Author: Editor in Chief Sarah A. Webster
Date: 4/15/2013
The medical-device tax, which took effect Jan. 1, is clearly unpopular in medical manufacturing circles, but whether it lives or dies depends on a lot of factors.With opponents of the measure spanning from former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain to US Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the medical-device industry believes it has bipartisan support to go in for the kill.
Full Article Author: Sarah A Webster
Date: 4/1/2013
It’s been said before, but I’ll say it again: It’s a really good time in US manufacturing. For a moment, let’s not talk about a few things, such as the sequestration cuts and what they mean for the defense sector, Boeing’s battery problems and the resistance cash-healthy employers have had to adding jobs, dampening our economic recovery.
Full Article Author: Editor in Chief Sarah A. Webster
Date: 1/22/2013
The world is witnessing the dawn of a new era in energy production. And manufacturers—who innovate, engineer and supply the tools needed to extract, capture, generate, store and transport that energy—are at the forefront.
Full Article Author: Editor-in-Chief Sarah A. Webster
Date: 12/13/2012
It’s difficult to determine what facts are the most disturbing about our nation’s skills gap: The fact that U.S. students recently finished 25th in math and 17th in science. Or that employers – already strained to fill about 600,000 current vacancies -- have a bevy of issues with their current workers, too.
Full Article Author: Editor in Chief Sarah A. Webster
Date: 12/1/2012
North America continues to be the bright spot in global manufacturing. In the US, economic activity in the sector grew in October, for the second consecutive month following a summer slowdown, the nation’s supply executives reported in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.
Full Article Author: Editor in Chief Sarah A. Webster
Date: 11/20/2012
I am struck by how much the basics still matter. Basics such as: Leaders who (duh!) lead. Competent workforces that can execute in increasingly advanced environments. Lean Plan-Do-Check-Adjust approaches that are not just rooted in management memos but also in a company’s culture—and in reality.
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Author: Editor in Chief Sarah A. Webster
Date: 11/9/2012
I was quite surprised – astonished really – when a report landed in my in-box this October from the Boston Consulting Group with this headline: “Skills Gap in US Manufacturing is Less Pervasive Than Many Believe.”
Full Article Author: Editor in Chief Sarah A. Webster
Date: 11/1/2012
As I sat down to write my column for this month’s issue, I planned only to tell you about all the great things we have in the November issue and encourage you to attend SME’s upcoming FABTECH event in Las Vegas. In this month’s issue, for example, we have an excellent story about deburring by two SME members, Jack Clark, chair of the SME Deburring, Edge-Finish, and Surface Conditioning Technical Group, and David A. Davidson, chair of the SME Machining/Material Removal Technical Community.
Full Article Author: Editor in Chief Sarah A. Webster
Date: 10/1/2012
To attract more students and workers, the manufacturing sector needs to prove that it's an industry that offers long-lasting, reliable career after a long rocky period marked by layoffs and outsourcing.
Full Article Author: Editor in Chief Sarah A. Webster
Date: 9/18/2012
I just want to say one word to you -- just one word -- are you listening? In 1967, when “The Graduate” came out, that word was plastics. Today, it’s this: Lightweighting. If the automotive industry is going to meet the new federal rule of 54.5 mpg for light-duty vehicles for the model years 2017-2025, “lightweighting is obviously the pathway of choice.”
Full Article Author: Editor in Chief Sarah A. Webster
Date: 9/10/2012
Manufacturing education is, indeed, in crisis. When manufacturers have hundreds of thousands available jobs and nobody to fill them, during a period of high unemployment, the crisis is obvious. There’s just not enough people to get the job done.
Full Article Author: Senior Editor James D. Sawyer
Date: 9/1/2012
One of the more uncomfortable questions a parent may face is, "Where do babies come from?" Manufacturing has an uncomfortable question of its own. We just haven’t taken the time to look far enough ahead to ask ourselves "Where do materials necessary for manufacturing come from—and where will they come from in the future?"
Full Article Author: Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 8/1/2012
In case you missed the beginning of the revolution, don’t worry, the Maker Revolution, 21st century vintage, is well under way, has been for some time, with Fab Labs and Maker’s Faires, and will continue. Marshall Gartenlaub, PhD, provided details about the Revolution’s scope at the 2012 SME Annual Conference held June 3-5 in Cleveland.
Full Article Author: Editor in Chief Sarah A. Webster
Date: 7/1/2012
Given all the brainpower at work in manufacturing, this industry can—and should—be advocating for its revitalization in a smarter fashion. Now, we finally have some tools to do just that.
Full Article Author: Editor in Chief Sarah A. Webster
Date: 6/1/2012
This is a special month for our organization. We’ve launched our new Web site and we’re eager to finally share it with you! Our new home on the Web—www.ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com—embraces our new identity as Manufacturing Engineering Media, or ME Media, for short.
Full Article Author: Editor in Chief Sarah A. Webster
Date: 5/1/2012
Navigating the medical manufacturing industry these days reminds me of that game Minesweeper, where you try to clear a virtual minefield without blowing up a mine. You don’t know where the next mine will be, but you try to make educated guesses about what’s next and prepare. Yes, medical manufacturing is a landscape full of uncertainties.
Full Article Author: Editor in Chief Sarah A. Webster
Date: 4/1/2012
With every passing year, additive manufacturing grows by leaps and bounds. In innovation. In sales. And in capturing the imagination of makers of things, both new and old. There’s no denying the coolness factor of AM. But when will AM reach its tipping point where it becomes a big dog in the world of manufacturing? What is holding this exciting, efficient technology back?
Full Article Author: Editor in Chief Sarah A. Webster
Date: 3/1/2012
That nation is finally listening. From President Barack Obama, who made manufacturing a central theme of his State of the Union, to Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney, who also pledges to bring manufacturing jobs back to America, manufacturing is now a major topic of conversation. This is the moment we've been waiting for—that some say its overdue—right? So, manufacturers, what do you want?
Full Article Author: Editor in Chief Sarah A. Webster
Date: 2/1/2012
The next waste under attack in lean manufacturing is energy. It’s not just because “being green” is in vogue for marketers, either. The very premise of lean manufacturing is about eliminating waste, and unnecessary energy use is the epitome of waste.
Full Article Author: Sarah A. Webster
Date: 12/1/2011
"It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory." I don’t know when W. Edwards Deming first made that remark, but his words ring as true now as they probably did then. The words probably even ring a bit louder today, after the Great Recession, and as the forces of globalization continue charging ahead.
Full Article Author: Jim Lorincz
Date: 11/1/2011
It’s difficult to remember a time when manufacturing and education shared as many headlines as they do today. In fact, the continued success of one, manufacturing, is inextricably related to the quality of the other, education of the young people who will shape and lead manufacturing in the future.
Full Article Author: Jim Lorincz
Date: 10/1/2011
Anyone who can text can take part in a real-time opinion poll. This was demonstrated at the imX keynote address of Jim Carroll, global futurist and trends and innovation expert (his billing). Carroll asked a basic question about how optimistic/pessimistic the audience was about the future of the economy.
Full Article Author: Jim Lorincz
Date: 9/1/2011
Today it’s all about jobs. In 1967 in Detroit, it was about picking up the pieces after racial violence had ravaged the city. Eleanor Josaitis, a suburban housewife with a family, and her parish priest, Father William T. Cunningham, co-founded Focus: Hope, an organization with the stated aim of bridging the racial divide in the Detroit metropolitan area by providing critically needed basic human services.
Full Article Author: Jim Lorincz
Date: 8/1/2011
I’ve always thought that experiencing technology by putting the suppliers of technology together with the buyers of technology under one roof at a trade show/exposition made as much sense for editors as it did for the intended target audience: the users of manufacturing technology.
Full Article Author: Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 7/1/2011
Our industry was encouraged when, at Northern Virginia Community College, President Obama endorsed the Manufacturing Institute’s NAM-endorsed Skills Certification System as part of the Skills for America’s Future initiative. He outlined seven programs to support the goal of providing 500,000 more skilled workers for the manufacturing industry within the next five years.
Full Article Author: Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 6/1/2011
It’s pretty obvious that manufacturing is out front in leading the current economic recovery, however weak or threatened that recovery may at times seem.
Full Article Author: Brian J. Hogan
Date: 5/1/2011
On April 11, my birthday, I turned 68 years old. This fact has led me to certain conclusions. First, I will never play strong safety for the Bears. The dream is over. Second, when it comes to working on deadline, I have had the adult dose, plus a good bit, and that is about enough.
Full Article Author: Brian J. Hogan
Date: 4/1/2011
Reportedly, an economic recovery has begun, and the Great Recession is grinding to an end—in fact, it’s over. Reportedly, manufacturing is leading the way, with steady expansion taking place in manufacturing employment and manufacturing output. Perhaps. But remember the old joke: "With friends like these, who needs enemies?"
Full Article Author: Brian J. Hogan
Date: 3/1/2011
One looks at our present times and wonders, do we have leaders, or mere poseurs in positions of authority? In too many companies, top management leads in the same way that an automobile’s front bumper leads the vehicle—it’s out there, but it really doesn’t do much.
Full Article Author: Brian J. Hogan
Date: 2/1/2011
In an uncertain world, there is at least one unchanging reality with which we all must deal, and that is civilization’s need for energy. In this issue, Senior Editor James Lorincz presents two articles developed after conversations with manufacturers involved in the energy-industry supply chain.
Full Article Author: Brian J. Hogan
Date: 1/1/2011
New Year’s Day has always pleased me. It’s a point on the calendar when we can say the past is behind us, disappearing in the rearview mirror, and good riddance! Throughout most of the year, it seems to me I live on a continuum, with days folding into one another. New Year’s Day is different; it’s a time to take a deep breath, and start over.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 7/1/2010
Quite some time ago, I was doing some writing on a topic of interest to the late theoretical physicist Edward Teller, an early member of the Manhattan Project who is often called the father of the hydrogen bomb. He agreed to talk to me, and invited me to have breakfast with him. We met at a hotel in Boston, and the conversation was wide-ranging and interesting.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 6/1/2010
In times like these, it's normal for people under pressure to look for a place of sanctuary. As business flattens or trends down, or even collapses, as trusted, skilled workers must be laid off and equipment idled, a manager will look for new business, some island of prosperity where there will be good contracts and good margins.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 5/1/2010
We are living through the second recession in a decade. Manufacturing professionals remember the last one, which ended about seven years ago, with shudders. But the present recession is worse. I've heard a Federal Reserve economist refer to this downturn as The Great Recession, and he presented data that justified the name.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 4/1/2010
Fashion is one of the more important influences on all of us. Fashion imposes itself on everyone, even the most stubborn, in one way or another. Fashion changes the way we dress, cut our hair, and — more consequentially — how we manage our businesses. It's really amazing to cast one's mind back, and consider how fashions have impacted every field — including manufacturing.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 3/1/2010
Have you noticed that prominent voices are offering praise for manufacturing, and insisting that manufacturing matters to the US? It's really a somewhat refreshing turn of events, though awfully late in the game. Now Washington has a manufacturing czar (and owns a big part of US auto manufacturing), and certain state governments are talking up the importance of local manufacturing.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 2/1/2010
Presumably there is such a thing as the social value of work. Presumably, such social value can be calculated. It should be pretty clear that some types of work essentially fulfill personal goals. Other types of work ring through society, and influence many lives. A poet, a ballet dancer, or a person who studies the culture of the Hittites may have a very satisfying life. And such occupations certainly don't have a negative effect on the neighbors. But more likely than not, that poet, dancer, or student of the ancient world will also not have a measurable positive impact on the society in which he or she dwells.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 1/1/2010
New Year, new beginning? We're all saying goodbye and good riddance to 2009, and we all hope for better days ahead. Will there be better days? Many companies are reporting an uptick in business, in some places as much as a 20% increase when compared to the spring of 2009. That's great, but if your business fell by 70%, a 20% upturn doesn't make you whole.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 12/1/2009
Recent visits to builders of manufacturing equipment indicate that the managers of those companies regard technical innovation as key to future sales, and to gaining share of market. More specifically, they see technical innovation that offers a gain in productivity for customers as key to their futures, and the futures of those customers.This situation continues a trend that has been in place for some time, and shows no sign of abating.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 11/1/2009
The companies that are going to survive this recession—the second to hit us in the last decade—have learned certain lessons. Among them is the principle that survival, and success, require thoughtful innovation. Intuitively, one might expect the great manufacturing equipment companies to be pulling back, limiting investment in new products, and trying to generate cash flow by selling equipment that has been accepted in the marketplace. That does not seem to be what's going on.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 10/1/2009
Some people, in some places, claim things are picking up. And it may be true, at that. When the economy fell off the cliff a year ago, many companies in North America were working hard to push products out to an economy that was running quite well. As a result, inventories of goods were significant when everything cratered. Now, a year later, those inventories have been much reduced, and it's reasonable to expect to see a slow reawakening of demand.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 9/1/2009
What a year! Who would have believed last September that in 12 months General Motors and Chrysler would be owned by the government (and the UAW). No matter how this situation plays out, let's not forget the overwhelming importance of the automotive industry to North American manufacturing. .
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 8/1/2009
Here at Manufacturing Engineering, our subject is the use of technology and human intelligence to enhance manufacturing productivity. All of our articles are intended to present new equipment or techniques to our readers that can help improve productivity. We believe that doing so is the key to manufacturing success. Productivity means manufacturing more good parts and products with the same (or less) inputs of capital and labor.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 7/1/2009
Each year, Manufacturing Engineering selects an individual who has made a significant contribution to modern manufacturing technology for coverage in our Masters of Manufacturing cover article.We have certain goals in mind when we prepare these stories for you. First of all, we want to make it very clear that modern manufacturing technology did not emerge spontaneously, like crabgrass on a new lawn.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 6/1/2009
All recessions end. That's the point to remember, even at the bleakest moments. There is always a clearing price at which assets find a market, and there is always a market for well-made, well-engineered products and components that solve problems and/or enhance life. The market can be stifled for a time, but eventually it will assert itself.
Full Article Author: Brian J. Hogan
Date: 5/1/2009
Springtime has come, and EASTEC 2009 is on the horizon. Once again, northeastern manufacturing professionals will assemble in glamorous West Springfield, MA. Attendees will have the chance to see the latest, most-productive manufacturing equipment, and clearly there will be a buyer's market during the event.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 4/1/2009
The financial crisis that has roiled the world since last autumn began as a crisis in the banking community. And the world press now states that trillions of dollars of wealth has been destroyed worldwide, when what has actually happened is that lots of folks have chosen, figuratively speaking, to stuff money into the mattress, rather than invest with banks or in financial instruments.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 3/1/2009
Once again we've rolled into the time of year when WESTEC is on the horizon. But there are new facts to consider in 2009, such as global recession, a new administration in Washington, DC, and the widespread expectation that the worst is yet to come. Not a pretty picture.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 2/1/2009
It's truly impressive to consider the technologies available to today's manufacturing professionals. Despite the rather lousy economic situation everyone faces, suppliers to the world's manufacturing industries continue to innovate. They clearly believe that technology sells, and that if they can make the user of their technology more productive, they will find buyers for that technology.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 1/1/2009
A Hollywood character named Sam Goldwyn once remarked: "It's really hard to make predictions, especially about the future." How can you argue with that? Still, the future is where we're all going to live, like it or not, so even if we don't make hard predictions, we must at least try to figure out whether we'll need to consider purchasing body armor in 2009.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 12/1/2008
Sometimes the price of manufacturing equipment gives me sticker shock. The number can seem too high for any group that's not part of a Fortune 500 company. And then the words of a hardboiled old manufacturing guy come to mind: "If a machine makes money for me, it's not expensive, no matter how much it cost. If a machine doesn't make money for me it's not cheap, no matter how low the price was."
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 11/1/2008
No reasonable person would argue against the idea that a thorough understanding of how one intends to perform a task is critical to success. Of course details of that understanding may need to be revised as time passes. Putting matters a bit differently, to succeed you must develop a sound process, and continuously improve the process after it's implemented.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 10/1/2008
All successful companies are alike in certain ways; they have motivated staff, creative managers, and an energized workforce. All unsuccessful, struggling companies appear unique. It seems as though we all find our own special ways to fail. Because SME is headquartered in Dearborn, we spend a good deal of time thinking about the Big Three automakers and their travails.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 9/1/2008
Good managers are hard to find, and very valuable to every organization. A competent manager can bring order out of chaos, get all personnel moving in the same direction, and significantly reduce the waste associated with administration, sales, and production. But managers aren't leaders.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 8/1/2008
Once again, IMTS is on the horizon, which makes this a good time to give some thought to the future of US manufacturing, and the future of technology and science in the US. Lately I've seen glimmers of recognition in the general press that this country doesn't seem to be producing enough native-born engineers and scientists.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 7/1/2008
You've seen touch probes. They're used in almost every manufacturing facility of any size. Did you ever wonder where they came from? Well, our Masters of Manufacturing subject for this issue, David McMurtry (Sir David, if you're British), developed the touch probe to solve a measurement and inspection problem while he was working for Rolls Royce plc.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 6/1/2008
Life drives home certain lessons again and again, and even after they're well-learned, the validity of those lessons is constantly emphasized by ordinary events. Recently I hired a repairman to fix the irrigation system in my lawn—two of the supply pipes had gotten choked by trees. We're planning to sell the house fairly soon, and keeping the system repaired will help the property present well to potential buyers.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 5/1/2008
Whenever manufacturing people sit down and try to scope out markets that will need manufactured products, the medical field comes near the head of the list. The aging of populations all over the world, and significant advances in medical technology, have combined to create a growing need for shops and personnel able to manufacture advanced products and devices for the medical market.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 4/1/2008
At the risk of offending you, may I point out that none of the candidates seeking political office this year are saying much of any merit about manufacturing? And should one of them mention manufacturing, it's as a source of "good jobs at good wages." There's no indication in any speech I've heard that our political candidates view manufacturing as an important component of western civilization; it's simply a money tree to be shaken and used, not an activity to be understood or considered especially valuable.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 3/1/2008
The run-up in oil prices has the general press rocking and rolling, the US Congress has passed new CAFE standards, and there's a new push for alternative fuels and alternative energy. How exciting. Forgive me, but I've seen this sort of thing before, and I've seen it come and go, and I find it hard to believe the present fuss will have a happy ending.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 2/1/2008
During visits I've made to many companies and plants in the US, Japan, and Europe, a consistent theme often emerges. I'm told that operations were running at a certain level, then competition, or new management, or some other shock to the system forced a reorganization (perhaps with lean principles in mind, perhaps not). Suddenly morale improved, everyone pitched in, and new capacity emerged.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 1/1/2008
A couple of things are sure bets for 2008. The decision-makers and elite-group members who govern the US will continue to take manufacturing for granted, assuming that low-wage countries will make our cars, steel, medical devices, aircraft—basically everything we now make here—in years to come. And manufacturing in the US will continue to become more productive, more efficient, leaner, and more competitive relative to the rest of the world.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 12/1/2007
December is here, Christmas and New Year's Day are coming, and US Manufacturing seems to be doing pretty well. With the exception of companies operating in southeastern Michigan, which will probably struggle as long as the Big Three domestic car builders have problems, manufacturing groups are busy and making some money.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 11/1/2007
Individuals caught up in a period of intense change naturally concentrate on their own lives, and their own work. In such a time, it's very difficult to appreciate what's happening on anything but a local basis, and it's impossible to fully absorb the nature of the systemic changes occurring all around.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 10/1/2007
In the long-ago days of my youth, when I was knocking around a college campus and pounding away at my engineering courses, I cheerfully accepted the idea that the side of campus occupied by the fine arts and literature crowd was where the "creative" people lived.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 9/1/2007
So what's coming next in the North American automotive market? It's an easy bet that Toyota will continue to do well—what a power that company has become! They've proven that attention to process is the key to eliminating waste on the floor and in the front office.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 8/1/2007
I understand that the Greek philosopher Socrates once said the unexamined life is not worth living. My recollection is that he felt the need to delve into his own motives and his own understanding of the world, with the objective of deriving from that process the ideas and positions he would stand upon. An encounter or two with some folks who are possessed of powerful convictions brought Socrates to my mind.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 7/1/2007
One of the more disturbing realities of our time is the lack of any links to the past. A century ago, a few years after the founding of Ford Motor Company, flush toilets and electric lighting were wonderful new developments.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 6/1/2007
Try to find the time to check out the technical changes happening in manufacturing these days. Descriptions of new machine tools, new cutting tools, improved robots, improved shop-floor equipment of every type, are flowing into this office every day.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 5/1/2007
Springtime in the year 2007; if the living's not easy, it's certainly not too bad. Here at Manufacturing Engineering we're busy and looking forward to a hectic summer. The annual EASTEC show in West Springfield, MA is coming up, and it should be excellent. Work is good. And it's reassuring to know that there's work to be done.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 4/1/2007
We all understand that, to succeed, manufacturing companies must eliminate waste, take advantage of relevant new technologies, encourage teamwork, and partner with vendors and customers. And tell me, laddie, how many companies actually do all these things?
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 3/1/2007
Remember the story about the three blind men and the elephant? The one who grabbed its tail said the animal was like a rope, the one who walked up to its side described it as like a wall, the one who took hold of its trunk said it was like a snake. Which leads me to ask: How would you describe the state of manufacturing in North America?
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 2/1/2007
Effective January 31, Albert A. Frink resigned as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Manufacturing and Services. He was the first person to hold the position. Before joining the Commerce Department, Frink was a carpet manufacturer. In fact, he worked in manufacturing for more than 30 years before doing his stint in government. Albert Frink has been described by the people who know him as one of manufacturing's few friends in Washington.
Full Article Author: Editor Brian J. Hogan
Date: 1/1/2007
Did you find time during the holidays to think about 2006? Almost everyone I've met these last few months says 2006 was a simply excellent year. Orders were up, profits were up, and the biggest problems some companies faced were finding useful people to hire and increasing production capacity. Those are not the worst problems one can have!
Full Article Author: Editor in Chief Sarah A. Webster
ME does not endorse particular candidates. But in case you haven’t made up your mind, or just wanted to know more on their manufacturing positions, I’m here to guide you to the highlights. No matter what choice voters make this fall, here’s hoping that manufacturing continue to grow and proper!
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