Manufacturing News and Headlines
Manufacturing News and Headlines
Michigan‑based Bark River Knives announced it is closing after confirming that several recent models were produced with imported Chinese steel while being marketed as U.S.–made CPM‑154. Owner Mike Stewart said the decision was a cost‑cutting measure and took full responsibility. The disclosure came as the company faced two separate lawsuits from New York lenders alleging loan defaults and contract breaches. Dealers have begun refunding customers, but the mislabeling may trigger class‑action suits and FTC scrutiny.
Strohm has secured a contract to supply insulated thermoplastic composite pipe (TCP) production jumpers for a deep‑water field extension offshore Sabah, Malaysia. The order covers two 7‑inch carbon‑fiber‑reinforced PA12 jumpers destined for installation at roughly 1,350 m water depth, with delivery...
Tolomatic introduced the RSX50, a new electric linear actuator that delivers 50 tons of force while occupying nearly the same frame size as the 25‑ton RSX25. The RSX series offers a hydraulic‑free alternative, featuring planetary roller screws, up to 66,000 pounds‑force capacity,...
Pop Mart’s Labubu plush, a viral collectible, has driven sales past $4 billion in 2025, but a China Labor Watch investigation uncovered forced‑labor indicators at Shunjia Toys, the sole factory producing the doll. Workers reported excessive overtime—up to 145 hours a month—extremely...
Fenner Conveyors, a Michelin Group subsidiary, launched the INFINITYSERIES, a new conveyor‑belt line that incorporates 10% locally sourced recycled material. Unveiled at the K‑MIX Material Innovation Hub, the belts target heavy‑industry applications such as mining, ports, processing and agriculture while...
Exotec has launched the Skyfleet program, rolling out standardized robotic warehouse solutions to seven Decathlon logistics sites across five European countries. Each site features 150‑200 Skypod robots, up to 200,000 items processed daily, and full automation of inbound and outbound...
Geekplus unveiled the RoboShuttle V5 at LogiMAT 2026, upgrading its tote‑to‑person system with a native Robot Arm Picking Station for fully autonomous warehouse picking. The solution claims 99.99% accuracy, up to 700 units per hour, and a plug‑and‑play rollout in as...
Haad Thip Plc, the exclusive Coca‑Cola bottler for 14 southern Thai provinces, is targeting a rise in returnable glass bottle (RGB) revenue to 6‑7% of total sales this year, up from roughly 3% in FY2025. The move aims to offset...
Embodied artificial intelligence is reshaping robotics by applying large neural networks to perception, planning, and manipulation. Advances in data collection—through real‑world demos, simulation, and video mining—are addressing the historic shortage of training material for physical tasks. Coupled with cheaper, less...
FedEx announced FedEx SameDay Local, a new parcel service that lets shoppers choose two‑hour or end‑of‑day delivery at checkout. The offering is built on a partnership with Florida‑based last‑mile platform OneRail and taps a national network of more than 1,000...
Manz Asia and Seiko Epson have formed a strategic partnership to bring advanced inkjet printing to semiconductor manufacturing. The collaboration merges Manz’s equipment engineering and software with Epson’s high‑precision printhead technology to create a lab‑to‑fab inkjet platform spanning R&D, pilot,...
Physik Instrumente (PI) has launched the X‑365 Precision XY Gantry System, a modular Cartesian platform offering travel ranges from 200 × 200 mm up to 600 × 800 mm with nanometer‑class position feedback. The system combines high load capacity, rigid recirculating‑ball guides and thermally decoupled components...
AtomBite.AI launched its first commercial robot, the M1 Takeout Packing Robot, to automate the chaotic "last meter" of food‑delivery fulfillment in restaurants. The system runs on a proprietary dual‑model AI brain that lets existing hardware manipulate unpredictable items like crushed...
Fleet management has shifted from basic maintenance to a data‑driven strategic function, leveraging real‑time GPS, AI routing, and predictive analytics to cut costs and boost utilization. Modern platforms integrate telematics, driver safety, and fuel monitoring, turning vehicles into measurable business...
Missile strikes in Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrial zone knocked 14% of the complex’s helium capacity offline, removing roughly 5% of global supply. Novartis agreed to pay $2 billion for Synnovation Therapeutics' PI3Kα inhibitor portfolio, bolstering its oncology pipeline. Ecolab announced a...
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Blue Star Limited to accelerate startup innovation in India’s manufacturing sector. The partnership targets emerging technology domains such as HVAC, digital solutions, advanced...
L3Harris has launched high‑volume production of its VAMPIRE counter‑UAS system at a new Huntsville, Alabama facility to satisfy growing demand from the United States and allied forces. The system, combat‑proven since 2023 in European conflicts including Ukraine, detects, tracks and...
Signode will showcase its integrated automation and ASRS portfolio at MODEX 2026 in Atlanta, highlighting how its packaging, robotics, and material‑handling technologies work together as a connected system. The exhibit features the Octopus Prestige stretch‑wrapping machine paired with an autonomous mobile...
BLT announced that its eight‑laser BLT‑S400 powder‑bed fusion system has produced its 100,000th copper component, marking a milestone for industrial‑grade copper additive manufacturing. The machine leverages a combination of red and green lasers to overcome copper’s high reflectivity and thermal...
AI adoption in packaging is accelerating as costs drop and functionality expands, according to PMMI’s February 2026 report. Consumer packaged goods firms and equipment OEMs are moving beyond pilot projects toward plant‑wide AI orchestration, especially in machine vision, knowledge transfer,...
Case Construction Equipment (Case CE) announced the GR series, a trio of motor graders ranging from 240 to 325 horsepower, marking its return to the 200‑plus hp segment. The lineup—GR925, GR930, and the flagship GR935—will be built by South Africa’s...
Researchers at the University of Portsmouth and the University of Manchester have engineered a “plastic‑eating” enzyme that dramatically speeds the depolymerisation of PET, the polymer used in polyester clothing. The enzyme remains highly active even at the high substrate concentrations...
Eberspaecher Vecture, a Toronto‑based developer of battery management systems, has joined Unmanned Systems Technology’s supplier ecosystem as a Silver partner. The company offers commercial‑off‑the‑shelf, custom and build‑to‑print BMS solutions for drones, robotics and autonomous vehicles, covering voltage ranges from 12 V...
Chobani is committing $567 million to expand La Colombe’s Norton Shores, Michigan plant, adding more than 200,000 square feet of production capacity. The move follows its 2023 $900 million acquisition of the specialty coffee brand and reflects a broader rollout that includes a $500 million upgrade of...
Chobani is investing $567 million to expand its La Colombe plant in Norton Shores, Michigan, adding over 200,000 square feet of production space. The expansion will create roughly 340 new jobs while preserving 312 existing positions. The move targets soaring demand for La Colombe’s ready‑to‑drink...
NOVAVACI, an Italian underwater‑cable specialist, introduced a fast, reliable identification system for steel‑wire armored cables used on research and defense vessels. The solution, displayed at stand D80 during UDT 2026 in London, lets operators instantly distinguish active cables when multiple systems...
Industrial Encoder Corporation launched the DWS1215 draw‑wire encoder system, offering precise linear position feedback up to 15 m. The device provides both incremental and absolute outputs with ±0.01 % linearity and high‑flex stainless steel wire. Targeted at printing, material handling, elevators, gantries,...
Industrial supply chains are increasingly exposed to AI‑driven cyber threats that bypass traditional perimeter defenses. Vendors, OT devices, and cloud services now intersect, creating a unified attack surface where a single compromised credential can cascade across production, logistics, and revenue...
Third‑party logistics providers (3PLs) face mounting pressure as shippers seek greater resilience, reliability and real‑time data amid rising costs, labor shortages and geopolitical volatility. Industry leaders like Ryder emphasize deep customer understanding, rapid startup execution and continuous KPI‑driven improvement to...
The United States relies on foreign sources for more than 90% of the lithium used in its batteries, exposing warehouses, manufacturers and logistics networks to geopolitical risk and price volatility. With global demand projected to quintuple by 2040, policymakers and...
Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits has expanded its partnership with Corvus Robotics, deploying more than 40 Corvus One autonomous drones across nine distribution centers nationwide. The drones have completed roughly 5,000 flights, uncovering over 35,000 inventory discrepancies and shifting cycle...
Global iron ore shipments rose 5% year‑over‑year in the first 12 weeks of 2026, driven by stronger Chinese import demand. Yet Chinese steel production slipped 4% in the same period, pushing inventories to a record 179.5 million tonnes by March 12....
Holland Shipyards Group has delivered Men Skey, the third and final offshore support vessel for Dixstone, completing a three‑ship program that began earlier in 2025. The 52‑metre, shallow‑draft OSV features a 73‑ton bollard pull, hybrid propulsion and DP0 station‑keeping, tailored for...
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has inspected, tested, and installed the first welded additively manufactured copper‑nickel flange on the Virginia‑class submarine USS Washington, marking a historic milestone for US Navy maintenance. The component, produced via 3D printing, underwent full weld qualification and...
Augury and MaintainX announced an integration that turns Augury’s AI‑driven machine‑health insights into real‑time work orders within the MaintainX platform. The closed‑loop system automatically creates work orders when anomalies are detected, includes diagnostic context, and feeds completion data back to...
Swiss drugmaker Novartis announced a $480 million investment to expand its manufacturing and R&D footprint in China. The plan allocates about $218 million to upgrade its Beijing Changping facility, which can produce up to 3 billion tablets annually, and $262 million to expand its...
Getac unveiled CommandCore, a rugged ground control station that unifies drone, surface and ground vehicle operations for defense, public safety and utilities. The solution pairs Getac’s hardened tablets and laptops—such as the ZX80 Android tablet and S510 Windows workstation—with interchangeable...
Agile Robots and Google DeepMind have announced a strategic research partnership to embed DeepMind's Gemini Robotics foundation models into Agile's scalable industrial hardware. The collaboration will create adaptable, reasoning robots for high‑value manufacturing tasks, leveraging a data‑driven feedback loop that...
GCL Optoelectronics secured a 1.2 MW contract from China Huaneng to supply commercial perovskite‑silicon tandem solar modules. The tender required mass‑producible, IEC‑certified modules delivering at least 26% efficiency and a 25‑year performance warranty, with delivery by June 2026. GCL is the sole...
Dexory has teamed with Multipowr to embed high‑power wireless charging into its next‑generation autonomous warehouse robots, allowing longer run times and flexible battery management. The integrated system supports a wide power range and multiple battery configurations, making it adaptable to...
Euler Motors secured a $47 million Series E round led by Lightrock, complemented by roughly $30 million in debt financing. The funding will boost product development, manufacturing capacity, and its dealer network across India. Revenue grew 12% to about $23 million in FY25 while...
U.S. Class 6‑8 electric trucks have risen 27% in price since 2020, with a sharp 40% jump between 2020‑2021, while comparable European models fell 32% and 23% respectively. The International Council on Clean Transportation attributes the U.S. increase to larger battery...
Denmark’s Celsius Tankers has secured a new order for two 180,000 m³ LNG carriers from Samsung Heavy Industries, valued at roughly KRW 770 billion ($514 million). The vessels are scheduled for delivery through September 2028, adding to Celsius’s existing portfolio of about 24...
Broadcom warned that its key foundry partner TSMC is hitting production limits, creating a bottleneck for AI chip supply in 2026. The strain extends beyond semiconductors, with printed circuit board lead times expanding from six weeks to six months and...
TouchThink introduced the Z‑Series TPC14‑AIOT industrial PC, a single‑box solution that merges gateway, router, switch and data‑collector functions. Powered by a Rockchip RK3588 octa‑core CPU and a 6 TOPS NPU, it runs Android 12 out‑of‑the‑box and supports Linux, Ubuntu and HarmonyOS. The...
Lang Technik UK will unveil the RoboTrex Compact at the MACH 2026 trade show in Birmingham, marking the system’s UK debut. The compact automation cell occupies just 2 square‑metres, handles workpieces up to 95 mm and 7 kg, and incorporates a Fanuc M‑10iD‑16s robot...
India announced the establishment of six Textile Export Facilitation Centres across key production clusters, including Surat, Karur, Ichalkaranji, Jaipur, Varanasi and Ludhiana. The initiative is part of a broader strategy to lift the country's textile exports to $100 billion by 2030....
Artis BioSolutions, a San Diego‑based advanced therapies firm, has launched a synthetic DNA manufacturing hub in Boston using Syngoi Technologies' proprietary enzymatic platform. The new site complements its GMP manufacturing facility in Watertown, creating a bi‑continental network with an existing...
Sentry Equipment, a century‑old, employee‑owned manufacturer, celebrated 40 years as an ESOP while expanding beyond traditional power‑generation equipment. The company has diversified into water and wastewater infrastructure, acquiring Rebuild‑it Services to rebuild aging treatment assets. Internally, Sentry invested in fiber‑optic...
