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
France Gets Europe’s Biggest Printed Apartment Block
Europe’s largest 3D‑printed multi‑family building, the 800‑sq m ViliaSprint², was completed in Bezannes, France. The three‑storey, 12‑unit social‑housing block was printed in 34 days, slashing the projected 50‑day schedule by three months. On‑site waste fell by 50% and concrete usage dropped 10% thanks to curved geometry, while the structure and walls were fully printed, marking a first for France. The developers plan a 40‑unit complex using two printers to further cut time and costs.
Bohr Electronics Introduces Ultrasonic Locomotive Fuel Monitor
Bohr Electronics has launched the P/N F3661 Fuel Monitor, an ultrasonic in‑tank sensor that delivers real‑time, supplier‑agnostic fuel‑level data for locomotives. The device mounts externally, requires no modifications to existing systems, and feeds measurements into Bohr’s LEAM/LEAR event recorders. Integrated inertial...
How Rwanda Used Industrial Policy to Slow the Spread of COVID-19
Rwanda’s government issued licenses and tax breaks to local textile firms in April 2020, enabling them to produce surgical masks domestically. The policy drove mask prices down 7.5%, spurred a surge in high‑quality mask purchases, and coincided with a measurable...
Tesla Semi Moves to High‑Volume Production, New Pilots Announced
Oh what I'd give to know what the order backlog is like for the Tesla Semi. Evwire brief: Tesla Semi enters high-volume production, more pilot programs announced: https://t.co/iJiC1SRV0J
BASF Brings 3D Printed Catalysts to Industrial Scale Production
On March 19, 2026 BASF commissioned the world’s first industrial‑scale plant that mass‑produces catalysts using its proprietary X3D® additive‑manufacturing technology at Ludwigshafen, Germany. The move transforms 3D printing from a laboratory tool into a commercial process that delivers custom‑geometry catalysts with lower...
Volkswagen Eyes Chinese-Market Cars for Europe to Boost Competitiveness
Volkswagen announced it may build its China‑only electric models, such as the ID Unyx 09, in European factories as part of a broader transformation aimed at restoring profitability. The automaker’s Q1 operating profit fell 14% to €2.5 billion (about $2.7 billion), prompting...
ROSI Raises $23 Million to Scale Solar Panel Recycling Capacity
French cleantech firm ROSI announced a €20 million ($23 million) Series B raise to expand its high‑value photovoltaic‑module recycling business across Europe. The funding backs a new 10,000‑ton‑per‑year plant in Teruel, Spain, complementing its existing ROSI Alpes facility. The company’s process extracts high‑purity...
Special Budget Needed to Boost Munitions, Drone Production: Officials
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense has presented a NT$1.25 trillion (approximately US$39.6 billion) special defense budget to expand munitions stockpiles and build an indigenous drone production ecosystem. The plan calls for 14 new munitions production lines and a one‑time procurement of 30 mm...
Real Progress Being Made
Europe’s battery supply chain is moving from planning to construction, driven by major funding and planning approvals. The UK pledged £380 million ($480 million) for the Agratas gigafactory and cleared the first phase of Coventry’s £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) Greenpower Park project. Germany’s BASF...
11th Annual Virtual Configuration Life Cycle Management Summit
Configit announced its eleventh annual Configuration Life Cycle Management Summit, a virtual event scheduled for May 6–7, 2026. The summit will examine how CLM technology helps manufacturers manage the rising complexity of mass customization and leverage AI across the product lifecycle. Speakers...
LGES Secures Major Order for Cylindrical Cells – Possibly From BMW
LG Energy Solution announced a new order exceeding 100 GWh for its 46‑mm cylindrical cells, which analysts link to BMW. The contract, valued at roughly $7.7 billion over ten years, lifts LGES's order backlog to over 440 GWh. Production of the 4695 and...
USDA Pushes Faster Meat Plant Lines, Sparking Labor and Safety Backlash
The USDA announced proposals to increase line speeds in poultry, turkey and swine processing, raising poultry to 175 birds per minute and removing caps for pork. Labor unions and environmental advocates have lodged tens of thousands of comments warning of...
Ultra-Thin Optical Film Pushes Budget Resin Printers Toward Professional Precision
Researchers at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology have developed an ultra‑thin double‑sided optical film that collimates light in LCD‑based resin 3D printers. The film reshapes backlight rays, delivering 81% intensity uniformity and a beam divergence under 10°, rivaling...
Samsung Electronics Q1 Profit Jumps Fivefold on AI‑driven Memory Chip Demand
Samsung Electronics reported a 750% jump in first‑quarter operating profit to $44 bn, driven by an 86% surge in semiconductor sales as AI‑related memory chips fuel demand. The earnings beat underscores the rapid scaling of AI‑centric manufacturing and its impact on...
Shein Suppliers Call for Stable Order Volumes Amid Challenging Environment
Shein’s latest supplier survey reveals that 95.3% of workers at its 208 largest Guangzhou factories earn at or above the local living wage, yet only 60.9% feel their pay covers basic expenses. The fast‑fashion giant has introduced a worker‑care hotline...
DHL Airfreight Volumes Rise 3.8% in Q1 as Rates Weigh on Revenue
DHL Group’s airfreight volumes grew 3.8% year‑over‑year to 438,000 tons in Q1 2026, driven by Asia and Latin America lanes. However, lower freight rates trimmed airfreight revenue 2.2% to €1.5 bn (≈$1.64 bn), even as gross profit rose 3.2% to €260 m (≈$283 m). The...
MoD and SCALE Strive to Strengthen UK Supply Chain Resilience
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has entered a strategic partnership with the Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence (SCALE) Centre to fortify defence supply‑chain resilience. The collaboration blends SCALE’s academic expertise with the MoD’s operational insight, focusing on strategic base...
Supply Chain Focus Remains for Retailers as Global Instability Persists
Retail executives surveyed at the World Retail Congress say supply‑chain capabilities will be among the top three spending priorities in 2026, with 56% earmarking higher budgets. Customer experience, personalization and AI investments also rank high, while only about one‑in‑six executives...
Battery Recycling and Repurposing Soon Become Profitable
Battery recycling will be cheaper and more profitable. And so will reuse and repurposing. Join us in London to discover why and discuss what it means for the market. https://t.co/9i3AHff5C2
Domestic Manufacturer Secures Major Egyptian Coach Order
Egyptian National Railways and National Egyptian Railway Industries Company (Neric) signed two agreements on April 27, including a $700 million contract for 500 air‑conditioned coaches. A second pact creates a specialised private workshop for fleet maintenance and overhaul at Kom Abu...
ORNL Wins Award for Using 3D Printing to Build Nuclear Infrastructure
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) won the 2026 SME Aubin Additive Manufacturing Case Study Award for its work using large‑format additive manufacturing (LFAM) to produce composite molds for nuclear reactor shielding. The molds, created with partners including Kairos Power and...
Nvidia's Madison Huang Accelerates AI‑Robotics Ties with Samsung, SK Hynix, LG and Doosan
Nvidia senior director Madison Huang met Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, LG Electronics and Doosan Robotics in Seoul, signaling a coordinated push to create a physical AI platform that could deliver industrial humanoid robots by 2028. The talks cover robotics hardware,...
The Heat Is On: Decarbonizing Industrial Heat in India and Southeast Asia
Industrial heat generates roughly 14% of global CO₂ emissions, matching the combined output of road, aviation and shipping. The market, currently valued at about $900 billion, is set to exceed $1 trillion by 2030, driven largely by rapid urbanization and industrial expansion...
The Predictability Premium: Navigating Financial Risk with Dedicated Capacity Models
CFOs are treating transportation as a financial risk, shifting from spot‑market buying to dedicated fleet contracts that convert variable freight costs into predictable, fixed expenses. Engineered dedicated fleets provide a hedge against market spikes, internal demand surges, and the growing...
AOI Awarded $20.9m Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund Grant
Applied Optoelectronics Inc (AOI) has secured a $20.9 million grant from the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund to fund a 210,000 ft² manufacturing expansion in Sugar Land, Texas. The new facility will become one of the nation’s largest production sites for AI‑focused data‑center...
UK Vehicle Production Drops Amid EU Collaboration Calls
UK vehicle production slipped 8.2% year‑on‑year in March 2026, with total output falling to 72,511 units. While car output was relatively flat, commercial vehicle output plunged 68.3% after a major manufacturer’s restructuring. Export volumes dropped 7.4% as demand from the...
How Procurement Automation Creates Audit-Ready Supply Chains in Manufacturing
A tier‑two automotive parts supplier found it could not trace approval history for 40% of its procurement transactions, putting its preferred‑supplier rating at risk. The audit exposed a common manufacturing gap: production lines are fully automated while procurement still relies...
Forehead Cameras Enable Scalable Training of Smarter Robot Hands
Indian Factory Uses Forehead Cameras to Train Smarter #Robot Hands at Scale by @sutoroveli_news #Innovation #EmergingTech #Technology https://t.co/Sz6hovAn3k
OS Hub Partners Link Data on Millions of Factories
The Open Supply Hub has launched the OS Hub Spotlight, a new tool that aggregates environmental and social data from ten leading providers for millions of textile and garment factories worldwide. By unifying metrics from organizations such as Amfori, Climate...
US Steel to Add DRI Facility at Big River Steel Works
U.S. Steel announced a $1.9 billion investment to build a direct reduced iron (DRI) facility at its Big River Steel Works in Osceola, Arkansas. The plant will link the company’s Minnesota ore operations with the electric arc furnace (EAF) complex, eliminating...
Taager Moves Into China to Fix Sourcing Bottlenecks for MENA Sellers
Taager, the Cairo‑based social e‑commerce platform, has opened its first supply office in China, shifting from a pure software layer to a vertically integrated supply‑chain model. The new hub lets the company directly inspect goods, negotiate with factories, and accelerate...
Stitching Speed & Scale: How FIGS Built an Agile Supply Chain with DHL
In this episode of All Business No Boundaries, FIGS COO Jonathan Tam and DHL VP of Operations Paige Van Fossen discuss how FIGS partnered with DHL to build an agile, high‑velocity supply chain that can handle rapid growth and extreme...
Additive Is for Tooling First, Then Everything Else
Additive manufacturing is shifting from a futuristic hype to a pragmatic tool, with tooling, jigs and fixtures delivering the strongest early returns. Mass‑production examples—such as millions of dental braces and metal phone components—show that 3D printing can scale when design...
The New Rules of Global Sourcing: How Automation and Geopolitics Are Reshaping Fashion Supply Chains
The fashion industry is confronting an aging factory workforce by accelerating automation, with large‑scale sewing robots now handling 60‑70% of outerwear and denim production in China and spreading to Bangladesh and Madagascar. Simultaneously, U.S. tariffs are reshaping sourcing strategies, prompting...
ARX Robotics Expands in UK Following British Army Backing for Uncrewed Platforms
German‑based ARX Robotics has opened a manufacturing facility in the United Kingdom to produce its autonomous ground vehicle, the Gereon UGV. The British Army recently placed an order for an undisclosed number of Gereon units to support reconnaissance‑strike experimentation under...
Researchers Examine Circular Paths For Bio Derived 3D Resins
A new research paper proposes bio‑derived photopolymer resins for SLA/DLP 3‑D printing that aim to improve sustainability without sacrificing speed or part quality. It surveys bio‑based monomers such as plant‑oil acrylates, lignin, vanillin, isosorbide and itaconic acid, and highlights dynamic...
Trump’s Plan for Ultrafast Meat Processing Would Be a Disaster for Workers and the Environment
The USDA announced proposals to raise line speeds in poultry slaughter to 175 birds per minute for chicken and 60 for turkey, while removing any cap on swine line speed. Over 22,000 comments oppose the poultry rule and more than...
Balancing Performance, Scale and Circularity to Guarantee Recyclability in the Future
Aditya Birla’s Advanced Materials division derives roughly 35‑40% of its international revenue from composite resins used in automotive, sporting‑goods, electronics and wind‑energy applications. The group commands about 80% of India’s wind‑energy market, supporting roughly 50 GW of capacity that the government aims...
Mitsubishi’s Global Vehicle Production Rises by 18% in March
Mitsubishi Motors reported an 18% year‑on‑year jump in global vehicle production in March 2026, reaching 86,982 units. Output in Japan surged 26% to 51,761 vehicles, marking the fifth straight month of growth, while overseas production rose nearly 8% to 35,221...
Eternal.ag Launches Omni-Directional Trolley as ‘Stepping Stone to Fully-Automated Greenhouses’
German agritech startup Eternal.ag unveiled an omni‑directional trolley designed as a stepping stone toward fully automated greenhouses. The trolley can navigate rows without dismounting and can be upgraded into the company’s Harvester robot, with the full purchase price credited toward...
FRCE Just 3D Printed Its First Flight-Certified Metal Parts and Put Them on Active Aircraft
Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) has produced its first flight‑certified metal parts using in‑house additive manufacturing, delivering components for the AH‑1Z Viper, V‑22 Osprey and C‑130 Hercules. The qualification, production and certification process was completed in under six months, setting...
America’s Big New Aluminum Smelter Is Still Waiting on a Power Deal
The United Arab Emirates‑based Emirates Global Aluminium and Century Aluminum are moving ahead with a $4 billion, 750,000‑metric‑ton annual aluminum smelter in Oklahoma, the first new U.S. primary smelter since 1980. The plant would more than double domestic capacity but hinges...
Baker Hughes Opens Renewable Energy-Powered Subsea Manufacturing Hub in Norway
Baker Hughes has inaugurated a 49,000‑square‑metre subsea services centre and manufacturing hub in Dusavik near Stavanger, Norway. The facility features a 12,000‑square‑metre workshop, multiple testing bays and can replicate pressures up to 22,500 psi, enabling equipment validation for the toughest offshore...
Federal Grant Powers New Memphis Cement Terminal
The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded a $19.6 million Port Infrastructure Development grant to the International Port of Memphis. The funding will convert a dormant grain facility into an active cement terminal featuring a pneumatic barge unloading system, storage, and truck‑transfer...
Foundry Capacity Is Limiting Who Competes At Leading Edge Nodes
Leading‑edge semiconductor capacity at 2nm and below is being monopolized by hyperscale customers such as Apple, Nvidia and Broadcom, leaving smaller chip developers with limited wafer access. As a result, firms are turning to advanced packaging and chiplet architectures to...
AI Learns to Work Around Metal 3D Printing Defects
Researchers at POSTECH and the Korea Institute of Materials Science unveiled an AI framework that predicts the yield strength of laser‑powder‑bed‑fusion Al‑Si‑Mg parts in seconds, even when internal voids are present. The model, built with a data‑selective learning approach, treats...
A New PP-GF Combining Reduced Cycle Time with High-Level Mechanical Performance
Sumika Polymer Compounds Europe has launched ThermofilXP, a new polypropylene‑glass‑filled (PP‑GF) grade that cuts injection‑molding cycle times by up to 10% compared with conventional PP‑GF. The material delivers a tensile modulus of 8,700 MPa, tensile strength of 129 MPa, and a Charpy...
First Tesla Semi Rolls Off High-Volume Production Line
Tesla has rolled the first Semi off its new high‑volume line at Gigafactory Nevada, ending a protracted development cycle that began in 2017. The truck is offered in a Standard Range (325 miles) and a Long‑Range (500 miles) version, priced...
Andretti and Velo3D Team Up to Put Metal 3D Printing in the Cockpit
Velo3D has signed a sponsorship and technology partnership with Andretti Performance for two 2026 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge races, placing its branding on the No. 43 Porsche and delivering an aluminum radio‑controls mounting bracket built with Constellium’s Aheadd CP1 alloy. The...
ExOne Global Brings Printhead Manufacturing to Detroit, Updates Pricing and Support for U.S. Customers
ExOne Global Holdings announced that it will begin domestic manufacturing of its Spectra Mono‑Z printheads at a new facility in Canton, Michigan, marking the first step in a broader U.S. production strategy. The company also launched a Detroit‑based parts inventory,...