Know What's Happening in Manufacturing
Know What's Happening in Manufacturing
Goodyear launches $320 million expansion of its Lawton plant
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company announced a $320 million, four‑year expansion of its Lawton, Oklahoma facility, boosting capacity by nearly 30 % and adding the ability to produce an extra 10 million tires annually (about 120,000 per day). The upgrade targets higher‑margin, larger‑rim tires for electric vehicles.
Also developing:
By the numbers: BlackRock acquires 5% stake in Samsung Heavy Industries
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 SL 2 to cryptographic protections for SL 3. Certain sectors—medical devices, aerospace, automotive—are exempt if covered by sector‑specific regulations. The CiA board advises that most CAN networks can achieve SL 2 with modest effort, while SL 3 demands more advanced cryptography and secure update mechanisms.
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...
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...
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...
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 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, 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 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 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...
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, 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...
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...
American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has partnered with HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and HD Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries to launch a joint development project for a nuclear‑powered electric propulsion system. The collaboration will produce a conceptual design, electrical...
Garnica and Genesis Products unveiled EverPly+, a thermally fused laminate (TFL) panel built on Garnica’s void‑free Efficiency Poplar plywood. Showcased at KBIS 2026, the solution tackles traditional TFL issues such as thickness variability, core inconsistency, weight, and durability. Compared with...
Mercedes‑Benz is in talks to share its East London, South Africa plant with Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor. The co‑manufacturing proposal aims to boost plant utilization as U.S. tariffs on Chinese vehicles increase. GWM has submitted a formal request to...
PBS Aerospace, the U.S. arm of Czech PBS Group, landed a multi‑year subcontract with California‑based Zone 5 Technologies valued at several tens of millions of dollars. The agreement tasks the Roswell, Georgia plant—recently expanded with a $20 million investment—to produce the...
Gurit’s Ampreg epoxy, Spabond adhesive and Corecell M foam are at the heart of Zest Boatworks’ newest Shearwater catamaran, a 100% carbon‑fiber, foam‑cored racer celebrating the class’s 70‑year legacy. The vessel replaces the historic timber construction with a high‑stiffness, low‑weight...
FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index jumped to 9.3 in January 2026, the strongest reading since February 2022, signalling a markedly optimistic trucking environment. The surge reflects sharply higher freight rates, volumes and utilization, which together have created what FTR calls "robust...
Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells remain the backbone of biopharmaceutical manufacturing, but traditional gene‑editing tools struggle with low knock‑in efficiency. Transposase‑based platforms such as Leap‑In and piggyBac now provide high‑efficiency, multi‑copy integration and can handle large DNA cargos up to...
MIPS, a GlobalFoundries subsidiary, teamed with Inova Semiconductors to unveil a reference Physical AI system‑on‑chip for robotics. The custom SoC merges MIPS Atlas RISC‑V compute, AI, and mixed‑signal IP with Inova’s APXpress high‑speed interconnect, fabricated on GlobalFoundries’ ultra‑low‑power FDX process....
Pharmaceutical manufacturers are turning to industrial storage bins to manage the growing volume of raw materials such as APIs, excipients, and processing agents. Organized bulk bins improve inventory visibility, while vertical hopper‑bottom designs maximize floor space in crowded facilities. Controlled...
Doosan Robotics signed an MOU with Kwangjin Group to deliver more than 100 collaborative robot solutions across its domestic and overseas automotive component plants through 2027. The expanded deployment follows a pilot that reduced defect rates to zero on Kwangjin’s...
DFI will showcase its new edge AI platforms, co‑developed with Intel, at Embedded World 2026. The portfolio includes the PTH9HM COM‑HPC Mini module for defense and unmanned systems, offering real‑time 8K vision and AI inference, and the PTH171/173 Mini‑ITX motherboards...
Polymaker has launched an advanced online filament selection tool that streamlines product discovery through color matching, finish filters, and engineering property comparisons. Users can input RGB, HEX, HSL, or CYMK codes, upload images for automatic color extraction, and select from...
The Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) and the Women in Manufacturing Association (WiM) are co‑producing IMTS ELEVATE, a half‑day conference and networking reception at IMTS 2026 in Chicago. The event, slated for September 16, 2026, will bring together engineers, technicians, executives, educators and...
UPS is restructuring its network to reduce reliance on Amazon, shedding roughly $5 billion in revenue and 2 million daily packages. The carrier will pivot toward higher‑margin verticals such as business‑to‑business, industrial, healthcare and small‑business shipments. Through its Digital Access Program, UPS...
The Morocco‑West Africa air cargo corridor relies heavily on passenger belly space, with dedicated freighter lift remaining inconsistent and often shrinking. Royal Air Maroc’s new Casablanca‑Dakar freighter marks a strategic move, yet overall capacity stays fragmented, especially on secondary routes...
Kraftblock installed a 20 MWh high‑temperature thermal storage system at Tata Steel’s Jamshedpur sinter plant. The unit captures waste heat up to 500 °C from the cooling circuit and can discharge up to 1.8 MW back into the process. It is projected to...
Semiconductor fabs now face a massive cyber‑attack surface as software components proliferate across thousands of suppliers. Traditional isolation and ad‑hoc VPNs can’t keep pace with rapid patching needs, leaving long exposure windows. Industry standards such as SEMI E187/E188/E191 set a...
Swedish thin‑film specialist Midsummer landed its biggest contract to date, a SEK 236 million deal for a complete DUO CIGS solar‑cell production line. The order follows a May 2025 SEK 143 million purchase for a 15 MW turnkey line from the same undisclosed Swedish defense...
General Motors revives the Chevrolet Bolt for 2027, shifting production to Kansas and equipping it with a cheaper lithium‑iron‑phosphate battery that supports up to 150 kW DC fast charging. The new model retains the familiar hatchback shape but adds a smaller...
Virtual programmable logic controllers (PLCs) run control logic in containerized software on standard servers, offering automatic failover and reduced downtime. By moving PLC functions to a software‑defined environment, manufacturers can develop, test, and validate code virtually before commissioning, cutting time...
ABB Robotics announced the integration of NVIDIA Omniverse libraries into its RobotStudio platform, creating the RobotStudio HyperReality solution that delivers physically accurate digital twins and synthetic‑data generation. The partnership claims up to 99% simulation‑to‑real accuracy, reducing robot positioning errors to...
Labor shortages have shifted from a seasonal inconvenience to a structural risk for industrial investors in 2026. Modern plants require workers who blend technical, analytical, and digital skills, and the shortage of such talent leaves expensive equipment idle. An aging...
At LogiMAT 2026 in Stuttgart, NORD DRIVESYSTEMS unveiled its latest decentralised drive portfolio, highlighted by the NORDAC LINK frequency inverter with built‑in Ethernet connectivity and advanced safety functions. The new inverter supports encoder‑less control of high‑efficiency IE5+ synchronous motors and mirrors...
Air cargo networks across the Gulf are crippled by flight cancellations and airspace closures, prompting forwarders to reroute freight by truck, especially through Saudi Arabia. Freight rates have surged, with southern‑Asia to North America lanes up 36% and Asia‑Europe lanes...
Vestas has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to establish a wind turbine nacelle manufacturing base. The agreement sets a target for final‑stage nacelle assembly in Japan by fiscal year 2029, with a...
Pionix and Lumissil have deepened their partnership to deliver ChargeBridge, a pre‑certified System‑on‑Module that blends Lumissil’s IS32CG5317 Green PHY microcontroller with Pionix’s open‑source EV‑charging software. The module decouples hardware and software, allowing charger manufacturers to accelerate development cycles and simplify...
Rohm has signed a licensing deal to adopt TSMC’s 650‑volt GaN process at its Hamamatsu fab, creating a unified production line that blends Rohm’s in‑house expertise with TSMC’s advanced node. The agreement targets high‑growth markets such as AI data‑center servers...
Semco Maritime and Zamakona Yards have launched the Las Palmas Shipyard in the Canary Islands, merging Semco’s engineering expertise with Zamakona’s extensive yard facilities. The new hub offers deep‑water quaysides, 650 metres of berth, heavy‑lift cranes and comprehensive services for rig upgrades,...
India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy secretary Santosh Kumar Sarangi said the country has strong potential in renewable‑energy manufacturing, project development and exports as clean‑energy capacity expands. He highlighted a shift from utility‑scale projects to distributed, prosumer‑driven models backed...
Steriline has delivered its OFCM84 aseptic filling and capping line to Bausch+Lomb Italia to boost eye‑care product output. The line runs at 200 bottles per minute, features CIP/SIP automation, and complies with EU GMP Annex 1 grade‑A cleanroom requirements. Its design...
The biggest opportunity in robotics right now is not humanoids, home robots, or any of that nonsense. It's achieving a 10x reduction in the total cost to install an industrial robot ($200k to $20k) using all of the progress in cost...
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
Manufacturers face a bigger hurdle than AI technology itself: adapting physical facilities and workflows for automation. Asad Afzal of A‑Safe warns that many plants were not built for the increased automation AI enables, leading to congestion and equipment strain. Companies...
Silfab solar cell manufacturing site temporarily closed after chemical incident #energysky -- via Solar Power World: https://t.co/wPNqIx1Taf
Chinese WSJ: Severe energy crisis with limited shipping thru the Strait of Hormuz. What kind of crisis will it bring to global logistics and supply chains? Fuel for transporting goods for manufacturing and retail. Businesses and consumers.
"Tariffs may have affected manufacturing employment, which declined by 119,000 in 2025. Likewise, the trade sensitive transportation and warehousing sector declined by 123,800." https://t.co/ed9bs6nNSn
How Dyson’s Extreme Stress Testing Builds Products That Last by @lukas_m_ziegler #Robotics #Engineering #ArtificialIntelligence #Innovation #Technology https://t.co/IvOdyAUq2Y
Dematerialization: "MacBook Neo’s Manufacturing Involves A New Process That Saves As Much Aluminum As Possible, Now Apple Is Moving To The Next Step; 3D Printing The Same Metal" https://t.co/7YvmvjZD5Q https://t.co/Ft8yo52n3x
