Today's Manufacturing Pulse
Honeywell rolls out AI‑driven Experion upgrades and new cybersecurity suite
At the 2026 Honeywell Users Group conference, Honeywell introduced Feature Pack 3 for its Experion Process Knowledge System, adding 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 $2 million average cost of unplanned downtime. A parallel announcement detailed an expanded OT Cybersecurity Suite with five new AI‑powered protections.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Factorial Energy completes $1.3B SPAC merger and Nasdaq listing
ARC Forum Day Two: Why Supply Chain Coordination Matters More Than Optimization
Day two of the ARC Forum highlighted that supply‑chain success now hinges on coordination rather than isolated optimization. While many firms have fine‑tuned transportation routes, inventory targets, and production schedules, overall performance remains erratic. Participants observed that decisions that look optimal in silos generate congestion and rework when execution constraints surface. The consensus was that synchronizing planning and execution, backed by shared data and incentives, is the next growth frontier.
Human-Centered Warehouse Automation at EssilorLuxottica
In this episode, Kevin Lawton interviews Naveen Chandra, Director of Distribution at EssilorLuxottica, about the company’s human‑centered approach to warehouse automation across its vast, high‑SKU network. Chandra explains how they balance advanced forecasting, slotting, and real‑time operational control with a...
Forecast: Tariff Policies Will Weaken Container Imports in First Half of 2026
The NRF and Hackett Associates’ Global Port Tracker predicts U.S. container imports will fall in the first half of 2026, with a 2 percent year‑over‑year decline to 12.27 million TEUs. Full‑year volume is projected at 25.4 million TEUs, a 0.4 percent drop from 2024....
Alibaba's RynnBrain Positions China to Lead Robotics AI
Will China be competitive in robotics and physical AI? It sure appears that way. RynnBrain is Alibaba’s foundational AI model designed specifically for embodied intelligence—the field of AI that powers robots to interact with the physical world. Developed by Alibaba’s DAMO Academy,...
Issue 58, 2026
AutomationDirect’s Issue 58 (2026) spotlights how artificial intelligence is poised to deliver tangible ROI on plant floors, with expert Bill Makley outlining five growth avenues. The issue also promotes headless HMIs as a flexible, cost‑effective alternative to traditional panel‑mounted interfaces. Additional focus...
Attabotics Technology Revives as Part of LaFayette Systems
Attabotics, the robotic cube‑storage specialist, is restarting operations after its September 2025 acquisition by LaFayette Systems. The privately held LaFayette group will provide a stable financial base and engineering expertise, allowing Attabotics to retain its Calgary engineering, business, and manufacturing...
Five Ways AI Will Grow ROI on Plant Floors in 2026
AI adoption on the plant floor is accelerating in 2026 as edge processors, standardized data pipelines, and emerging governance frameworks remove long‑standing barriers. Manufacturers can now run deep‑learning models locally, achieve millisecond decision times, and integrate clean, contextual data via...
Baxter Cuts Roughly 90 Jobs at IV Solutions Plant that Recovered From Hurricane Helene
Baxter International announced it is cutting roughly 90 positions at its Marion, North Carolina IV solutions plant, representing about 3% of the site’s workforce. The facility, which supplies roughly 60% of U.S. IV fluids, recovered from Hurricane Helene damage but...
Oracle Expands Cloud SCM Capabilities to Address Complex Needs of Process Manufacturers
Oracle announced new capabilities in its Fusion Cloud SCM suite tailored for process manufacturers. The updates introduce AI‑assisted recipe synchronization, dynamic batch sizing, and granular yield modeling to handle blending, mixing, and batch‑based production. Enhanced traceability features include lot‑specific unit‑of‑measure...
The Seven Elements of a Successful Backhaul Program
Successful backhaul programs capture freight on a truck’s return leg, turning empty miles into revenue. By leveraging real‑time data, optimization algorithms and cross‑company collaboration, carriers can cut costs, reduce risk and lower carbon emissions. Penske Logistics outlines seven essential elements—network...
Engineers Develop Soft Robotic Exoskeleton That Cuts Muscle Strain by 22%
University of Texas at Arlington engineers unveiled the Pneumatically Actuated Soft Elbow Exoskeleton (PASE), a lightweight silicone‑based wearable that cuts elbow muscle activity by 22% during typical industrial tasks. Tests with 19 participants showed an 8‑10 point reduction in perceived...
Shipbuilding: Colin Grabow of the Cato Institute Brings the Free-Market Viewpoint
In this episode, host Jim Vinoski talks with Cato Institute senior fellow Colin Grabow about the chronic shortcomings of U.S. shipbuilding, focusing on the Jones Act’s distortion of market incentives. Grabow argues that the Act’s requirement for domestically built vessels...
ARC Forum Day One: Why Assisted Supply Chain Operations Are Reaching Their Limits
Day one of the ARC Forum highlighted that assisted supply chain operations, while delivering improved visibility and faster alerts, are hitting practical limits. Decision support tools generate actionable insights, yet translating them into coordinated actions remains slow due to functional...
Read the January/February 2026 Issue of Plant Engineering
Plant Engineering released its January/February 2026 issue, spotlighting a range of industrial topics from lighting selection and LED safety benefits to AI‑driven automation platforms. The issue also tackles workforce salary challenges, electrical trends, OSHA/NFPA 70E alignment, harmonic mitigation for VFDs,...
OT Attacks Get Scary With 'Living-Off-the-Plant' Techniques
Operational technology (OT) cyberattacks have so far been limited by attackers' lack of deep process knowledge, but experts warn that a shift toward "living‑off‑the‑plant" techniques could enable more damaging exploits. Recent ransomware spillovers into OT and incidents like the Norway...
How Small Incidents Can Ripple Through the Supply Chain
Even minor incidents can trigger a rock‑in‑a‑pond effect that reverberates through global supply chains, as illustrated by the 2021 Ever Given blockage that stalled $9.6 billion of goods daily. A recent study shows 52 % of companies lose more than a month...
Nvidia Releases DreamDojo, a Robot ‘World Model’ Trained on 44,000 Hours of Human Video
Nvidia unveiled DreamDojo, a robot world model trained on a 44,000‑hour human egocentric video dataset, enabling robots to acquire physical intuition by observation before hardware‑specific fine‑tuning. The DreamDojo‑HV dataset is 15× longer, contains 96× more skills and spans 2,000× more...
Warehouse Power Infrastructure Is Redefining Leasing
In this episode, Kevin interviews Blake Chroman, Principal at Sitex Group, about how warehouse power infrastructure is becoming a decisive factor in industrial real estate leasing and development. Chroman explains that electrical capacity, utility connection timelines, and total occupancy costs...
Product Returns Jumped Twice as Fast as Purchases, Narvar Says
Narvar’s February 2026 report shows holiday return volume surged 11% year‑over‑year, nearly double the 6% rise in purchase orders. The spike coincides with a 12‑year low in consumer confidence, prompting shoppers to treat returns as a final budget filter. Retailers...
What a Year of Trump 2.0 Has Taught Us About the Global Economy
In his second term, President Donald Trump pushed average U.S. import tariffs to about 18%, the highest level since the Great Depression. The higher duties widened the trade deficit and contributed to persistent inflation, prompting the Federal Reserve to cut...
Crease, Fold, Transform. - Alfonso Parra Rubio - MIT
In this talk, Alfonso Parra Rubio examines how folding—mirroring natural processes—serves as a versatile engineering tool that reshapes materials without altering their intrinsic properties. He showcases examples ranging from millimeter‑scale cellular lattices to meter‑scale corrugated structures and robotic actuators, culminating...
Super-Modular Chiral Origami Metamaterials
In this talk, Tuo Zhao from Princeton presents his latest work on super-modular chiral origami metamaterials, which combine auxetic planar tessellations with Kresling‑style origami columns to achieve decoupled, large‑strain actuation. The assembly can twist up to 90°, contract in‑plane by...
Greener by Every Fold. Strength in Every Curve.
In this CDFAM symposium talk, Julia Hannu of STILFOLD presents the company’s origami‑inspired manufacturing process that folds metal sheets using both straight and curved creases to create structural parts. She explains how the digital design tools and algorithms they’ve built...
Conformal Lattice Design Made Easy: A CAD-Integrated Approach - Tetmet
In this symposium talk, Rachel Azulay of TETMET presents a CAD‑integrated workflow for creating conformal lattice structures at large scale. She explains how traditional lattice tools fall short for high‑performance, manufacturable designs and demonstrates how embedding lattice generation directly into...
Computational Design for Assembly: Automating Design Workflows for 3D Concrete Printed Staircases
The episode explores Scawo3D’s Selective Paste Intrusion (SPI) 3D concrete printing method for freeform reinforced concrete staircases and the computational workflow that makes it scalable. Presenters Philip Schneider and Timo Harboe Zollner explain how traditional formwork is labor‑intensive and how...
From Photo Film Maker To Biopharma Giant
Fujifilm Biotechnologies, a subsidiary of the historic photo‑film maker, opened a 150‑acre, commercial‑scale biopharma manufacturing campus in Holly Springs, North Carolina, investing over $3.2 billion. The first phase features eight 20,000‑liter mammalian cell‑culture bioreactors, with a second phase slated to double...
The US Is a Small Country
The article revisits the classic small‑country tariff model, contrasting it with the large‑country framework that allows an importer to affect world prices. It explains how a sufficiently small tariff could improve a large importer’s terms of trade, creating an "optimal...
The 2026 Material Handling Marketing Report: Why Thought Leadership Is King
In this episode, Kevin and Ashton Maxfield dissect the 2026 Material Handling Marketing Report, which reveals that 45% of industry professionals rank Thought Leadership and Content as their top marketing priority. They explain how traditional sales tactics—like spec sheets and...