Manufacturing

Volkswagen Autoeuropa, a production plant in Palmela, Portugal, and Volkswagen subsidiary, has set an ambitious goal. They want to establish themselves as the leanest and most productive factory in the Volkswagen brand. The concept of "lean production" aims to use production factors, such as materials, economically and efficiently to shorten throughput times, increasing product quality and the flexibility of a company and its processes.

Quectel Wireless Solutions, a global IoT solutions provider, has expanded its R&D center in Penang, Malaysia. Opened originally in 2022, the center has moved to larger premises in the city and has added functionality including a state-of-the-art testing lab and anechoic chamber, alongside manufacturing facilities in the center. The expansion enables Quectel to provide tailored and off-the-shelf products and services to its APAC and global clients in the future.

Global enterprise software specialist, SAP SE announced that Frucor Suntory, a beverage manufacturer in Australia and New Zealand, has implemented SAP’s Business Technology Platform (BTP), boosting organisational productivity and driving up it sales revenue. Frucor Suntory manufactures, markets and distributes iconic drinks like V Energy, Suntory BOSS Coffee, Ribena, Lucozade and Maximus and is a market leader in energy drinks in Australia and New Zealand – currently producing over 30 million cases of drinks per year.

Enevate, a U.S.-based, pioneering battery innovation company featuring extreme fast charge and high energy density battery tech for EVs and other markets, and Korea’s JR Energy Solution (JR ES), designer of high-performance lithium-ion battery electrodes and cells, have announced a joint plan to build a battery cell electrode manufacturing facility in the US.

Milliken & Company, a diversified manufacturer with a portfolio of textile, specialty chemical, floor covering and healthcare innovations, named Patrick Keese as its Executive VP and President of Milliken’s Floor Covering Business. Effective July 25, Keese will lead Milliken’s international floor covering operation, spanning four continents and 290 product collections.

The world-renown trade fair for smart automation and robotics returns to Munich this year on June 27-30 to bring together the latest developments in industrial automation. Elite Robots will present a range of cutting-edge end-to-end solutions, developed in collaboration with its local partners, at HALL B4 - Booth 311. And the spotlight will undoubtedly be on the new top-of-the-line products launched by Elite Robots in 2023: EC64-19 and CS620.

Boomi™, the intelligent connectivity and automation company, announced that Yazaki-Torres Manufacturing has tapped the Boomi platform to modernize its systems. It will allow Yazaki-Torres to integrate with the Bureau of Internal Revenue's (BIR) Electronic Invoicing/Receipting System (EIS), as part of the govt’s move towards digitizing tax and administrative systems.

Lenovo has reached the milestone of manufacturing and shipping one million workstations and servers from its first purpose built in-house manufacturing facility in Europe, just over one year after it opened its doors in Budapest, Hungary. After 10 months of construction during the pandemic, the facility opened in June 2022 to support clients across EMEA with their requirements for server infrastructure, storage systems and high-end PC workstations.

Graco Inc., a fluid handling equipment provider, launched its Electric Variable Ratio Metering System. Available for customization, the EVR™ allows manufacturers to change ratios as they mix, meter and dispense two component (2K) material – all with the same equipment. While developing EVR tech, Graco worked with material suppliers about trying different ratios and viscosities for research and development purposes, for example, when design engineers write product specifications. The high flow EVR can move up to 6,400 cubic centimeters per minute, while flexing dispense ratios anywhere between 1:1 to 5:1 or 2:1 to 10:1.

During the Intelligent Rail & Logistics Forum 2023 recently held in Fényeslitke, Hungary, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) revealed that it would establish the Global Alliance on AI for Industry and Manufacturing with Huawei and global partners in July. It will be committed to building a platform for collaboration and knowledge sharing to promote the innovation and application of AI in manufacturing and boost the digital economy.