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
Nexteer Puts Steer-by-Wire Into Series Production
Nexteer Automotive has launched series production of its steer‑by‑wire (SbW) system, debuting it on a Chinese new‑energy vehicle that will become the world’s first passenger car with a full drive‑by‑wire chassis. The system, certified to ASIL‑D functional safety by Germany’s DAkkS in late 2025, features multi‑layer redundancy, adjustable steering ratios, and road‑feel simulation. Nexteer positions the SbW as a core actuator for autonomous‑driving and ADAS applications, extending its motion‑by‑wire portfolio that includes rear‑wheel steering and brake‑by‑wire.
Lockheed Martin, E-Vac Magnetics, Oerlikon Air Critical Minerals Concerns
At the Safe Summit, executives from Lockheed Martin, Oerlikon Surface Solutions and e‑Vac Magnetics detailed how they are coping with rising costs and supply constraints for critical minerals, especially rare‑earth elements. Lockheed Martin avoids buying raw materials, instead coordinating with...
Mack’s ImpactShield Reduces Windshield Damage on Vocational Trucks
Mack Trucks has launched ImpactShield, the first Class 8 heavy‑duty truck windshield built with Corning Fusion5 Glass. The one‑piece bonded curved glass is standard on the all‑new Granite and promises higher impact resistance and lower replacement costs. Mack says the technology...
Australia Commits $90.7m to Build Solid Rocket Motor Capacity
The Australian government has pledged an initial $90.7 million to develop domestic solid‑rocket motor capacity, targeting production for the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS). Northrop Grumman Australia will lead the effort, upgrading the Mulwala munitions facility with a new Rocket...
Applied Intuition Collaborates with Heidelberg Materials to Advance Quarry Fleet Autonomy
Applied Intuition is teaming with Heidelberg Materials to roll out its Self‑Driving System (SDS) for Construction on quarry haul trucks in Australia, beginning at the Clarence Sands site. The platform runs directly on each vehicle, eliminating the need for extensive...
How RFID, ERP, and AI Work Together to Support Tracking in Manufacturing
Manufacturers are turning to a tightly coupled trio of RFID, ERP, and AI to achieve real‑time visibility and predictive decision‑making on the shop floor. RFID tags automatically capture material movements, feeding instant updates into modern, cloud‑based ERP platforms that serve...
Japan’s March Industrial Output Slips 0.5% as Middle East Conflict Spikes Oil Prices
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry reported that industrial output fell 0.5% in March, the first monthly decline after a 2% drop in February. The slide reflects higher crude oil prices and supply‑chain disruptions linked to the Middle East...
PrintDry Launches PRO4 Filament Dryer With Modular Design and High-Temperature Capability
PrintDry introduced the PRO4, a modular filament dryer capable of reaching 85 °C, enabling effective drying of high‑temperature engineering filaments such as nylon and PVC. The system features a real‑time humidity monitor that can drop chamber humidity from over 60% to...
Firestorm Labs Secures $82 Million to Deploy Containerized Drone Factories
Defense startup Firestorm Labs closed an $82 million Series B round led by Washington Harbour Partners, bringing total funding to $153 million. The money will fund its xCell platform – a shipping‑container‑sized 3‑D‑printing factory that can produce combat drones in under 24 hours for...
USC Launches Smart Manufacturing Program on Peggy Smedley Show
@ThorstenWuest shares about the smart #manufacturing program at the University of South Carolina. Learn more on The Peggy Smedley Show. https://t.co/yzTt3d1mY3 #IoT #sustainability #AI #digitaltransformation #PeggySmedley #podcast
TIME Names 10 Most Influential Supply Chain Companies of 2026
TIME’s annual TIME100 Companies list identified the ten most influential supply‑chain firms of 2026, highlighting how AI, tariffs and automation are reshaping the industry. Notable deals include Corning’s $6 billion fiber‑optic contract with Meta and Emirates Global Aluminum’s $4 billion new plant...
Kion Group Posts Q1 Profit and Record Order Intake, Signaling Strong B2B Demand
Kion Group AG turned a €46.9M loss into a €92.2M net profit in Q1 2026, while order intake rose 10% to €2.985B. The German material‑handling leader reaffirmed its full‑year outlook, underscoring resilient B2B demand for logistics equipment.
From Concept to Track: PJM’s End-to-End Rail Vehicle Development and Certification as Well as Leading Digital Rail Freight Solutions
PJM Group has broadened its ISO/IEC 17025‑accredited laboratory to include pantograph testing, making it Austria's sole provider in that area, and launched EMC Rail Services as a seventh testing discipline. The company also unveiled INFRATRACK, a dedicated test track built on...
GM to Invest in ICE Manufacturing
General Motors announced an $830 million infusion into three North‑American facilities to expand internal‑combustion‑engine (ICE) production. The Romulus plant will receive $300 million to boost 10‑speed transmission capacity, Toledo gets a combined $80 million for light‑duty truck transmissions, and Saginaw will add $150 million...
Intermodal Offers a Pricing Edge Amid Fuel Pressures: Uber Freight
Uber Freight reports a five‑month tightening in the U.S. trucking market, with truckload spot rates climbing 27% for dry vans and 30% for reefers year‑over‑year. Contract rates are also up 5‑6% and tender rejections have risen roughly 10%, signaling constrained...
Porsche to End Production of ICE Macan This Summer
Porsche announced it will halt production of the internal‑combustion‑engine (ICE) Macan by mid‑2026, while stock built now will sustain sales into 2027, especially in the United States. The move follows a strong Q1 2026 demand of 10,130 ICE Macans, up...
Molly's Figure Tour Kicks Off with Live Sit‑Down
Part 1 of Molly’s visit to Figure is live today Molly got a full tour of our engineering efforts and campus. Part 1 is a sit-down. Part 2 is robots
Siemens, Diageo, Oxbo and Others Open US Facilities in April
April saw a surge of U.S. manufacturing openings as six companies launched major facilities across the South and Northeast. Diageo invested $415 million in a 360,000‑sq‑ft plant in Montgomery, Alabama, while Siemens Mobility opened a $220 million rail‑manufacturing hub in Lexington, North...
Road Quality Firm Highway Data Systems Raises £1.25m
Highway Data Systems, a Glasgow‑based provider of automated quality‑assurance technology for road construction, secured £1.25 million (approximately $1.55 million) from the Investment Fund for Scotland, managed by Maven Capital Partners and the British Business Bank. The financing, the first through the Greater...
Siemens and the Industrial Backbone of Digital Supply Chains
Siemens demonstrates that a true digital supply chain rests on an integrated industrial layer that connects engineering, automation, manufacturing execution, and operational data. The company’s approach shows that dashboards and planning software are only as effective as the quality and...
Express Firm SF Selects Changi as Its First Overseas Hub
Chinese logistics giant SF Group announced that Changi Airport will serve as its first overseas hub, formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding with Changi Airport Group. The partnership targets the rapidly expanding air‑cargo market across Southeast Asia, South Asia and...
UPS Ramping up Ground Saver Deliveries Handled by USPS
UPS announced it will increase the daily handoff of parcels to the U.S. Postal Service from about 977,000 in Q1 to roughly 1.5 million in Q2, under the revived Ground Saver agreement. The volume represents about 44 % of UPS’s economy‑shipping business...
JuliaHub Raises $65M Series B and Launches Dyad 3.0, Bringing Agentic AI to Industrial Digital Twins
JuliaHub announced a $65 million Series B round led by Dorilton Capital and the launch of Dyad 3.0, its agentic AI platform for industrial digital twins. Dyad 3.0 claims to shrink hardware design and testing cycles from months to minutes by coupling autonomous AI...
Sage X3 Helping Food, Beverage Manufacturers Tackle AI and Compliance Challenges
Food and beverage manufacturers are turning to Sage X3 to solve mounting inventory, compliance and AI adoption challenges. At Sage Future 2026, Yakima Chief Hops and Enzymedica highlighted how granular lot‑level tracking and location visibility slashed stockouts and cut procurement...
AI Robots Automate Tray Assembly for Fresh Produce Packing
Chef Robotics unveiled an AI‑driven system that automates tray assembly for fresh‑produce packaging. The platform uses computer‑vision‑guided piece‑picking for whole fruits and a weight‑based scooping module for items like corn and peas. It supports three placement strategies—offset, multi‑item, and stacked—to...
Pacific Power Source’s SmartTS-PV Automates IEEE 1547.1 Compliance Testing for Solar Inverters and V2G Systems
Pacific Power Source has introduced the SmartTS‑PV Inverter Test System, a pre‑integrated platform that automates IEEE 1547.1, UL 1741 SB and EN 50549 compliance testing for solar inverters and vehicle‑to‑grid (V2G) chargers. The solution combines an AC grid simulator, DC power supply, load, measurement...
Solar Foods Secures €350,000 in EU Hydrogen Valley Project to Expand Solein Output
Finnish food‑tech firm Solar Foods has secured €350,000 (about $385,000) from the EU‑funded BalticSeaH2 hydrogen valley project to boost production of its protein ingredient Solein at Factory 01. The five‑year initiative, backed by a €33 million ($36.3 million) Clean Hydrogen Partnership budget, aims...
Scout Motors Ramps up $2B SC Plant with 700 Robots
Scout Motors advances $ 2B South Carolina plant with 700 robots, Supplier Park buildout. The plant will produce the Scout Traveler SUV and the Scout Terra pickup truck. Lucky for us, Scout shares a surprising amount of details: https://t.co/gT5Yp6tLal
Nearshoring Is Creating New Infrastructure Bottlenecks
Nearshoring is reshaping supply chains by moving production closer to U.S. demand, but the shift is exposing new regional constraints. Manufacturing capacity can be added faster than the supporting roads, rail, ports, and utility networks, creating localized bottlenecks. Border crossings,...
German Solar Module Maker Soluxtec Files for Insolvency
German solar module maker Soluxtec filed provisional insolvency in Bitburg as falling module prices and fierce international competition squeeze European PV producers. The court appointed Jakob Joeres of dhpg as provisional insolvency administrator to stabilise operations and seek investors. Soluxtec,...
Turkish Cargo Partners with Air China Cargo on China-Turkey Flights
Turkish Cargo announced a partnership with Air China Cargo to operate scheduled freighter services between Chengdu and Istanbul, launching three weekly flights. The collaboration taps Air China’s fleet of Boeing 777, 747‑400F and A330‑200 P2F aircraft, complementing Turkish Cargo’s own...
Nigeria: Value Addition, Innovation Key to Nigeria's Industrial Renaissance - DG, RMRDC
Nigeria’s industrial transformation hinges on moving from raw‑material exports to value‑added production, said Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike‑Muonso, director‑general of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council. Speaking at the 10th Bullion Lecture, he warned that without deeper processing the country will...
Untitled
Parsec Automation has launched a Connected Worker solution that runs natively on its TrakSYS manufacturing execution system (MES). The offering embeds real‑time, context‑driven workflows directly into the operational platform, allowing tasks to be generated and adapted based on live production...
Planning AI Needs Memory, Not Just Automation
The article argues that next‑generation supply‑chain planning AI must go beyond speed and automation to embed a persistent memory of operational context, exceptions, and planner judgments. While vendors like Kinaxis, SAP, Blue Yonder and o9 are marketing AI‑driven orchestration, agents...
The Workflow Was Built For Humans. Agents Don’t Need It.
The article argues that most procurement software was engineered around a human bottleneck, using workflow engines to route tasks, queue approvals, and capture attention. As autonomous AI agents become capable of end‑to‑end procurement actions, the need for those human‑centric workflows...
China Resumes Production of Type‑071 Amphibious Assault Ships
PRC SHIPYARD UPDATE: based on recently-acquired imagery of the Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard, it looks to me like the PRC may have restarted production of its currently 8-strong Type 071 class of amphibious assault ships. https://t.co/e7aAj3UWqp
Sanmina’s Revenue Surges 102% as Accelerated Compute Drives Cloud‑AI Sales
Sanmina Corp. posted a 102% year‑over‑year revenue increase to $4.01 billion, driven by a surge in accelerated‑compute shipments for cloud and AI infrastructure. The earnings call highlighted component shortages that could temper growth, but the company sees the trend as a...
Flashforge Patent Watches Resin Forces Between Layers
Flashforge has filed a patent for a resin‑printing control system that uses real‑time force sensor data to decide when each layer is ready. The method evaluates force fluctuations across three time windows to confirm resin reflow, stress release, and peel...
China’s PMI Hits 50.3 in April, Defying Iran War Energy Spike
China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers index climbed to 50.3 in April, marking a second straight month of expansion even as oil prices surged due to the Iran war. The modest rise reflects strong export demand and a resilient industrial base,...
Wafer Dicing Service | Silicon Wafer Dicing & Die Singulation
Wafer dicing separates processed wafers into individual dies, a step that directly influences yield and downstream packaging reliability. AnySilicon offers a matchmaking platform that connects fabless designers, MEMS developers, and research labs with qualified dicing service providers across a broad...
Stratasys Recognized with Multiple Industry Awards for Additive Manufacturing Innovation and Sustainability Leadership
Stratasys was honored with multiple industry awards at the 2026 RAPID + TCT conference, including a TCT Award for its Eyelid Surgery Training Model developed with Addion GmbH. The company also secured four AMGTA recognitions for its environmental management, sustainability...
SoftBank Launches Roze AI, Targets $100 Billion IPO to Automate Data‑center Builds
SoftBank Group announced the creation of Roze AI, a robotics and AI firm designed to automate data‑center construction in the United States. The venture is being prepped for an initial public offering that could value the company at $100 billion, with...
How RFID Addresses Modern Supply Chain Challenges
RFID continues to serve as the backbone of item‑level tracking in modern supply chains, offering high‑speed, scalable visibility for retailers, logistics providers, and other industries. Emerging battery‑free Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) tags complement RFID by delivering real‑time environmental data such...
Beyond the Factory Floor: Where Roller Chains Power Unexpected Engineering Applications
USA Roller Chain released a briefing that highlights how its roller‑chain components are moving beyond traditional conveyor and factory roles into high‑performance sectors such as aerospace actuation, advanced robotics, and kinetic art installations. The company points to the chains' ability...
Exclusive: Democrats Ask USDA to Drop ‘Risky’ Meatpacking Proposal
Democratic lawmakers, led by Sen. Cory Booker, have asked the USDA to abandon a rulemaking effort that would permanently raise line speeds at poultry and pork processing plants. They argue that faster lines increase worker injuries, including amputations, and diminish...
Menarini Focuses on Europe-Wide Presence, Upcoming E-Bus Debut and Intercity Electric Platform
Italian bus maker Menarini, now owned by Seri Industrial, is shifting from ad‑hoc foreign tenders to a permanent European sales network covering Germany, France and Eastern Europe. In 2025 the firm produced close to 400 buses, including a 200‑unit CNG...
Meta’s AI Capex Reset Turns Supply Chain Into a Board-Level Constraint
Meta announced a higher AI infrastructure capital budget, citing rising component prices and a surge in compute demand. The company’s outlook underscores that large‑scale AI is no longer a pure software effort but a physical supply‑chain program involving chips, cooling,...
DMT Marine Equipment – 25 Years of Building More than Deck Equipment
DMT Marine Equipment marks 25 years of growth, expanding from a six‑person office to over 500 professionals and equipping more than 3,500 vessels worldwide with winches and deck systems. The firm transitioned from design‑only services to an in‑house production model,...
Bihar Clears US $15.8 Million Industrial Projects; Includes Muzaffarpur Garment Manufacturing Unit
The Bihar government approved land for a suite of industrial projects worth roughly $15.8 million, targeting 3,200 direct jobs across the state. Among the approvals, Mumbai‑based SAPL Industries will build a 1.8‑acre garment manufacturing facility in Muzaffarpur, investing about $3.16 million and...
Launches Stumble on Capacity, Fulfillment, and Visibility Issues
Major companies face operational hurdles at launch: capacity limits, fulfillment disruptions, manufacturing delays, poor inventory visibility, and slow transactions leading to customer backlogs. #BusinessChallenges #Operations https://t.co/PKGiTQxsYr