Today's Manufacturing Pulse
Honeywell rolls out AI‑boosted Experion upgrades at Users Group conference
Honeywell introduced a suite of incremental upgrades to its Experion Process Knowledge System, including Feature Pack 3 for R530 that adds Module Type Packages and a new Unit Operations Controller version. The company also launched Experion Cognition R100, an AI‑assisted platform designed to cut the average $2 million cost of unplanned downtime. These enhancements aim to strengthen modularity, cybersecurity and AI‑driven operations for industrial customers.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Factorial Energy completes $1.3B SPAC merger, debuting on Nasdaq
Nonprofit Aims To Modernize Manufacturing by Clearing Capital Hurdle
A nonprofit, the API Innovation Center (APIIC), is tackling the capital barrier that prevents U.S. drug makers from adopting continuous manufacturing. By pooling state, federal, philanthropic and private funds, APIIC installs equipment at manufacturers at no upfront cost, de‑risking the transition from batch to continuous processes. The model is already being applied to the chemotherapy drug lomustine, with a $9.5 million Missouri grant and a $14 million federal award supporting the effort. Industry leaders see the approach as a way to lower waste, improve safety, and keep more drug production onshore.
Apple Now Makes About 25% of iPhones in India After China Pivot
Apple boosted iPhone assembly in India by roughly 53% in 2025, reaching about 55 million units and accounting for a quarter of its global output. The shift helps the company sidestep escalating US tariffs on Chinese‑made devices and diversifies its supply...
New Milne Mill Enables Market, Product Expansion
Milne AgriGroup has doubled its production capacity to 300,000 tonnes, creating Australia’s largest pelletised ruminant‑feed mill in Welshpool. The expansion, supported by a $5 million WA grant, enables the company to export formulated pellets across Asia and to supply 6,000 tonnes to South...
Volvo Says Loader Updates Improve Efficiency
Volvo Construction Equipment unveiled a suite of safety and productivity upgrades for its entire wheel‑loader lineup at ConExpo‑Con/Agg. The large L350 now uses a D17 engine delivering up to 5% better fuel efficiency and Smart Control integration, while the midsize...
Orora Reports First Year of Reduced Emissions at Gawler Glass Manufacturing Site
Orora has completed the first year of operation for its G3 oxy‑fuel glass furnace at the Gawler plant in South Australia. The $130 million upgrade, funded in part by a $12.5 million government grant, has cut natural‑gas use by 32% and eliminated...
Wipro Enterprises Eyes Entry Into Semiconductor Sector
Wipro Enterprises is exploring entry into semiconductor manufacturing, focusing on outsourced assembly and test (OSAT) operations. The company is in early talks and is actively scouting a credible technology partner to enable the move. This initiative follows similar investments by...
Xiaomi Humanoid Robot Achieves 90% Success in Car Factory
Xiaomi’s humanoid robot is now testing in a real car factory. It ran autonomously for 3 hours straight with a 90%+ success rate on installing self-tapping nuts,fully keeping up with the production line’s 76-second beat https://t.co/Fm8tj3EKp2 #factory #xiaomi #humanoidtech #humanoid #robot #Robotics...
Chip Price Hikes Spread as Asia’s Chipmakers Plan Record Spending
Asian chipmakers, from giants to smaller players, are raising prices as AI‑driven demand fuels a record $136 billion capex plan for 2026, a 25% increase over last year. Companies such as Vanguard, Unimicron and Winbond announced price hikes ranging from 5%...
Rising Energy Costs Imperil Thai Manufacturer's Profits
Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are pushing energy prices higher, threatening the profit margins of Thailand's consumer‑goods conglomerate Osotspa Plc. Energy accounts for roughly 20% of the company's costs, and a rise in LNG to $140‑150 per unit could...
Custom Truck One Source Inc (CTOS) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Custom Truck One Source (CTOS) reported Q4 2025 revenue of $2.7 billion, a 3.5% year‑over‑year increase, and full‑year adjusted EPS of $10.79. Adjusted operating margin slipped to 8.4% as higher manufacturing overhead and an unfavorable product mix offset pricing gains. The...
China Searches for a Way Out of Brazil’s Steel Barriers
Chinese steel exporters are confronting steep anti‑dumping duties in Brazil, ranging from $285 to $710 per tonne, which could render Chinese imports unviable for up to five years. The duties target pre‑painted, cold‑rolled, and coated steel, prompting Chinese firms to...
How Governed High-Speed Air-Driven Live Tools Boost Swiss-Type Lathe Productivity
Governed high‑speed air‑driven live tools transform Swiss‑type lathes by delivering steady 60,000‑80,000 RPM under load, far surpassing conventional geared or electric tools limited to 6,000‑12,000 RPM. The patented governor regulates airflow, maintaining torque, eliminating heat, and keeping spindle runout within 2 µm. This...
Keynote Speakers Set to Inspire Industry with AI and Partnership Concepts at Wire Expo 2026
Wire Expo 2026 will convene May 5‑7 at Milwaukee’s Baird Center, uniting wire and cable manufacturers, suppliers, and industry leaders under the theme “Accelerating Progress Together ~ Where wire, innovation & industry connect.” The event features two high‑profile keynotes—John W. Mellowes on partnership‑driven steel strategy...
Dairy Manufacturing Prices Show Cautious Recovery Despite Global Oversupply, Rabobank Says
Rabobank’s Q1 Global Dairy Quarterly reports a modest rebound in dairy manufacturing prices, driven primarily by Australian and New Zealand products. Despite the rally, global milk supply remains abundant, with production growth projected to slow to just 0.2% in 2026 after...
Upgraded HaiPick Climb Aims to Make the Aisle Obsolete
Hai Robotics has upgraded its HaiPick Climb system to support double‑deep storage and sub‑120‑second delivery cycles, enabling up to 4,000 tote deliveries per hour. The compact design can hold 45,000 totes within 10,764 sq ft, boosting inventory density without expanding warehouse footprints....
Building Successful Industrial Development Spaces
Railroad operators Norfolk Southern and Watco are actively courting manufacturers by offering tailored industrial‑development services and financing support. Watco has poured more than $600 million into projects such as Bartlett’s 49 million‑bushel soybean plant and Charlotte Pipe’s $80 million PVC facility, while NS...
De‑risking Synthetic Biology: From Lab to Market
What does it actually take to bring a biological product to market? For more than 20 years, Ingenza Ltd has helped teams avoid the most common failure points in synthetic biology. Freedom to operate issues. Low productivity. Fragile processes. Late CMC...
Health Pharma USA LLC - 588155 - 12/18/2019
The FDA issued Warning Letter #588155 to Health Pharma USA LLC after a May‑June 2019 inspection uncovered multiple CGMP violations at its Rahway, New Jersey facility. Major deficiencies included a dysfunctional quality‑control unit that released products before review, incomplete batch...
Additive Aerospace Update: GE Aerospace, Rocket Lab, Velo3D, and More
Additive manufacturing is gaining momentum in aerospace and defense, with 41% of industry leaders forecasting a rapid acceleration this year. GE Aerospace announced a $1 billion U.S. investment, including a $115 million spend to expand 3D metal‑printing capacity at its Cincinnati hub...
INTERVIEW: Will Perseus Materials’ Bet on Self-Propagating Chemistry Be “World’s Fastest” Composite Manufacturing Technology?
Perseus Materials, a Stanford spin‑out, has built a continuous composite‑manufacturing line that leverages self‑propagating high‑temperature synthesis (ROMP) to cure resin without heated tooling. By shrinking a pultrusion die to a centimetre and making it actuable, the system can pull laminates...
Lithoz Presents Three Ceramic 3D Printing Material Updates
Lithoz will unveil three new ceramic additive‑manufacturing materials at Ceramitec in Munich. The LithaLox alumina variant supports printable wall thicknesses up to 12 mm, a 55 % solid loading, and delivers low, uniform shrinkage with high bend strength. LithaCon zirconia improves fracture...
Airbus Delivers Only 35 Aircraft in February
Airbus delivered just 35 aircraft in February, a sharp drop from its annual target of 870 deliveries. The A320neo family made up 25 of those planes, while A220‑300 deliveries rose to eight and the A350 program added two jets, leaving...
EU Think Tank Warns Market Weaponization Needed to Counter China
Weaponise EU market against China or face manufacturing collapse: official think tank EUISS study urges bloc to “preserve and create technological chokepoints”, diversify markets away from China – in both instances mirroring long-term moves made by Beijing – to give it...
Military Production’s Nationwide Spread Fuels Trucking Demand
Due to the way that the military industrial complex works, manufacturing is a trucker's dream. Unlike other major manufacturing supply chains, like automotive, military production is highly distributed across the country. Suppliers are literally in all 50 states - so...
AXT’s Q4/2025 Revenue Constrained by Delay in China Export Permits
AXT Inc reported an 11% drop in full‑year 2025 revenue to $88.3 m, driven by an 8.4% Q4 decline caused by delayed Chinese export permits for indium phosphide. Gross margin fell to 13.1% while the company posted a $18 m net loss...
Kaneko Optical Launches UROKO, a New 3D Printed Eyewear Collection for ISSEY MIYAKE MEN SS26
Japanese eyewear brand Kaneko Optical has unveiled UROKO, a limited‑edition 3D‑printed collection for Issey Miyake Men’s Spring‑Summer 2026 line. The frames feature an unconventional eight‑lens architecture inspired by Japanese ceramicist Shoji Kamoda, with each piece hand‑finished to retain subtle surface...
Stratasys Achieves Major Reliability Milestone with Industrial Partners
Stratasys announced a 22% year‑over‑year reliability increase for its F900 industrial 3D printer after targeted manufacturing upgrades rolled out in 2025. The boost translated into higher overall equipment effectiveness, better quality reporting, more repeatable processes, reduced carbon emissions and more...
Organic Cotton Accelerator Reveals Next Phase of Scaling Strategy
The Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA) unveiled its next‑phase scaling strategy aimed at building a resilient global organic cotton supply chain by 2030. The plan broadens impact metrics to include climate, biodiversity, and labor outcomes while introducing a pilot Farm Fund...
A Recipe for Batch Processing Success
Valmet has launched FlexBatch 8, its latest ISA‑88‑compliant batch automation and recipe management software, now fully integrated with both Valmet DNAe and D3 DCS platforms. The solution lets operators create and modify recipes using a drag‑and‑drop interface, removing the need for...
Panasonic Connect Unveils Latest in Smart Manufacturing at APEX EXPO 2026
Panasonic Connect North America debuted a suite of smart‑manufacturing solutions at APEX EXPO 2026, including a new Auto‑Setting Feeder that cuts loading time by more than half. The showcase featured the NPM‑GP/L screen printer with 12‑second cycles and ±3.8 µm accuracy, the autonomous...
Anemoi White Paper Calls for Greater Alignment in Wind Propulsion Performance Verification
Anemoi Marine Technologies and Lloyd’s Register released a white paper urging alignment of three performance verification methodologies for wind‑assisted propulsion systems (WAPS). The study shows that ITTC sea‑trial guidelines, DNV’s in‑service testing practice, and Anemoi’s LR‑verified calibration model are complementary...
Homerun Resources Advances Antimony-Free Solar Glass Strategy in Brazil
At the PDAC conference, Homerun Resources announced it is close to completing a bankable feasibility study for Latin America’s first antimony‑free solar‑glass manufacturing facility in Bahia, Brazil. The project leverages a high‑purity, low‑iron silica deposit that contains under 10 ppm iron,...
AI-Driven Robots Signal Real Automation Shift
Nvidia partnering with ABB to build a new generation of AI-enabled industrial robots is a practical signal about where automation is actually heading. The Financial Times reports that Nvidia and ABB Robotics are collaborating on systems that combine Nvidia’s AI...
America Must Match China's Systemic Robotics Strategy
China is the undisputed leader in vertical integration, currently winning in actuators, electric cars, and hardware. We lost the EV revolution to China. @ericschmidt believes we CANNOT afford to lose the robotics revolution, too. We need the same system-level thinking...
Polysilicon Prices Plunge, with Maximum Decline Exceeding 12%
Polysilicon prices in China plunged last week, with the steepest drop of 12.87% for n‑type granular material. High inventory—reaching 480,000 tons—combined with weak demand from downstream solar‑cell and module producers drove the decline. February output fell 17.3% to 84,400 tons,...
Modular Cleanroom Supports Scale-Up of Cosmetic Microneedle Production
CipherX, a biotech start‑up specializing in microneedle platforms, partnered with Connect 2 Cleanrooms to install a 12 m² soft‑wall cleanroom for pilot production. The modular unit, validated to ISO 14644 class 7, was delivered and fully operational within 48 hours. Its PVC curtains, steel framing and...
How EU CRA and IEC 62443 Impact CANopen Device Manufacturers
The EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) now mandates that all non‑exempt CAN‑connectable products meet cybersecurity requirements by December 11 2027. Because CAN protocols lack built‑in security, manufacturers must perform system‑level risk assessments and adopt IEC 62443 security levels, ranging from physical‑access controls for...
QC2A Desktop 3D Printer Brings Full-Color 3D Printing Below US$10K
The inew3d QC2A desktop printer, launched on Kickstarter, brings true full‑color photopolymer jetting to the desktop market for under US $10,000. It delivers an unprecedented 720 × 2880 dpi resolution, translating to roughly 0.035 mm detail, and supports six material channels including CMY, white, transparent...
Starbase Evolves Into World's Leading Rocket Factory
The growth of Starbase over the last decade, from nothing to arguably the world's premiere rocket factory, is remarkable. This image of V3 rolling out is gorgeous. https://t.co/vVNpNoROaJ
Precision Under Pressure: How Advanced Machining Is Reshaping Global Supply Chains
Advanced machining, especially Swiss‑type lathes, is reshaping supply chains across medical, aerospace, and automotive sectors. Companies now prioritize reliability, ultra‑tight tolerances, and scalable production over pure cost. The rise of complex, high‑precision components demands deep material expertise and integrated quality...
We’re Data Experts at Ford. Here’s How We See AI Agents Reshaping the Shop Floor.
Ford’s data team outlines how agentic AI is transforming manufacturing. The third wave moves beyond predictive analytics to autonomous agents that make real‑time decisions on the shop floor. Pilot deployments have cut unplanned downtime by up to 40%, reduced defect...
PACTL Achieves IATA IEnvA Certification
Shanghai Pudong International Airport Cargo Terminal (PACTL) and its subsidiary PACTL West have become the first mainland Chinese air cargo terminal operators to earn IATA’s Integrated Sustainability Program Environmental Assessment (IEnvA) certification. The IEnvA module evaluates environmental governance, operational controls and...
Worn Again Scales Polycotton Recycling Tech
Worn Again Technologies has opened a pilot “Accelerator” facility in Winterthur, Switzerland to prove the technical and economic feasibility of its chemical recycling process for polycotton blends. The system separates polyester and cellulose, recovers more than 95 percent of solvents, and...
Hanjung America to Build ESS Manufacturing Facility in Indiana to Support StarPlus Energy
Hanjung America, a subsidiary of South Korean battery maker Hanjung NCS, announced plans to construct its first U.S. energy‑storage‑system manufacturing facility in Huntington, Indiana. The 133‑acre plant will focus on cooling‑fan modules and direct‑injection fire extinguishers that serve the Stellantis‑Samsung SDI...
Nefab Opens Advanced Packaging Engineering Center
Nefab has inaugurated a 32,300‑sq‑ft advanced packaging engineering center in Guadalajara, Mexico, consolidating design, testing, prototyping and production on a single campus. The facility targets high‑value sectors such as digital infrastructure, semiconductors, healthcare and automotive across Mexico and the broader...
Reinforce3D Partners with Impac Systems Engineering to Accelerate CFIP Adoption in North America
Reinforce3D has teamed up with Impac Systems Engineering to fast‑track the rollout of its continuous‑fiber injection process (CFIP) across the United States, Canada and Mexico, promising internal reinforcement without part redesign or extra material. The partnership targets high‑performance sectors such...
Silfab Solar Plant Shut Down After Chemical Spill
Silfab solar cell manufacturing site temporarily closed after chemical incident #energysky -- via Solar Power World: https://t.co/wPNqIx1Taf
‘Battery Atlas 2026’ Maps Europe’s Cell, Pack and Battery Manufacturers
The third edition of the Battery Atlas 2026, released by RWTH Aachen University, maps Europe’s entire lithium‑ion battery value chain. While more than 2,000 GWh of cell capacity was announced in 2023, the realistic outlook for early 2026 is about 1,190 GWh,...
Ter Hoek Expands Into Technical Ceramic Manufacturing with XJet Carmel 1400C 3D Printing Solution
Ter Hoek, a Dutch precision‑metal specialist, has adopted XJet’s Carmel 1400C ceramic 3‑D‑printing system, introducing NanoParticle Jetting (NPJ) technology to its production line. The move expands the company’s material portfolio from metals to high‑performance ceramics, enabling complex, high‑precision parts for aerospace, semiconductor...
Iran Conflict Tests 2026 Air Cargo Outlook
Xeneta’s March 5 report warns that the Iran‑U.S./Israel conflict is reshaping the 2026 air cargo outlook. February showed a 6 % YoY volume rise and spot rates up 5 % to $2.58/kg, indicating resilience. With the Strait of Hormuz closed, jet‑fuel costs could...