Card-Monroe Corp., which bills itself as the world's leading manufacturer of custom-built tufting equipment, has donated $100,000 to the Chattanooga State Foundation.
The gift helped to equip a state-of-the-art learning lab designed to provide hands-on training for current and future students at Chattanooga State Community College.
CSCC President Rebecca Ashford recently welcomed local dignitaries, Card-Monroe officials, faculty, staff, and students as they recognized the new Card-Monroe Manufacturing Lab, which is housed in the college's Center for Engineering, Technology, Arts & Sciences Building.
"We think partnerships with places like Chattanooga State have made us successful by providing to us employees who have come in and been a part of the CMC success, and we are so thankful for the long-lasting relationship we have here at Chattanooga State and for your training of the future employees for manufacturing," said Brad Card, president of Card-Monroe Corp.
VW global sales off in January
The Volkswagen Group's global sales were off 1.8 percent in January from a year ago, hit by declines in North America and China.
The group delivered 882,200 vehicles to customers worldwide in January, the German automaker with an assembly plant in Chattanooga reported Friday. While total sales were down, the group won market share in some markets.
Dr. Christian Dahlheim, head of Volkswagen Group Sales, said in a statement that VW made "a solid start to the new year with relatively stable delivery figures."
In Europe, the group delivered a total of 334,400 vehicles in January, up 0.5 percent over the same month last year, the company said.
The group delivered 64,400 vehicles to customers in North America in January, off 5.2 percent. The group delivered 43,100 vehicles, off 2.8 percent in the United States.
In China, the group's most important single market that currently accounts for 44 percent of all deliveries, sales hit 387,300 vehicles, down 2.9 percent.
Airlines give users 'nonbinary' choice
Major U.S. airlines say they will soon change their ticketing process to give passengers an option to identifying themselves as male or female.
The gender option on airline sites will soon include choices such as "Mx." or "undisclosed."
The airlines say they are making the change to be more inclusive in dealing with a diverse population of travelers.
American, Delta and United confirmed Friday that they are in the process of updating their booking tools to add such an option. They said the change will be made in the next several weeks.
"We certainly have a very diverse customer base. This will be well-received, and we're happy to do it," American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said.
United Airlines plans to let people select M for male, F for female, U for undisclosed or X for unspecified from the gender menu when booking a ticket on its website or mobile app, said spokeswoman Andrea Hiller. They will also have the option of picking "Mx." as a title.
Hiller said the airline wants to make sure that "all or our customers feel comfortable and welcome no matter how they self-identify."