesville. Perry said he jumped at the girl, grabbed her, held a knife to her throat and shoved her onto the floor board of the truck.

Now Butcher is facing aggravated kidnapping and failing to register as a sex offender.

Perry said the girl told investigators she had no idea how long they traveled, but the next thing she knew was she was being led into an apartment, bound with rags and shoved into a closet.

"He fed her a couple of times during the day," Perry said. "He gave her toast with jelly and some ravioli, and she was allowed to speak to him throughout the day."

Around 3 p.m., the girl told Butcher she would be expected home soon and he put her back in the truck and took her to an area she was unfamiliar with, Perry said. Butcher then took the girl closer to home and let her out unharmed.

"We're not sure what the motive was or why he took her, but he didn't hurt her," Perry said. "She was a brave little girl and stayed calm the entire time. As a matter of fact, with her help, we were able to catch him quickly."

The girl was walking into her apartment complex around the same time Austin police arrived, Perry said.

The girl's mother, worried her daughter did not come home at the allotted time, had called police and they already were in the area searching for her.

"She was able to describe the man, the truck and the apartment to a tee," Perry said. "She was so descriptive; it's just amazing."

When detectives discussed the case with their Sex Offender Registration unit, the unit said the description matched Butcher, Perry said. Surveillance was started on Butcher, and on Friday, Butcher was stopped and arrested for traffic violations and a search warrant was obtained for his apartment and truck.

Inside the truck, a knife matching the girl's description was located and in the apartment, even the can of ravioli and jelly sitting on a table were exactly as the girl told detectives.

"She even told us about some Harley Davidson decor Butcher had in his apartment and there it was, just like she described," Perry said.

The girl's composure probably helped save her life, Perry said.

"While we don't know what he was going to do, she was a very courageous little girl who calmly spoke to him throughout the day," Perry said.

Butcher has a track record from Muskingum County.

In 1995, he was convicted of abduction after trying to take a young girl at gun point from a bus stop and was sentenced to four to 10 years including three years for a gun specification. He was paroled in February 2004 and again, was arrested that August for attempting to lure two young children into his car. He went back to prison that November and was released in January 2008, according to the Ohio Department of Corrections.

He also was convicted of two misdemeanor counts of child enticement and was sentenced to 180 days on each count which ran concurrent to the prison term in 2004.

He was again arrested in 2008 for failing to register as a sex offender in Muskingum County, but Perry said he thought authorities may have lost track of him because he was supposed to move to North Carolina.

"I guess he came here," Perry said.

Butcher apparently worked as an auto mechanic, Perry said.

Butcher also is suspected of peeping into windows in his neighborhood, Perry said.

Currently, Butcher is being detained in the Travis County Jail on a $600,000 bond.

kthompson@nncogannet.com; (740) 450-6753