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Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley is sounding the alarm about a growing shortage of skilled auto technicians in the United States. Speaking recently on the Office Hours: Business Edition podcast, Farley said Ford currently has about 5,000 open service-technician positions, many of which can pay six-figure salaries. He described the situation as dire, noting that “as of this morning, we have 5,000 openings — a bay with a lift and tools and no one to work in it.” Farley added that while top technicians can earn around $120,000 a year, reaching that level requires years of training and experience.

Yokohama Tire announced it has renewed its partnership with the United States Auto Club (USAC) as the official tire partner and presenting sponsor for the USAC-sanctioned Porsche Sprint Challenge North America and USA West by Yokohama for the 2026 season. The sponsorship agreement will mark its sixth consecutive season.

Founded in 1985 as Arburg’s very first foreign subsidiary, Arburg France laid the groundwork for what is now the company’s global presence. On 5 November 2025, the Arburg SAS team celebrated the 40th anniversary with around 100 participants in the presence of Managing Partner Juliane Hehl and Tobias Baur, Managing Director Sales and After Sales, as well as Steffen Eppler, Vice President Sales Europe, from Arburg’s German headquarter. Before the festive evening, customers were given an opportunity to learn about current topics and trends in injection molding. This took the form of exhibits and specialist presentations at the Arburg Technology Centre (ATC) in Tremblay-en-France.
To commemorate this anniversary, Arburg France laid on a multi-faceted and informative program, including specialist presentations by its customers Com’inject and Schneider Electric France. Their speakers reported on their specific experiences with the Arburg host computer system (ALS) and the arburgXworld customer portal, as well as with the Gestica control system and the “aXw Control FillAssist” assistance function. In addition, two other external companies spoke about diversification strategies in the plastics industry and the potential applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in the industrial sector and corresponding customer experiences.

On April 21 to 24, 2026, the industry’s acclaimed trade fair – CHINAPLAS 2026 will take place at National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC) in Hongqiao, Shanghai, PR China. As one of the global leading plastics and rubber exhibitions, this edition is expected to span over 390,000 square meters across 16 exhibition halls, and bring together more than 4,600 exhibitors from around the world to showcase breakthroughs in new materials, intelligent innovations and green transformations. The trade fair aims to strengthen the industries’ upgrade towards high-end, intelligent, and green development, as well as the transition from “Made in China” to “Innovated in China”.