Business Insider All of the major economies around the world have published their April manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) reports. And while manufacturing activity continues to grow, the pace of growth is decelerating.

ThomasNet News Star SU, LLC, based in Illinois, and FFG Werke GmbH, a German machine tool manufacturer, signed a contract extending their partnership for machine tool sales and service in the Americas. Having worked together successfully with FFG’s Modul hobbing machines brand, selling gear manufacturing equipment for more than 20 years, the Star SU portfolio now also covers VDF Boehringer and Hessapp turning machines as well as Hüller Hille machining centers and Witzig Frank multi-way, multi-spindle machines.

UPI Defying a veto threat from the president, the House passed a bill Friday morning to make permanent a tax credit meant to give American businesses an edge by boosting research funding. The Republican-backed measure is an extension of the Research and Experimentation Credit, first implemented in 1981, which has expired eight times and extended 14.

Bloomberg U.K. manufacturing production expanded more than economists forecast in March, adding to evidence that the economic recovery is gathering strength. Output rose 0.5 percent from February, when it gained 1 percent, the Office for National Statistics said Friday.

U.S. News & World Report American manufacturers are increasingly finding that prospective workers do not have the skill set required to perform necessary job functions, such as basic math and computer abilities. The so-called "skills gap," if unresolved, could compromise manufacturers’ ability to stay competitive, according to some industry leaders.

Shopfloor The global economy continues to expand, boosted by strengths in North America and Europe. Yet, there are also notable weaknesses, particularly in Asia and South America, where growth is decelerating. As a result, four of the top 10 markets for U.S.-manufactured goods experienced declining manufacturing activity levels in April, up from two in March.

The Huffington Post We've got a real problem on our hands in America. A gap's growing between manufacturing workers set to retire in the next 10 to 15 years and those on the other end of the spectrum. Despite the exciting and innovative things happening in the industry, millennials' outdated perception of shop-floor jobs is increasingly precluding them from following the career path.

Clean Technica General Electric has set itself a target to double its share in the Indian wind turbine market by 2016. To achieve this target the company will set up a greenfield facility to manufacture components for wind turbines.

Industrial Distribution China's manufacturing contracted in April for the fourth straight month but the pace of decline was less severe, suggesting the downturn in the world's No. 2 economy is bottoming out. HSBC's purchasing managers' index released Monday ticked up to 48.1 from 48.0 in March on a 100-point scale on which numbers above 50 indicate expansion.

Yonhap News Agency Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world's largest shipbuilder, said Monday it will start commercial production of engines for construction equipment and power generators from May at its joint plant with Cumins, a U.S. engine manufacturer.

Upstream Weir Oil & Gas and Rolls-Royce Power Systems subsidiary MTU are joining forces to field test integrated power systems for hydraulic fracturing this year and plan to deliver the first of them by mid-2015.

This will be the only advanced gear training course that AGMA offers in the Chicago area this year. Understand the methods for manufacturing and inspecting gears and how they can be applied and interpreted during design. Complete details on the AGMA website.

RTT News In its Annual General Meeting, German engine manufacturer MTU Aero Engines AG announced that, by 2020, it would be required to deliver twice as many modules and engines as it does today. Also, the company said its next important action is to ensure that the GTF engines are supplied on time to the aircraft manufacturers for subsequent delivery to the airlines.

Daily Press Usually we start with how much a project will get from the state in a given year. But with the Rolls Royce plant, a massive endeavor supported by a complex, multiyear series of grants to help build a manufacturing super-complex in Prince George County, it makes more sense to start with the long-range number. $56.8 million. That's what the state has agreed to lay out if Rolls Royce makes good on its part: 642 new jobs and half a billion in private investment in and around a facility that makes aircraft engine components.

Aerospace Manufacturing and Design ANSYS and GE Aviation are deepening their long-standing strategic relationship by establishing a new joint technology collaboration agreement that will help solve future engineering challenges and drive product development processes in a world of smart products and big data. Both organizations recognize the value of cutting-edge research and are jointly aligned in their desire to spur innovation by creatively applying simulation to the manufacturing and industrial space.

The Motley Fool GE announced that it has received 3,900 MW of wind turbine supply orders in the U.S. since Jan. 1, 2013, after a renewable energy tax credit was extended at the start of 2013. To date, GE has installed around 1,100 MW of wind power, with the remaining 2,800 MW to be commissioned or under construction by 2016.

IndustryWeek Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. said Friday it swung to a full-year profit as strong domestic demand offset the impact of severe competition abroad. The nation's biggest steelmaker said net profit was 242.8 billion yen (US$2.4 billion) for the year to March, reversing a 124.6 billion yen net loss the previous year.

Nick Pinchuk, president and CEO of Snap-on, wields continuous improvement as a weapon, a weapon against the turbulent manufacturing climate, a weapon against the dwindling middle class, and a weapon for the revitalization of manufacturing.