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) in a next‑generation electric‑vehicle production line at its Mulhouse facility, slated to start in 2029 as part of France’s push to electrify two‑thirds of new cars by 2030.
Also developing:
By the numbers: TIEA Connectors raises $8M Series A
Walter Pritzkow OCMC Becomes Key Lightweight Enabler for Jetoptera Drone
Jetoptera is partnering with Walter E.C. Pritzkow Spezialkeramik (WPS) to integrate lightweight oxide ceramic matrix composite (OCMC) thrusters into its DARPA LIFT Challenge aircraft. The OCMC thrusters deliver 90 pound‑force of thrust while keeping the propulsion system light enough to meet the strict 55‑pound total aircraft weight limit. This enables the drone to carry a payload of over 110 pounds—more than twice its own weight—across a demanding 5‑nautical‑mile course. Conventional electric or hybrid powerplants cannot satisfy these constraints, making the ceramic solution a critical enabler.
Fenix Composites CFRTP Road Bike Featuring Lugged Frame Resolves Repairability Challenges
Fenix Composites unveiled a carbon‑fiber‑reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) road‑bike frame that uses titanium lugs joined by induction heating, eliminating adhesives and fasteners. The reversible joint design allows defective components to be removed and replaced, extending the frame’s service life. Joint strength...
Wedimuller Striping & Crimping Tools From AutomationDirect
AutomationDirect has expanded its catalog with Weidmuller stripping, cutting and crimping tools, including the all‑in‑one STRIPAX PLUS 2.5 that merges cutting, stripping and ferrule crimping. The tools feature automatic ferrule feeding, adjustable stops, replaceable blades and specialty screwdrivers for tight‑space...
Plastometrex Launches MultiScale Capability to Capture High-Resolution Mechanical Property Variation
Plastometrex has launched a MultiScale capability for its PLX‑Benchtop system, allowing high‑resolution mechanical property mapping on thin, welded and complex parts down to 0.75 mm thickness. The feature adds 250 µm and 500 µm indenters, delivering stress‑strain data at 1.5 mm spacing via Profilometry‑based...
Wabash Unveils AI-Powered TrailerHawk to Combat Cargo Theft
Wabash introduced TrailerHawk, an AI‑driven trailer system that combines computer vision, facial recognition, and digital seals to create an end‑to‑end chain of custody for freight. The solution issues real‑time alerts, geofenced lock controls, and automatically documents loading activities, integrating directly...
Roeth: How to Evaluate New Trucking Technology without Falling for the Hype
Michael Roeth warns that new trucking technologies often suffer a nine‑to‑one expectation gap between vendor hype and fleet reality. He cites research indicating a product must be roughly three times better than existing solutions to achieve market adoption. Roeth advises...
SHD Composites Opens New Wide Format Lines
SHD Composites, now part of Cambium after its December 2025 acquisition, has commissioned new wide‑format unidirectional prepreg and advanced film coating lines. The equipment, built on SHD’s own machine designs, expands material width and accelerates high‑volume production for sectors such...
Stocktake – A Practical Guide to Inventory Counts
In this 17‑minute episode, the MRPeasy team walks listeners through the fundamentals of conducting effective stocktakes, covering preparation, execution, and post‑count reconciliation. They highlight common pitfalls—like missed components during peak seasons—and demonstrate how regular inventory counts can prevent costly production...
British Steel Launches Round the Clock Production for Türkiye High Speed Rail Deal
British Steel has landed an eight‑figure contract to supply 36,000 tonnes of 60E2 rail for Turkey’s new 599‑km Ankara‑İzmir high‑speed line. The order, backed by UK Export Finance, triggers 24/7 production at the Scunthorpe plant for the first time in...
European eCommerce Fulfillment Through a Global Lens
In this episode, Kevin interviews Ken Byrne, founder of RedSky Europe, about the challenges and opportunities of European eCommerce fulfillment for global brands. Byrne explains how his experience as an eCommerce brand owner informs RedSky’s tech‑first, scalable approach, especially for...
Mativ Holdings Inc (MATV) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Mativ Holdings reported Q4 2025 net sales of $463 million, a 1% rise year‑over‑year and 1.9% organic growth, while adjusted EBITDA climbed 19% to $53.5 million with margins expanding by 180 basis points. Free cash flow surged to $94 million, more than doubling...
Camtek Ltd (CAMT) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Camtek reported record Q4 2024 revenue of $117.3 million, a 32% year‑over‑year increase, and full‑year revenue of $429 million, up 36%. Operating income rose 42% in the quarter to $36.3 million and 56% for the year, pushing operating margin to 30.9%. The company...
LCI Industries (LCII) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
LCI Industries reported a strong fiscal fourth‑quarter, posting $933 million in net sales, a 16% year‑over‑year increase, and a GAAP net income of $19 million, more than double the prior year. OEM sales surged 18% to $737 million, driven by double‑digit growth in...
Reliance Inc (RS) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Reliance Steel & Aluminum reported record 6.4 million tons shipped in FY 2025, raising U.S. market share to about 17 percent. Volume growth was offset by a $114 million LIFO expense that pushed the non‑GAAP gross profit margin to 28.8 percent, just below the 29‑31 percent...
Clearwater Paper Corp (CLW) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Clearwater Paper reported $1.6 billion in net sales for 2025, a 12% year‑over‑year increase driven by the full‑year operation of the Augusta mill and higher shipments. Adjusted EBITDA rose to $107 million, up $71 million from the prior year, reflecting aggressive cost cuts...
CF Industries Holdings Inc (CF) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Nutrien reported adjusted EBITDA of $6.05 billion for 2025, a 13% increase, driven by record fertilizer sales of 27.5 million tonnes and disciplined cost management. Potash automation reached 49%, keeping controllable cash costs at $58 per tonne, while nitrogen volumes rose to...
Solaredge Technologies Inc (SEDG) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Solstice Advanced Materials, newly independent after its October 2025 spin‑off from Honeywell, posted full‑year 2025 net sales of $3.9 billion, up 3% YoY (6% excluding opportunistic nuclear sales). Fourth‑quarter revenue rose 8% to $987 million, but adjusted EBITDA fell 20% to $189 million...
Hybrid3D Prints Custom-Shaped Batteries for Drones, Smart Glasses
The Hybrid3D can 3D print batteries that can fill irregular shapes, like the wing of a drone or the arm of smart glasses. https://spectrum.ieee.org/3d-printed-batteries
Invisible Battery Parts Finally Seen with Pioneering Technique
Oxford researchers unveiled a patent‑pending staining method that tags lithium‑ion battery polymer binders with silver and bromine, making them visible under electron microscopy. The technique captures nanoscale binder layers and clusters in graphite, silicon and SiOx anodes, revealing distribution patterns...
ARM Institute Opens Project Call for Military Supply Chain Technology
The Advanced Robotics in Manufacturing (ARM) Institute has issued a member‑only project call to modernize the Department of Defense’s organic industrial base (OIB) supply chain. The call seeks proposals that combine digital operations, AI‑driven robotic process planning, real‑time sensors, in‑situ...
Anzu Discontinues Raptor Drone Series Amid Supply Chain Crisis
Anzu Robotics announced the discontinuation of its Raptor drone series after persistent component shortages halted production. The line, launched in 2024 as a U.S.-focused alternative to DJI, saw rapid demand driven by NDAA 2025 considerations, which depleted inventory faster than...
German Grocery Retailer REWE Deploys Cimcorp Solution for New Automated Fulfillment Center
German retailer REWE has opened an automated fulfillment center in Oranienburg, deploying Cimcorp’s robotic handling and Warehouse Control System to manage fresh produce distribution. The facility serves over 370 supermarkets and 580 shops in the Berlin region, processing roughly 29,000...
Turning Microalgae-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Into a Next-Generation Drug Delivery Platform
Paris‑based AGS Therapeutics signed a strategic agreement with INITS SMO, a GMP‑qualified shared manufacturing organization, to transition its microalgae‑derived extracellular vesicle (MEV) platform to full GMP compliance. The partnership allows AGS to run its proprietary MEV manufacturing, loading, and analytics...
Making the Warehouse a Better Place to Work
Warehouse automation promises easier picking and safer loading, yet it alone cannot solve the talent crunch. Industry leaders argue that career growth, cross‑training, and clear development pathways are essential to retain workers. Honeywell highlights training on new technology as a...
Report on the State of Pharmaceutical Quality
The FDA released its FY 2024 Report on the State of Pharmaceutical Quality, a comprehensive PDF detailing post‑market quality defects, recalls, import alerts, and warning letters across the U.S. drug supply chain. The report aggregates current and cumulative data on manufacturers,...
Phison Warns 2026 DRAM and NAND Crunch Could Wipe Out Budget Brands
Phison CEO Khein‑Seng Pua warned that the ongoing DRAM and NAND flash shortage will disproportionately affect low‑cost consumer devices, where razor‑thin margins leave little room for price spikes. He highlighted an 8 GB eMMC component whose price surged from roughly $1.32...
CAN Networks Can Meet EU CRA Requirements, but Security Levels Matter
The CAN in Automation (CiA) group warns that all CAN‑based products sold in the EU now fall under the European Union Cyber Resilience Act (EU CRA) unless covered by sector‑specific rules. Compliance hinges on achieving the appropriate IEC 62443 security level (SL),...
Six Firms Vie for Polish Airport PBB Contract
Six firms have lodged bids to design, supply, install, commission and service 92 passenger boarding bridges for Poland’s new Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK) airport. The consortiums include Sezo Invest / ShinMaywa, FMT Sweden, Albert Ziegler, Adelte Airport Technologies / TK Airport Solutions, and Comsa Instalaciones....
Formlabs Sets Sights on Scaling with Former Cognex CEO; Carl Bass Steps Down
Formlabs announced that Rob Willett, former CEO of Cognex, has joined its Board of Directors effective immediately. The move is aimed at leveraging Willett’s three decades of experience in industrial automation and global operations to accelerate Formlabs’ transition from a...
Nextpower to Supply Steel Frames to Jinko’s US Panel Assembly Operations
Nextpower has signed a multi‑year agreement to supply Jinko Solar (U.S.) with more than 1 GW of steel frames, scalable to 3 GW over three years, for the Jacksonville, Florida, module assembly line slated for mid‑2026. The deal adds 6 % domestic content...
How the Uninvestable Is Becoming Investable
Venture capital is moving into traditionally “hard” sectors—government, defence, energy, manufacturing—after years of avoidance. Rapid growth in public‑sector tech spending, which more than doubled between 2021 and 2025, and the rise of AI‑first solutions are reshaping procurement cycles and lowering...
No Pause in Ajax Production While Investigations Are Ongoing
General Dynamics Land Systems UK will keep manufacturing the Ajax medium‑weight armoured fighting vehicle despite ongoing investigations into noise and vibration defects reported in November 2025. To date, 185 of the 589‑vehicle order have been delivered, with each unit requiring...
PLP ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH FULCRUMAIR TO DEVELOP NEXT-GENERATION ROBOTIC INSTALLATION SYSTEMS FOR POWER LINE CONSTRUCTION
PLP and FulcrumAir have launched a multi‑year strategic partnership to co‑develop next‑generation robotic installation systems for overhead power line construction. The collaboration builds on prior joint products such as the LineSpider™ and LineFly™ robots, aiming to boost efficiency, safety, and...
American Steel and Aluminum Debuts Ground Screw for Large-Scale Solar
American Steel and Aluminum (ASA) has launched a domestically produced steel ground screw for solar project foundations, manufactured in New England with a fully traceable supply chain. The product is slated for the 2026 construction season and is compatible with...
How to Integrate Decades-Old Modbus Devices Without Regret
Modbus remains the dominant industrial communication protocol, with the market expected to grow from $1.2 billion to $2.5 billion by 2033. Integrating legacy devices is cost‑effective using gateways, historians, or edge gateways, avoiding expensive rip‑and‑replace projects. Security must be addressed at the...
AGVs You Can Trust at MODEX 2026
MasterMover will exhibit its heavy‑duty automated guided vehicles and electric tuggers at MODEX 2026 in Atlanta, highlighting the TOW300 AGV capable of moving up to 44,000 lb across indoor and outdoor environments. The TOW300 combines BlueBotics ANT navigation and SICK safety scanners to...
Knorr Bremse Accelerates AI Transformation Through Strategic AWS Partnership
Knorr Bremse has entered a strategic partnership with Amazon Web Services to fast‑track its AI transformation, leveraging AWS cloud and AI services to modernise technology, processes and organisational structures. The collaboration introduces an AI operating model, autonomous industrial solutions and a...
3D Printed Helicopter Bracket Made From Recycled Titanium Takes Flight
A UK‑based flight test marked the first use of a 3D‑printed structural bracket made from recycled titanium on an A109S helicopter. The bracket, produced by Additive Manufacturing Solutions Ltd using laser powder‑bed fusion, was sourced from titanium recovered from a...
Tanaka Establishes Total Solutions System for Contract Manufacturing of Diagnostics
Tanaka Precious Metal Technologies has built a total‑solution system for contract manufacturing of in‑vitro diagnostic test kits, adding dedicated dispensing and packaging lines for extraction buffer. The new infrastructure lets the company handle every step—from assay development to final product...
India Seeks New Steel Export Markets in Middle East and Asia to Offset EU Carbon Tax Impact: Report
India, the world’s second‑largest crude‑steel producer, is pivoting toward the Middle East and Asian markets to cushion the impact of the European Union’s new carbon border adjustment tax. Roughly two‑thirds of its steel exports currently flow to Europe, where the...
EU's 70% Local EV Rule Risks Higher Costs, Trade Friction
The EU plans to force 70% of EVs sold in Europe to be built there Good luck requiring China to accept higher labor costs & regulatory burden. Success case: higher EV costs, slower rollout & more trade friction. Good plan https://t.co/rHXHgNgJyN #EU #EVs #industrialpolicy #protectionism...
Ford Pays Millions in Tariffs After Supplier Fire
"Tariffs, supplier fire continue to batter Ford" https://t.co/3FKQwD9ycE That Ford is having to pay millions in aluminum tariffs simply bc its domestic supplier caught fire is one of the better/stupider examples of US tariff policy today: https://t.co/eOL1o1zgXf
“Robot, Make Me a Chair”
MIT researchers unveiled an AI‑driven robotic assembly platform that turns natural‑language prompts into physical objects. A generative AI creates a 3‑D mesh, while a vision‑language model determines component placement, enabling a robot to assemble furniture from reusable parts. The system...
India's Solar Overproduction Turns Boom Into Glut
Industrial policy, again: "India’s Solar Manufacturing Excesses Turn a Boom Into a Glut" https://t.co/VEeIUwYmoM https://t.co/r4CohxBgDI
Exotrail Secures 31 Spacecraft Propulsion Orders From India
Satellite electric propulsion manufacturer @exotrail books orders for 31 of its spaceware units to Indian operators - 1 to @PixxelSpace, 16 to @XdlinxSpaceLabs and 14 to @DhruvaSpace. Deliveries by 2027. https://t.co/L7zChJd16V
Diamond Power Infrastructure Net Zooms 8 Times to ₹50 Crore on Better Demand
Diamond Power Infrastructure (DICABS) posted a net profit of ₹50 crore in the December quarter, an eight‑fold increase from the same period last year. Revenue surged 54 percent to ₹474 crore, driven by higher capacity utilization and premium EHV cable sales. The firm...
3 Threat Groups Started Targeting ICS/OT in 2025: Dragos
Dragos’ 2026 Year in Review OT/ICS report adds three new adversaries—Sylvanite, Azurite and Pyroxene—targeting industrial control systems in 2025. Sylvanite acts as a rapid‑exploitation broker, weaponising n‑day flaws within 48 hours and handing access to the Voltzite group across power, oil,...
The Forces Rewiring Modern Manufacturing
Manufacturing is undergoing a digital overhaul where connectivity, data and automation dictate factory efficiency, product consistency, and uptime. Unplanned downtime now averages $260,000 per hour, contributing to roughly $1.5 trillion in global losses each year. Tata Communications frames the CIO agenda...
Japan to Get Factory for Marine Hydrogen Engines in 2029
Yanmar Power Solutions, a Yanmar Holdings subsidiary, will construct an 8,000 m² factory on a 33,898 m² site in Amagasaki, Hyogo, to conduct test runs of marine hydrogen engines. Operations are slated to begin in March 2029, complementing the company’s recent ClassNK type‑approval...
RCV Engines Secures £4 Million European Deal & Bolsters UK Manufacturing
RCV Engines has secured a £4 million supply agreement with a European partner to deliver its mission‑critical propulsion systems. The contract was awarded after a competitive evaluation, highlighting the company’s 4‑stroke rotary valve engines that can run on heavy fuels such...