Today's Manufacturing Pulse
Stellantis to pour $1.08B into next‑gen EV line at Mulhouse plant
President Emmanuel Macron announced Stellantis will invest more than €1 billion (about $1.08 billion) to build a next‑generation electric‑vehicle production line at its Mulhouse facility, slated to start in 2029. The investment is part of France’s push to electrify its auto fleet and boost domestic manufacturing capacity.
Also developing:
By the numbers: TIEA Connectors raises $8M Series A
ASSA ABLOY Completes €58 Million Rollerdoor Acquisition, Boosting Iberian Footprint
ASSA ABLOY announced the completion of its acquisition of Portugal‑based Rollerdoor Group, a sectional door maker with €58 million (≈$63 million) in 2025 sales. The deal is accretive to earnings per share from day one and expands the company's Entrance Systems Division in the Iberian market.
Supply Chains Are Frontline in Energy Infrastructure
Aspen Aerogel is a manufacturer of products used in energy infrastructure Refining/petrochemicals, LNG, power plants, district energy, subsea pipelines, and offshore platforms. Supply chains are the front lines
Amaero Plans to Double Production After Receiving $7.8m Titanium Powder Order
Amaero (ASX:3DA) announced a A$7.8 million (~US$5.1 million) titanium‑powder contract for FY2027, matching its FY2026 sales volume. To fulfill the order, the company will double its production capacity in FY2027 by commissioning two EIGA Premium atomisers, with a third slated for June 2026....
Read the March/April 2026 Issue of Plant Engineering
The March/April 2026 issue of Plant Engineering spotlights critical maintenance topics, from valve lubrication and corrosion prevention to AI‑driven operational technology. It highlights how proper lubrication extends valve life, how corrosion can trigger surprise costs, and why seals matter in compressed‑air...
Amaero Reports New Manufacturing Agreement Backed by $7.8M Titanium Powder Order
Amaero Ltd announced a manufacturing agreement that includes a A$7.8 million (≈ $5.1 million USD) purchase order for titanium alloy powders, with quarterly shipments from July 2026 to June 2027. The contract, tied to a private‑equity‑backed advanced‑materials customer, may exceed the minimum commitment as demand...
Tesla Finally Makes Move Fans, and Investors, Have Been Waiting For
Tesla is contacting suppliers to develop a new, smaller electric SUV that will be about 18 inches shorter than the Model Y and priced below its $39,990 base. The vehicle will initially be built at the Shanghai plant, with plans to...
Samsung C&T Unveils Low‑Cost Wood‑Like “Next Material” For Fire‑Zone Apartments
Samsung C&T, in partnership with German surface‑material firm Schattdeko, introduced “Next Material,” a wood‑like, fire‑rated finish that combines hardwood aesthetics with steel‑floor durability. The product debuted in the Banghwa‑dong fire‑zone redevelopment of the Raemian Ellavine complex, signaling a shift toward...
Samsung’s Profit Surges On AI-Related Gains, Japan Moves to the Industrial Deployment of AI
Samsung projected a first‑quarter operating profit of about $38.7 billion, driven by soaring demand for AI‑optimized DRAM and HBM memory. South Korean chip makers, led by SK Hynix’s 60% HBM share, saw stock gains as memory prices are forecast to jump 58‑63%...
Can Japan Regain Shipbuilding Might with US$6.3 Billion Funding Plan?
Japan announced a plan to inject up to 1 trillion yen (≈US$6.3 billion) into its shipbuilding industry. The funding aims to revive a sector that has slipped behind China in capacity and market share. Officials view shipbuilding as both an economic engine...
Buses Found Using Chinese Chips
Taiwanese bus operators Da Nan Bus and Shin‑Shin Bus discovered that 82 of their 244 electric buses were equipped with Huawei‑affiliated HiSilicon chips, violating a contractual ban on Chinese components. The chips, used in around‑view monitor systems, were allegedly concealed...
Muscat Trailers: Focusing on Progress
Muscat Trailers, a century‑old Australian industrial firm, is launching a new road‑preservation product line aimed at the growing demand for preventive maintenance. The range, developed with long‑time partner Etnyre International, includes the Crack Seal Pro and Pavement Saver Pro machines...
US Administration Still Undecided on Novelis Tariff Relief
.@USTradeRep Greer told my colleague @NoraEckert the administration has been in contact with the Detroit 3 on the Novelis aluminum issue and tariff relief sought: "There hasn't been any decision made by the US government. With the tariff program...
Jones Act Ships Are Foreign-Built, Raising U.S. Shipping Costs
"the United States is still reliant on foreign markets for producing ships. Americans pay higher shipping costs without gaining the purported benefits of insulation from foreign markets. In reality, Jones Act ships are not U.S.-built; they are U.S.-assembled." 😲
Untitled
Mezzanine Safeti‑Gates, Inc. secured a U.S. registered trademark for its new RobotGate® safety system (registration No. 8,198,482). The trademark marks the company’s second brand, following the earlier Roly® gate, and underscores its focus on protecting workers and automation assets. Executives will...
Shenda Auto Parts Breaks Ground on New Energy Vehicle Project in Suzhou Suxiang Cooperation Zone
Shenda Auto Parts broke ground on a new‑energy‑vehicle (NEV) project in Suzhou’s Suxiang Cooperation Zone, committing roughly 160 million yuan (about $22 million) to a 26,000‑square‑meter complex. The facility will combine offices, R&D labs, and production lines focused on thermal‑management systems and electronic...
From Reactor Designs to Real Projects: SMRs Enter the Execution Era as AI Power Demand Accelerates
The small‑modular reactor (SMR) sector is shifting from design hype to concrete execution, with vendors securing licensing approvals, fuel contracts, supply‑chain partners and financing. In Q1 2026, companies such as X‑energy, GE Hitachi, NuScale, Oklo, Holtec and Rolls‑Royce moved beyond announcements...
ZYT and Lisheng Technology Form Strategic Partnership on Intelligent Driving
ZT Y and Lisheng Technology signed a strategic partnership on April 3, 2026 to co‑develop intelligent driver‑assistance systems. The agreement covers chip adaptation, system integration and large‑scale manufacturing, with joint projects on mainstream automotive‑grade chips and a multi‑chip ecosystem to...
Water Molecules Eliminate Brute Force From MXene Nanosheet Production
Researchers have introduced a water‑mediated scission method that exfoliates MXene into defect‑free single‑layer nanosheets without mechanical force. By intercalating lithium and soaking the material in water for 12 hours, the process achieves an 84.7% yield and produces sheets averaging 10.46 µm in...
PickNik Releases MoveIt Pro 9 to Improve AI-Driven Robotics in Variable Environments
PickNik launched MoveIt Pro 9, adding AI‑driven scan‑and‑plan capabilities that let industrial robots perceive and adapt to variable environments in real time. The update introduces AI perception filtering, point‑cloud alignment, automated contour extraction, and collision‑aware motion planning. Early adopters such as Autowash,...
Tankers Lift Global Orderbook to 17-Year High
The global shipbuilding orderbook reached 191 million compensated gross tonnes (CGT) at the end of Q1 2026, representing 17% of the world fleet—the highest level since 2011, Bimco reported. New tanker contracting jumped 40% year‑on‑year, with a three‑fold increase in orders and...
GIC to Show Tech to Boost Efficiency, Ergonomics at MODEX 2026
Global Industrial Co. (GIC) will showcase roughly 50 new material‑handling products at MODEX 2026 in Atlanta, emphasizing efficiency, ergonomics and safety. The lineup includes a mobile robot stretch‑wrap machine, an electric pallet jack, a hydraulic self‑dumping hopper, Cat lift tables,...
Frozen Veg in New Zealand: The Data Behind McCain and Wattie’s Cuts
McCain and Wattie's announced factory closures and job cuts in New Zealand's frozen‑vegetable sector. They cite soaring energy and labour costs and a sharp drop in frozen‑veg demand, with households spending only about $8 USD per year on frozen peas. Despite overall...
White House Uses Imported Steel for New Ballroom
Dumb Donald takes foreign steel to build dumb White House ballroom. What happened to Made in America? White House Secures Foreign Steel for Ballroom Project https://t.co/0xKYN6hfX5
Japan's Itochu and Sankyu to Buy Singapore Plant Repair Firm SWTS
Japanese trading house Itochu and logistics group Sankyu announced a joint acquisition of Singapore‑based plant maintenance specialist SWTS. The deal, reported by Nikkei, aims to broaden both firms' service offerings across Asia’s industrial sector. SWTS, which maintains oil refineries and...
Volkswagen Killing U.S. ID.4 and Could Be Readying a New Pickup
Volkswagen will cease production of the ID.4 electric compact SUV at its Chattanooga plant by the end of the month, reallocating the line’s capacity to the upcoming 2027 Atlas SUV. The company says the current ID.4 inventory will sustain North...
Carbon Nanotube Fiber Sensors Achieve Record Measurement Error Below 0.1%
Skoltech researchers, together with Chinese and Iranian collaborators, demonstrated carbon nanotube fiber (CNTF) sensors that achieve a record‑low measurement error of under 0.1%, far surpassing the typical 2% error of commercial sensors. The study, published in iScience, proves CNTFs can...
Kia Begins EV2 Production at Slovak Plant, Boosting Europe’s B‑SUV EV Lineup
Kia has started manufacturing its new EV2 electric SUV at the Žilina facility in Slovakia, expanding its European EV portfolio. The B‑segment SUV offers 42.2 kWh or 61.0 kWh batteries with up to 453 km WLTP range, and the plant’s output will support...
Strait of Hormuz: How Food and Beverage Companies Can Navigate the Latest Developments
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted key inputs for food and beverage manufacturers, notably polyethylene and aluminum used in packaging, global fertilizer supplies, and freight costs driven by soaring oil prices. These shocks create three primary challenges:...
Target Fuels Next-Day Delivery Expansion with Shipt
Target is expanding its Shipt‑powered next‑day delivery service, called Target Last Mile Delivery Direct, to 20 additional metropolitan areas this spring. By the end of 2026, more than 100 stores across 50 markets will ship orders directly from the retail...
Leveling up Industry 4.0
The March/April 2026 EDN issue spotlights the next wave of Industry 4.0, highlighting event‑based vision, wide‑bandgap power electronics, smart motor‑control ICs, edge AI, and new cybersecurity mandates. Event‑based sensors reduce latency and data load, while SiC and GaN devices boost efficiency...
Logisnext Americas Opens Customer Experience Center at Houston Campus
Logisnext Americas inaugurated a Customer Experience Center at its Houston headquarters, providing a hands‑on venue for customers and dealers to explore the company’s material handling, automation, and fleet solutions. The 10,000‑square‑foot space features equipment test drives, training rooms, and exhibits...
The Struggle to Diversify Rare Earth Supply Chains
Demand for rare earth magnets has doubled since 2015, and the International Energy Agency projects a 30% increase by 2030. China now controls roughly 60% of mined production, over 90% of refining, and 95% of permanent‑magnet output, creating a single‑source...
MODEX 2026: Peak Technologies Introduces Peak Automation Intelligence
Peak Technologies launched Peak Automation Intelligence at MODEX 2026, an AI‑powered platform that delivers real‑time visibility and automated data capture across warehouses, distribution centers and manufacturing operations. Built on machine‑vision, smart optics and mobile computing, the solution tracks every pallet,...
Project44 Unveils Fleet of AI Agents at Customer Event Decision44
Project44 unveiled a suite of AI agents at its Decision44 event, promising to compress the traditional three‑step logistics workflow—truth, decision, action—into seconds. After a decade and $1.5 billion in R&D, the company now leverages a data graph of over 1 billion daily...
Third-Generation Leader Guides Volvo Truck, Plant Evolution
Volvo Trucks North America poured $400 million into a comprehensive overhaul of its New River Valley plant in Dublin, Va., ahead of the launch of the latest VNL long‑haul and VNR regional‑haul models. Serial production of the revamped VNR began in...
MODEX 2026: Linde Material Handling Debuts Connected Fleet Platform, Electric Lift Truck
Linde Material Handling unveiled its myLinde fleet management platform, featuring AI‑powered natural‑language chat, at MODEX 2026, alongside the new E18‑E20 electric counterbalance forklift. myLinde aggregates telematics data into a cloud dashboard covering safety, service, utilization and energy performance, delivering real‑time...
TD Cowen: 26% of Carriers Would Use AI Instead of Freight Brokers
TD Cowen’s first‑quarter carrier survey shows 26% of U.S. trucking firms would replace human freight brokers with AI‑driven load‑booking tools, while another 40% would rely on AI for simpler shipments. The remaining 28% prefer to keep brokers for all loads,...
Targeted Automation, Not Broad GenAI, Drives ROI
Spotlight: Ogilvie (p. 6): ROI isn’t broad GenAI - it’s targeted automation + narrow AI engineered into the process. https://t.co/YrxFqMpTXp #AI #Automation https://t.co/igBN0phimF
US Imports of Consumer Electronics Face Threats to Growth Plans
U.S. consumer‑electronics imports are under pressure as 2025 saw a 2.2% drop in containerized shipments. Vietnam’s share of those imports climbed to 18.1% while China’s fell to 40.7%, reflecting a broader supply‑chain shift. At the same time, rising fuel prices...
How to Bridge Deterministic Control and Edge Integration
Mike Bacidore explains how modern PLCs serve as high‑power, sub‑millisecond controllers while bridging to edge networks. He categorizes factory communication into safe, deterministic and buffered edge, each with distinct timing and safety requirements. Physical isolation—using dual Ethernet ports for redundancy...
MaverickX Expands PetroX Production with New Eagle Ford Facility in Texas
MaverickX has launched a new 10,000‑sq‑ft production facility in Pleasanton, Texas, to manufacture its PetroX chemical solutions for oil‑field applications. The plant, operating near the Eagle Ford shale, can produce about 14 million liters per year, shortening delivery times and lowering...
US Data Center Rollouts Stalled by Equipment Shortages
ICYMI: “.. Almost half of the US data centers planned for this year are expected to be delayed or canceled. One big reason is the shortage of electrical equipment, such as transformers, switchgear and batteries.” @business https://t.co/F04P0tZO1m https://t.co/wwlVqspf9b
China Secures Germany’s Premier Robotics Asset
How China Acquired Germany’s #Robotics Crown Jewel by @JacklouisP #AI #MachineLearning #ArtificialIntelligence #ML #Innovation https://t.co/DuFtEGfyDb
How to Build an Effective Environmental Monitoring Program Under Annex 1
The EU GMP Annex 1 revision reclassifies Environmental Monitoring (EM) from a compliance checkbox to a core element of sterile‑product contamination control. Legacy, sampling‑driven EM programs no longer satisfy regulators; they must be rebuilt on risk‑based assessments, integrated with cleaning, HVAC...
MODEX 2026: Yale Lift Truck Technologies to Showcase Offerings that Address Warehouse Challenges
Yale Lift Truck Technologies is showcasing its latest lift‑truck portfolio, operator‑assist systems, and automation portal at MODEX 2026 in Atlanta. The exhibit features ergonomic three‑wheel stand‑up trucks, a new lithium‑ion‑powered counterbalanced model, and the Route Runner direct‑store delivery solution. Interactive...
Scientists Are Turning Bread Into Fuel. It Could Revolutionize Manufacturing.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have shown that feeding ordinary bread crumbs to unmodified Escherichia coli, together with a biocompatible catalyst, produces hydrogen gas at yields higher than traditional fossil‑fuel hydrogenation. The hybrid chemo‑microbial process demonstrated carbon‑negative life‑cycle emissions,...
Volkswagen to End E.V. Production at Tennessee Plant
Volkswagen announced it will cease production of the ID.4 electric SUV at its Chattanooga, Tennessee facility, redirecting the line to a new gasoline‑powered Atlas model. The move follows Congress eliminating the federal tax credit that had underpinned demand for affordable...
From Ford’s Assembly Line to Fully Autonomous Dark Factories
More than a century ago, Henry Ford began to automated production of his vehicles. But today, dark factories operate without humans entirely. My latest for @IMechE's Professional Engineering https://t.co/fxnq0uvAnu
METCASE Expands Accessory Options for Enclosures
METCASE has released a new accessories brochure that broadens its enclosure portfolio with metal tilt/swivel bail arms, molded ABS feet, PCB mounting kits, 19‑inch rack panels, shelves and hardware. The components are universal, fitting METCASE and third‑party enclosures as well...
Sedron Technologies Raises $500M to Scale Waste-to-Resource Upcycling
Sedron Technologies announced a $500 million financing round to accelerate deployment of its Varcor up‑cycling platform across North America. The capital will fund new manufacturing capacity, a biosolids‑upcycling plant in Florida slated for 2028, and additional agricultural sites serving large dairy...