Industry News

Solar Manufacturing Inc. commemorated the opening of a new, 59,000-sq.-ft plant with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 24. The company, located at 1500 E. Clymer Ave., Sellersville, Bucks County, is the first business to build in the newly established Sellersville Business Campus. On hand to celebrate were a number of Bucks County notables, including Thomas C. Hufnagle, mayor of Sellersville Borough; Mary Smithson, chair of the Bucks County Industrial Development Authority; and Robert G. Loughery, chairman of the Bucks County Board of Commissioners.

The success of modern product development and manufacturing efforts depends increasingly on being able to iterate quickly, test innovative ideas and shorten time to market. Products must be designed, materials evaluated, prototypes tested and parts manufactured faster than ever. With access to the right technology, agile teams can quickly go from design to production, using less resources and meeting customer demand. A comprehensive rapid prototyping and manufacturing strategy offers an obvious advantage to businesses looking to keep their products and services competitive.

In the 2019 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence, three $100,000 first-place prizes were awarded to Cesar Gutierrez, a manufacturing teacher from Tucson, Arizona, Wendy Schepman, a landscape operations teacher from Stuart, Florida, and Brent Trankler, a welding teacher from Sikeston, Missouri, with the prize winnings shared between the individual teacher or team and their high school skilled trades program.

Airbnb came along and offered travelers the opportunity to get lower prices and better service, along with better proximity to where they wanted to be, from less established service providers, including private homes. Now, by leveraging the idle 3D-printing capacity of small manufacturers, Techniplas Prime has started to do the same for automotive companies looking for the best solutions for their manufacturing services needs.

The cumulative stress of President Donald Trump's escalating trade war is leading to if not an irreparable breach between the U.S. and China, then certainly a significant fraying. Trade talks notwithstanding, the rising cost of the tariffs is already inducing some U.S. manufacturers to exit China. But in most instances, they are not returning to home shores.

Star SU LLC, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, has formed an alliance with Profilator GmbH & Co. KG, WuppertalnGermany, to manufacture Scudding tools for the global market and in North America in cooperation with GMTA, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Scudding significantly improves on traditional power skiving technology for gear production, long proven in the market to be fast, accurate and versatile in use.

High QA Inc., the developer of Inspection Manager quality management software, has established a headquarters operation in Sevenum, Netherlands, to directly serve its customers on the European continent. High QA Europe is headed by its European Sales Director Hans Derks. Netherlands native Derks is a 30-plus year veteran of the manufacturing software industry.

When Suttner adopted a growth strategy 15 years ago, the company decided to significantly increase the manufacturing depth. Priority was to be focused on parts with complex designs and high added value. The executive management brought Arno Werkzeuge on board as their partner and facilitator to also increase productivity. This success story has brought about manufacturing competences and products that were inconceivable in the past. At the same time, it is an effective solution to the lack of skilled workers.

Methods Machine Tools Inc. has announced that it is representing OKK Corp. in North America. For over 100 years, customers worldwide have relied on OKK horizontal, vertical and 5-axis machines for quality, reliability, precision and innovation.

Manufacturers face continual pressure to expand margins and be more profitable. Smart manufacturing can bring real bottom-line value to a business, helping it do more with less.

In 2017, Tulip raised $13 million with help from New Enterprise Associates Inc., Pitango Venture Capital and a handful of investors who already were onboard for the seed round. Now the Somerville, Massachusetts, startup is back with a round of financing that's three times that. Toolmaker DMG Mori has joined the ranks, along with Vertex Ventures.

Teradyne Inc. announced that it has completed the acquisition of AutoGuide Mobile Robots, a leading supplier of high-payload autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). AutoGuide's advanced products deliver easy deployment, improved safety, reduced costs and increased efficiency of industrial and warehouse material-handling operations.