Each day The Manufacturer compiles a roundup of the top US manufacturing news stories from around the web. To make your life a little easier, we trawl through all the major trade publications, broadsheets and business magazines to find you the most important manufacturing news each morning. Don't forget to bookmark this page and check back daily.

Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that Apple will buy U.S.-made microchips at an event in Arizona on Tuesday, where President Joe Biden also spoke.

Cook said Apple would buy processors made in a new Arizona factory, according to a video from the event.

“And now, thanks to the hard work of so many people, these chips can be proudly stamped Made in America,” Cook said. “This is an incredibly significant moment.” — Read more via CNBC

Japan-based Envision AESC will plow $810m into a new South Carolina battery factory to supply BMW Group’s next-generation electric vehicles.

The planned 1.5-million-square-foot factory in Florence, S.C., will initially create 1,170 jobs and have an annual capacity of up to 30 gigawatt hours, the company said Tuesday. That volume can supply enough batteries for 300,000 EVs annually, according to AutoForecast Solutions.

The new plant will produce BMW’s new energy-dense Gen 6 lithium ion cell. — Read more via Automotive News

Taiwan chipmaker TSMC plans to build a second chip plant in Arizona and more than triple its initial investment to $40bn, estimating on Tuesday annual revenue of $10bn from the plants when they are up and running.

The foreign investment by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world’s biggest chip contract manufacturer, is one of the largest in US history.

The first chip fabrication facility, or fab, will be operational by 2024 while the second facility nearby will make the most advanced chips currently in production, called “3 nanometer,” by 2026. — Read more via Reuters

Textron’s Bell has won the US Army’s competition to build the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, the service’s largest helicopter procurement decision in 40 years.

The deal for the next-generation helicopter is worth up to $1.3bn and is set to replace roughly 2,000 Black Hawk utility helicopters. FLRAA will not serve as a one-for-one replacement for existing aircraft, but it will take over the roles of the Black Hawk, long the workhorse of the Army for getting troops to and around the battlefield around 2030. — Read more via Defense News

A new report endorsed by over 150 engineering leaders and celebrities, led by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), is today calling on government to help tackle the UK’s engineering skills shortage by embedding engineering into the current curriculum. — Read more via The Manufacturer

New orders for U.S.-manufactured goods increased more than expected in October amid strong gains in demand for machinery and a range of other goods, which could allay concerns of a sharp slowdown in manufacturing.

The Commerce Department said on Monday that factory orders jumped 1.0% after rising 0.3% in September. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast orders advancing 0.7%. Orders shot up 12.8% on a year-on-year basis in October. — Read more via Reuters

On a Nov. 30 webinar with ROTH Capital Partners, Enphase CEO Badri Kothandaraman announced the company plans to start four to six new U.S. manufacturing lines in 2023. Enphase will be working with three contract manufacturers, two of which are current partners, to produce 4.8 to 7.2 GWAC of U.S. microinverters per year. — Read more via Solar Power World

SME manufacturers are being urged to start planning for next Christmas by exploring how technology can help with the seasonal surge.

While production is in full swing to meet demand for the festive season, Made Smarter has explained that makers across sectors are facing a multitude of challenges, including rising energy prices, supply chain disruption and labour shortages. — Read more via The Manufacturer

Aquaspersions Limited, a global manufacturer of water-based additives for the latex, paint and adhesives industries, announced it is investing at least $7.5 million to establish a new production facility in St. Martin Parish.

The facility will primarily supply critical components for the growing Made in USA nitrile glove industry, including SafeSource Direct’s two Louisiana locations, establishing a key PPE supply chain base in the state. — Read more via BIC Magazine

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is looking to commission a £900,000 study to understand the technical and economic feasibility and requirements of a UK Semiconductor Infrastructure Initiative. In the tender notice for commissioning the report, the DCMS said it aims to catalyse growth of the UK semiconductor sector and contribute to supply chain resilience. — Read more via Computer Weekly

The European Union is now deciding whether to allow flights offer 5G services in the air.

If the bill pulls through, the EU will require airlines to offer 5G networks for users instead of paying for Wi-Fi. This also means that the mandatory shutdown of mobile phones or putting the phones in flight mode will come to an end. — Read more via gizchina.com

U.S. logistic managers are bracing for delays in the delivery of goods from China in early January as a result of canceled sailings of container ships and rollovers of exports by ocean carriers.

Carriers have been executing on an active capacity management strategy by announcing more blank sailings and suspending services to balance supply with demand. “The unrelenting decline in container freight rates from Asia, caused by a collapse in demand, is compelling ocean carriers to blank more sailings than ever before as vessel utilization hits new lows,” said Joe Monaghan, CEO of Worldwide Logistics Group. — Read more via CNBC

Nearly half of Britain’s manufacturers (42%) have been a victim of cyber crime over the last 12 months according to new research, Cyber Security: UK manufacturing, published today by Make UK, the manufacturers’ organisation and intelligent security software and services provider, BlackBerry. — Read more via The Manufacturer

Pfizer Inc is investing more than $2.5bn at its drug making plants in Belgium and Ireland, gearing up to launch new products it hopes can replace lost revenue as patents expire and COVID-19 vaccine sales decline.

The drugmaker said on Friday it plans to spend more than 1.2 billion euros ($1.26bn) to expand its Puurs, Belgium, manufacturing site, matching the investment at its Dublin, Ireland, plant announced on Thursday. — Read more via London South East

Ricardo, a global strategic, environmental, and engineering consulting company, is supporting Toyota, in partnership with the APC, on a significant, multi-year project to develop its first zero emission light commercial hydrogen vehicle in the UK. — Read more via The Manufacturer

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in November for the first time since May 2020 after 29 consecutive months of growth, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®. — Read more via Institute for Supply Management

The near year-long infant formula shortage in the United States that prompted the intervention of the White House is likely to “persist” until spring, according to Reckitt Benckiser, the maker of what is now the biggest brand in the market, Enfamil. — Read more via CNBC

Ford has doubled down on its commitment to the UK as its European hub for electric vehicle powertrain production, thanks to £600m of backing from UK Export Finance, supporting high-skill manufacturing jobs.

The investment is part of government’s plans to put the UK at the forefront of electric car development in Europe as the country transitions to net zero.

Ford has received support from UKEF through its Export Development Guarantee (EDG) scheme, which will turbo-charge Ford’s transition towards electrification, expand its manufacturing and export capacity and support continued investment in the UK. — Read more via GOV UK

A little more than a month after rumors surfaced that Pfizer was plotting a blockbuster investment in Ireland, the company has formally declared its plans—and they’re bigger than expected.

Thursday, Pfizer confirmed over email that it’s plugging 1.2 billion euros into its manufacturing site at Grange Castle in Dublin, where the Big Pharma also plans to add between 400 and 500 new jobs by 2027. — Read more via Fierce Pharma

Audi UK is once again proving it wants to be the leading provider of sustainable mobility, this time by receiving the Electric Vehicle Approved (EVA) accreditation. This marks the first car manufacturer in the UK to receive such an accreditation across 100% of its entire network of 113 centers, despite having one of the biggest retail networks in the UK.

Audi’s achievement is a reflection of the company being at the forefront of electric car development, and the EVA accreditation is a clear display of electric vehicle knowledge across all sectors of the automotive retail market. — Read more via Clean Technica

The United States has been a leader in microchip design with dominant companies like Nvidia, Intel and Qualcomm, but it risks a big drop in global market share without government support for the sector, warned a report released on Wednesday.

The U.S. share of chip design revenue has been slipping in recent years, dropping to 46% in 2021 from over 50% in 2015. Without government support, that could drop to 36% by the end of this decade, according to the analysis released by U.S. industry body Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and Boston Consulting Group. — Read more via Reuters

President Joe Biden on Tuesday toured a $300 million semiconductor manufacturing facility in Michigan that aims to create 150 jobs and said the U.S. was “not going to be held hostage anymore” by countries like China that dominate the industry. — Read more via VOA

US President Joe Biden plans to travel to Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC’s Arizona facility on Dec. 6 to promote the administration’s push to boost US semiconductor manufacturing, the White House said.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, a major supplier to Apple Inc and the world’s largest contract chipmaker, is constructing a $12bn plant in Phoenix, Arizona, Reuters reported last week. The company is holding a “tool-in” ceremony in Arizona on Dec. 6. — Read more via Reuters

CPI has opened its Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre facility in Glasgow City Region, Scotland.

The £88m Centre is bringing world-leading science and technology expertise under one roof to help accelerate state-of-the-art solutions to some of the biggest challenges in medicines development and manufacturing. — Read more via The Manufacturer

Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, has completed the transformation of its Leeds site into a smart factory, complimented by a new state-of the art Innovation Hub – the first of its kind in the UK.

The Leeds manufacturing facility is a key site for Schneider Electric in the UK, employing 550 people. It produces low and medium voltage electrical infrastructure products and has grown significantly in recent years due to rising demand from the energy transition. — Read more via The Manufacturer

The UK Royal Navy command formally “withdrew” an equipment plan to fund and develop its nascent Type 32 Frigates and Multirole Support Ships (MRSS) judging them to be “unaffordable,” a National Audit Office report has revealed, at least for now.

The decision was made in July 2022, but only made public on Tuesday upon release of the watchdog’s “Defence Equipment Plan 2022-2032” document. The annual report reviews the MoD’s long-term financial planning by examining procurement, infrastructure and operational costs — in some ways similar to the US Government Accountability Office. — Read more via Breaking Defense

Renowned Southland boat building company Stabicraft has expanded its operations, opening a manufacturing plant in Seattle, USA.

The company, which is continuing to build its aluminium boats out of Invercargill, has increased its sales in the USA and has decided to also build boats there, chief executive David Glen says.

The company was focusing its efforts on manufacturing, and growth into the USA. — Read more via Stuff

Following an announcement in May that it would be reviving its off-road Scout brand for an all-electric future, Volkswagen is reportedly in talks with contract manufacturer Foxconn to help manufacture the vehicles. Additionally, VW is considering Magna Steyr as another notable option.

Scout is the classic nameplate that dates back to the International Harvester Scout – an off-road vehicle from the ’60s and ’70s. Following previous rumors that Volkswagen Group was considering a revival of the name, the German automaker confirmed its intentions earlier this year. — Read more via electrek

A new era is dawning at an AstraZeneca facility that once formed part of the company’s U.S. COVID-19 vaccine production network.

AstraZeneca has locked in a sale of its site in West Chester, Ohio, to busy biomanufacturing newcomer National Resilience, the companies said Tuesday. In tandem with the sale, the drugmakers forged a “long-term” biomanufacturing accord, under which Resilience will continue to crank out “select AstraZeneca medicines.”

More than 500 employees who currently work at AZ’s Ohio facility will maintain their jobs once Resilience takes control, Andrew Wirths, senior vice president of AstraZeneca’s Americas supply region, said in a statement. — Read more via Fierce Pharma

Britain’s manufacturing companies are looking for the next generation of leaders to be more human, with better motivational and communication skills and, the ability to connect with employees and take a more holistic view of the business, according to a survey published today by Make UK and Rockwell. — Read more via The Manufacturer

Global aircraft orders in October increased compared to previous months, new data from industry trade body ADS Group reveals.

The 299 aircraft ordered is the most for the month since 2019.

For the full year to date, aircraft orders are now the largest for the first 10 months of the year since 2014. Single-aisle aircraft continue to dominate both the order book and recovery, accounting for 90% of orders placed so far in 2022. — Read more via Production Engineering Solutions

An American drugs company has suspended construction of the British government-backed Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre near Oxford less than eight months after acquiring the site.

Catalent is cutting and delaying some of its projects after a profit warning and a slump in its share price this month and amid an expected slowdown in Covid-19 product revenues. — Read more via The Times

Honeywell has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Egypt’s Environ Adapt for Recycling Industries with the aim of advancing plastics recycling in the country.

The two organizations will explore the development of the first chemical recycling facility in Egypt that would be equipped with Honeywell’s advanced technology, capable of converting waste plastic into valuable recycled polymer feedstock (RPF). — Read more via The Manufacturer

The U.S. government said it is banning telecommunications and video surveillance equipment from several prominent Chinese brands in an effort to protect the nation’s communications network. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted unanimously on Friday to expand its ban on the sale and import of Chinese technology from firms that pose an “unacceptable risk to the national security” of the United States.

The decision implements the directive in the Secure Equipment Act of 2021 signed by President Biden in November that places additional restrictions on companies including Huawei and ZTE, surveillance camera makers Hikvision and Dahua, and two-way radio manufacturer Hytera. — Read more via Tech Crunch

Intel announced Monday that it has tapped engineering and project management firm Bechtel to build its $20 billion manufacturing facilities in Licking County, Ohio.

Bechtel was signed by Intel to be the general contractor and will design and build Phase 1 of the 2.5 million square foot facility.

That includes 600 thousand square feet of cleanrooms, the company said. — Read more via dayton247now.com

Purdue University and Accenture have agreed to a five-year commitment supporting Purdue’s mission to prepare a next-generation smart-manufacturing workforce. — Read more via Purdue University

Reston, Virginia-based contractor Bechtel announced Monday that it has been selected to complete Phase 1 of a $20bn Intel semiconductor facility in Licking County, Ohio. The Intel Ohio project, which consists of two semiconductor facilities, broke ground in September with excavation work.

Bechtel’s contract value was not revealed, and the company did not respond to emailed inquiry regarding the contract by publication time. — Read more via Construction Dive

With much fanfare, Vietnamese car manufacturer VinFast marked its arrival into the American market Friday when it loaded nearly 1,000 of its electric vehicles onto a charter ship bound for the United States.

By 2024, the nascent automaker plans to manufacture EVs at a massive plant in North Carolina’s Chatham County, but until that plant becomes operational, its cars will be made across the Pacific Ocean in Vietnam. — Read more via The News & Observer

An ‘unsung hero’ at a manufacturing company has been crowned among the best in the UK manufacturing industry.

Chris Cassidy, a Quality Assurance Technician at BMP, was named in The Manufacturer Top 100 2022, a showcase of those who go the extra mile.

Chris, who has been with the Altham business for two years, was nominated in the ‘Unsung Hero’ category due to the knowledge and support he has shown since being at BMP. — Read more via Yahoo! News

HMG Paints, the UK’s leading independent paint manufacturer, has unveiled new packaging for its Water Based range of products.

The new packaging utilises recycled content to manufacture the containers and the process and materials used also means the final container can be recycled. The new range of 2.5 Litre and 5 Litre packaging will launch at the beginning of 2023. — Read more via The Manufacturer

First Light Fusion, the Oxford-based fusion pioneer, has announced a new technical partnership aimed at rapidly advancing towards a new pilot plant based on its unique projectile fusion technology, while addressing the need for tritium harvesting. — Read more via The Manufacturer

Enel North America, through its affiliate 3Sun USA, says that it intends to build an industrial-scale production facility in the US for the manufacturing of photovoltaic (PV) modules. The proposed facility is expected to have a minimum production capacity of 3 GW with the possibility to scale production to 6 GW annually and is anticipated to create up to 1,500 new direct jobs by 2025. The facility is also expected to be among the first in the United States to produce solar cells. — Read more via Evertiq

A Japanese chip equipment supplier has started to reorganise its supply chains and factories in a strategy designed to access both US and Chinese markets after Washington rolled out new chip export controls.

The group chief executive of Tokyo-based Ferrotec told the Financial Times that the company was accelerating plans to expand production outside China in response to requests from US clients including Lam Research and Applied Materials. — Read more via Financial Times

Battery startup Britishvolt has formally abandoned a long-shot plan to build a second factory in Canada, as it focuses on securing new funding for its struggling UK project.

Despite the ambitious scope of its UK plans, the company also had broader ambitions, including a nascent effort to build an even bigger 60GWh plant in Quebec. Now, it seems as though those plans will likely not materialise— Read more via The Guardian

Government departments have been told to stop installing surveillance cameras made by Chinese companies on “sensitive sites” because of security concerns.

The new policy applies to “visual surveillance systems” made by firms required by Chinese law to co-operate with Beijing’s security services.

The government announced the move amid concerns among MPs about the use of such equipment.

Officials have been told to consider removing existing equipment entirely. — Read more via BBC News

In this episode of The Manufacturer Podcast, sustainable excellence is celebrated and green transport eco-systems are discussed.

We have snippets from a wonderful night at The Manufacturer MX Awards, where bottle manufacturers Encirc were crowned the 2022 winners of the Sustainable Manufacturing category. Hear what category judge Alison Beard-Gunter, of Thermo Fisher had to say following the announcement of the winners. There’s also an interview from The Manufacturer Studio at Smart Factory Expo, Brian Riley, Digital Technical Lead at OX Delivers, talks about the work his company are doing to develop clean transport eco-systems in developing countries. — Read more via The Manufacturer

Mercedes-Benz is to offer an online subscription service in the US to make its electric cars speed up quicker.

For an annual cost of $1,200 (£991) excluding tax, the company will enable some of its vehicles to accelerate from 0-60mph a second faster.

It comes after rival manufacturer BMW offered a subscription feature earlier this year – for heated seats. — Read more via BBC News

A survey by software company Visual Components found less than half of the materials used in three-quarters (72%) of respondents’ manufacturing processes were sustainable, while 79% said less than half of processes used renewable energy.

The survey, involving 360 manufacturing decision makers in the UK, US, Germany and France, found 71% of respondents said their business would play a role in the drive for net zero emissions, but just 43% were focusing on waste reduction or improving efficiency, and only 29% were reducing power usage. — Read more via Supply Management

US graphics chip designer Nvidia Corp is planning to relocate its Hong Kong-based logistics center to Taiwan, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said on Wednesday.

The government had been in discussions with Nvidia regarding tax incentives to facilitate the move since last year, Wang said in an interview with the Central News Agency, adding that the two sides had reached a consensus.

Wang did not provide details about the timetable for the move or the planned tax arrangements for Nvidia. — Read more via Taipei Times

MTC Training – the training arm of the Manufacturing Technology Centre – is launching new apprenticeship and training courses to support the UK’s rapidly growing space sector.

The suite of industry-leading courses will include a new Level 4 space technician apprenticeship, a graduate development programme and a series of courses to upskill space engineers. — Read more via The Manufacturer

The UK’s automotive manufacturing industry has recovered from its September decline, according to new data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

A total of 69,524 cars left UK factories in October, a 7.4% improvement on the figure of 64,729 recorded in the same month last year.

It is also a 10.1% rise on the 63,125 units produced during September 2022, itself a 6.0% shortfall compared with September 2021’s 67,173 cars. This drop followed a run of four consecutive months of growth. — Read more via Autocar

MilDef has opened a manufacturing facility at the Bro Tathan business park near Cardiff, Wales. The new facility manufactures MilDef’s tactical IT platform for the £25 million RBSL contract won in 2020, as well as providing a non-EU platform for global sales of MilDef’s products. — Read more via MilDef

A new report has revealed how manufacturers believe their agility has fallen over the last 12 months, as firms continue to be significantly impacted by recruitment challenges and supply chain disruption. Nevertheless, there is some positive news in that many manufacturing organisations are continuing to invest in their products, people, premises and processes.

The 2022 Manufacturing Agility Assessment, which was launched on day one of Smart Factory Expo in Liverpool and is the second iteration in the agility assessment series, painted a worrying picture of labour shortages and supply chain disruption, with 55% saying they have been significantly impacted when it comes to recruitment in the last year and 69% citing issues with sourcing material and components. — Read more via The Manufacturer

Ziehl-Abegg will establish its North American headquarters in Forsyth County, NC. The German manufacturer of ventilation systems, generators, and other equipment will invest over $100m and create 189 new jobs at a 500,000-square-foot build-to-suit property in Union Cross Industrial Center. The facility will house both its headquarters and manufacturing and distribution operations.

Ziehl-Abegg employs 5,000 people at 16 production plants globally, including an existing facility in Guilford County with more than 200 employees. The Guilford County jobs are expected to move to the new location, which will also add at least 300 new jobs as a result of the expansion. — Read more via Business Facilities

Siemens graduate engineers have collaborated with CORE Lighting Limited, UK’s leading wireless lighting solutions company, to develop an innovative geolocation lighting system.

These were used as part of the Green Space Dark Skies project and were seen illuminating many skylines across the UK and were featured in 20 events between April and September 2022

The Geolights have been hailed as something that could change the approach to event lighting in future – with added benefits such as being sustainable and lightweight. — Read more via The Manufacturer

In response to companies’ rising demand for new future mobility solutions, SIR Robotics Inc. will establish a U.S. business unit to serve North America. SIR (Soluzioni Industriali Robotizzate – Robotic Industrial Solutions) designs and manufactures robotic systems for the automotive and aerospace industries. The Greater Sacramento Economic Council (GSEC) worked with the Italian robotics company to locate its U.S. headquarters at the California Mobility Center (CMC) in Sacramento.

SIR has identified North America as a major growth market and needs a local sales and service subsidiary to support existing customers and expand to serve new ones. Over the last 38 years, SIR has installed approximately 4,000 robotic systems worldwide supplying major companies manufacturing cars, aircraft and industrial goods at a global level. — Read more via Business Facilities

The Federal Trade Commission is likely to file an antitrust lawsuit to block Microsoft’s $69 billion takeover of video game giant Activision Blizzard, maker of the hit games Call of Duty and Candy Crush, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

A lawsuit would be the FTC’s biggest move yet under Chair Lina Khan to rein in the power of the world’s largest technology companies. It would also be a major black mark for Microsoft, which has positioned itself as a white knight of sorts on antitrust issues in the tech sector after going through its own grueling regulatory antitrust battles around the world more than two decades ago. — Read more via Politico

GKN Aerospace is to relocate its North America additive manufacturing (AM) centre of excellence to the Lone Star Commerce Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

The aerospace tier one supplier will transfer existing equipment and staff from its Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility in Tennessee to the new location in Texas. It will eventually become a GKN Aerospace Global Technology Centre (GTC). — Read more via tct Magazine

LG Chem announced a plan to build the largest EV battery cathode manufacturing facility in the US, which will be located in Clarksville, Tennessee.

The company just signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the state of Tennessee and would like to start construction as early as the first quarter of 2023.

The whole investment is expected to cost more than $3bn and will enable the South Korean manufacturer to produce 120,000 tons of cathode material annually by 2027, which is expected to be enough for 1.2 million electric cars per year. — Read more via Inside EVs

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will reportedly expand its multi-billion chip fabrication unit in Arizona. The company’s founder and CEO, Morris Chang, said the new facility would manufacture advanced 3 nm node chips. — Read more via Spiceworks

One of the biggest factory sites in Wales is up for sale. US manufacturer 3M has appointed property advisory firm Colliers to sell its 40-acre industrial complex in Gorseinon, Swansea, after announcing last year its plans to close the operation.

The site is the American company’s oldest manufacturing facility outside the US and dates back to the 1950s. It provides 358,114 sq ft of storage, production, and office space across several buildings. — Read more via Wales Online

BAE Systems and Digital Catapult are collaborating to boost understanding of how digital technologies can deliver benefits to BAE Systems’ supply chain operation.

A significant amount of BAE Systems’ business is delivered by its supply chain, and through the introduction of digital technology there is a huge opportunity to decrease risk, reduce time to market and improve quality through a more collaborative approach and improved visibility. — Read more via The Manufacturer

PepsiCo UK has announced a series of new innovations across our logistics operation, which are set to lead to a 1,200-tonne reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions each year across our UK supply chain once fully rolled-out.

Starting this month, PepsiCo will power more than one million miles of truck journeys in the UK each year with used cooking oil. Working with its haulage partner, Pollock (Scotrans) Ltd, the Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (HVO) will replace diesel and will be used on trucks travelling between the Quaker Oat mill in Cupar and Leicester, the home of Walkers. Every mile powered by HVO will have 80% less GHG emissions when compared with conventional diesel. — Read more via PepsiCo UK

Ericsson is to establish a new research unit in the UK as part of a multi-million-pound investment to boost the country’s future wireless connectivity capabilities.

Tens of millions of pounds (GBP) will be invested by Ericsson over the next 10 years in a UK-based program that will focus on 6G research and breakthrough innovations. Research areas will include network resilience and security, artificial intelligence, cognitive networks and energy efficiency – all considered to be key building blocks of the world’s future digital infrastructure for society, industries and consumers. — Read more via The Manufacturer

Four staff at a Bournemouth company have been recognised as Top 100 stars within the UK’s manufacturing industry.

All work for Parvalux, the UK’s largest manufacturer of fractional horsepower electric motors.

Lewis Bowles, Business Development Engineer; Carl Fudge, Junior Production Engineer, and Vladislavs Dunders, Warranty Engineer, were all recognised as Young Pioneers in The Manufacturer Top 100. — Read more via Dorset Biz News

PTC has announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire ServiceMax for approximately $1.46 billion in cash on a debt-free, cash-free basis from an entity majority owned by Silver Lake.

ServiceMax is a recognised leader in cloud-native, product-centric field service management (FSM) software, with the acquisition expected to strengthen PTC’s closed-loop product lifecycle management (PLM) offerings by extending the digital thread of product information into downstream enterprise asset management (EAM) and FSM capabilities. — Read more via The Manufacturer

The UK food and drink manufacturing sector saw the slowest fall of demand of any manufacturing sector in October, according to a new report from Lloyds Bank. — Read more via Food Manufacture

New industry data reveals that manufacturers are holding double the amount of stock compared to pre-pandemic levels as the world’s supply chain woes take on a new form.

Unleashed’s Manufacturers Health Check report used data from its inventory management software to track how SMEs in the UK have fared in 2022. The report shows businesses forced to stockpile huge quantities of goods as they navigate delays and shortages, against a background of rising inflation. — Read more via Business Leader

GKN Aerospace plans in 2023 to open a new site in Texas where it will develop additive-manufacturing processes for producing “large-scale” titanium aerostructures.

The UK company is moving existing additive-manufacturing development work from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee to the new facility, in Fort Worth, Texas, GKN says on 21 November. — Read more via Flight Global

Blackburn-based Accrol Papers have announced the firm will pay their staff the Real Living wage.

There are over 11,000 accredited Living Wage employers in the UK, with 128 of these being based in the county.

The company said it will also become the only accredited Living Wage manufacturer based in the South Ribble. It says it will be only tissue manufacturer in the UK to be a Living Wage employer. — Read more via Yahoo! Finance

The UK’s first ever Precision Tooling Academy has launched today thanks to a pioneering partnership between In-Comm Training and Brandauer.

Over £1m has been invested by the two strategic partners to create a commercial toolroom in the training provider’s facility in Aldridge, which will produce complex tooling, as well as acting as a professional training ground for the toolmakers and designers of the future.

This is a vital move for domestic industry, with the sector being held back by a severe lack of toolmakers and the very real possibility of losing these essential skills forever as older workers choose to retire. — Read more via The Manufacturer

Global firm Sherwin-Williams has invested £10m in new production lines at Chapeltown site in South Yorkshire, creating more than 20 new jobs in the process.

The Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Sioned Mair-Richards came along to the site to officially open it by way of a ribbon cutting ceremony last week.

The expansion of the Chapeltown site represents a £10m investment by Sherwin-Williams, enabling the group to significantly ramp up production of brands currently made at the facility including Ronseal, Ronseal Trade, Geocel, Dow and Thompson. — Read more via The Yorkshire Post

SME manufacturers in the North West are using data and system integration technology as the driving force behind their digital transformation and growth ambitions, new analysis from Made Smarter reveals.

159 of the 275 technology projects supported by Made Smarter’s North West adoption programme focused on digital technologies which connect disparate systems and unify data residing in different sources. — Read more via Production Engineering Solutions

Nissan is offering EV buyers £200 off the cost of a smart home charger and installing the device.

The offer is available to UK customers who use Nissan Finance to buy new and Nissan Intelligent Choice used EVs via the manufacturer’s UK dealer network.

It lets them spread the cost of the new charger across their regular monthly vehicle payments. — Read more via Car Dealer Magazine

Walkers owner PepsiCo UK is upgrading many of its vehicles to run on vegetable oil and electricity in a bid to cut 1,200 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year

The US owned food and drinks giant said it was going to replace diesel with hydrogenated vegetable oil for the 3,000 truck journeys it makes each year between the Quaker Oat mill in Cupar, Scotland, and Leicester, the home of Walkers – equivalent to a distance of one million miles. It said every mile powered by HVO will have 80 per cent less greenhouse gas than conventional diesel.

It is also introducing new electric vehicles to move the 40,000 pallets holding its crisps and snacks around PepsiCo’s distribution centre in Leicester. Both changes are expected to be rolled out by the end of next year. — Read more via Business Live

Reacting to the first ONS estimates on GDP for Q3 2022, David Bharier, Head of Research at the British Chambers of Commerce, said:

“Today’s figures, showing a 0.2% fall in the quarterly estimate for Q3 GDP, as well as a 0.6% fall in monthly GDP, solidify the picture that the economy is moving towards recession, if not already in one.

“Worryingly, the figures show a decline across all 13 manufacturing sectors tracked by the ONS, with production output overall shrinking by 1.5%. Services as a whole have seen no growth in the quarter. — Read more via British Chambers of Commerce

As many as 900 jobs are at risk with the announcement of the planned closure of two food factories in Leicester and Lincolnshire.

Bakkavor wants to close its Bakkavor Salads operation in Sutton Bridge, near Kings Lynn, and its Bakkavor Desserts factory in Leicester Forest East. There are 450 people working at each site.

The business, which reported UK revenues of £1.56bn in 2020, produces meals, salads, pizza and bread, and desserts for the UK’s major store chains. — Read more via Business Live

Krispy Kreme, Britain’s favourite doughnut manufacturer, has just taken delivery of a fleet of new MAN vehicles. The new fleet, a mix of 33 3.5 tonne TGE’s and 30 7.5 tonne TGL’s, will deliver Krispy Kreme’s freshly made treats daily to their 123 stores located across the UK and to over 1500 cabinets in their nationwide retail partner outlets. — Read more via UK Haulier

Kia has ended sales of the Stinger, ahead of the arrival of a new high-performance EV6 GT later this year.

The rear-wheel-drive Stinger launched as the brand’s flagship model in 2017, rivalling cars like the Audi A5 Sportback, marking Kia’s first entry into a premium segement in the UK.

It was never a high-volume seller, especially in the fleet sector, achieving just 2,300 sales during its lifespan. — Read more via Fleet News

A Welsh marine equipment manufacturer is on track to significantly grow its exports with the opening of a dedicated base in the USA following a surge in demand for its products across the globe, thanks to support from the Welsh Government.

Powys-based Makefast Group, which employs over 100 people at its Newtown factory, designs and manufactures equipment for the marine and safety industries, as well as systems for super yachts and luxury boats including retractable sunroofs, awning units, and bathing platforms. — Read more via Wales 247

More than 2,000 manufacturers and technology specialists will come together in Liverpool next week, as part of the UK’s leading showcase for innovative manufacturing technology.

The Smart Factory Expo, part of the renowned Digital Manufacturing Week festival, will kick-off on Monday November 14 at The Exhibition Centre and is expecting to attract more than 2,000 visitors keen to explore the latest breakthroughs in augmented reality, automation, robotics and IoT platforms. — Read more via The Manufacturer

After first announcing its agreement to acquire Wain-Roy—a US manufacturer of excavator attachments for the construction industry—on October 21st, Epiroc has now announced that the acquisition has been completed.

Prior to this acquisition, the Wain-Roy business was part of Oregon Tool, Inc.

Wain-Roy has a manufacturing location in Kronenwetter, Wisconsin that employs about 100 individuals. The majority of Wain-Roy’s customer-base is in the United States and, according to Epiroc, the manufacturer generates about SEK 200 million (CAD 25 million), annually. — Read more via Equipment Journal

Tesla is voluntarily recalling 40,168 2017-2021 Model S and Model X vehicles that could experience a loss of power steering assist, according to a Nov. 1 filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration made public on Tuesday.

The recall requires a software update that’s pushed to the cars over the air.

An October firmware release caused some vehicles to lose power steering when driving over bumpy roads and potholes. An estimated 1% of recalled vehicles have the defect, according to the release. — Read more via CNBC

Chinese planemaker Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) said it had secured 330 orders for its homegrown C919 narrowbody and ARJ21 regional jets, and raised its 20-year aircraft demand forecast at the country’s biggest air show.

China Development Bank Leasing, ICBC Leasing, CMB Financial Leasing, BOCOM Leasing, CCB Financial Leasing, SPDB Financial Leasing and Jiangsu Financial Leasing on Tuesday signed orders for a combined 300 C919s and 30 ARJ21s at Airshow China in the southern city of Zhuhai, COMAC said in a statement on Wednesday. — Read more via Reuters

Government ministers visited Spaceport Cornwall yesterday ahead of the first satellite launch from UK soil later this month.

Science Minister, George Freeman, and Transport Technology Minister, Jesse Norman, joined representatives from the UK Space Agency to meet those behind the mission and saw Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket and its carrier aircraft, Cosmic Girl – which will launch from Spaceport Cornwall – up close.

Ministers also toured the spaceport’s new Space Systems Integration Facility, the first of its kind at a spaceport in the UK, where the satellites have been integrated into the rocket ready for launch. Spaceport Cornwall will deliver 150 direct jobs and 240 indirect jobs by 2030. — Read more via UK Space Agency

A contract for the supply and installation of inter-array cables for the Moray West offshore wind farm has been settled.

Developer Ocean Winds has struck a deal with offshore contractor Seaway7, which includes work for UK engineering firm JDR Cable Systems.

A value for the contract wasn’t given, but it has been hailed as a “significant” win for the TFK Group-owned company, which recently begun work on a major subsea cable manufacturing facility in the north of England. — Read more via Energy Voice

An auto parts manufacturer plans to hire 630 workers at a new factory in southeast Georgia to supply Hyundai Motor Group’s first U.S. electric vehicle plant that’s under construction nearby, state officials said Monday.

Joon Georgia will invest $317 million to produce parts in Bulloch County, Gov. Brian Kemp’s office said in a news release. The supplier will open shop roughly 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of the southeast Georgia site where Hyundai executives broke ground on the new EV plant two weeks ago. — Read more via US News & World Report

You may be in luck if you’re looking to buy an electric vehicle. A new bill introduced in the US Congress called the Affordable Electric Vehicles for America Act would allow essentially all EVs in the US to qualify for the $7,500 tax credit if passed.

On Friday, a few members of the US Congress, including Terri Sewell (AL), Eric Swalwell (CA), Emmanuel Cleaver (MO), and Jimmy Gomez (CA), introduced the Affordable Electric Vehicles for America Act, a new bill aimed to lower the threshold of owning an EV.

The bill would establish a phase-in period for the battery sourcing and manufacturing requirements included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed in August. — Read more via electrek

Foxconn, the world’s biggest contract electronics maker, has extended its drive into electric vehicle (EV) business with a deal to take a near-20% stake in loss-making U.S. electric truck maker Lordstown Motors Corp for up to $170m.

The accord, which will also give a Foxconn affiliate two board seats at startup Lordstown, comes as the iPhone maker bets on replicating its dominance in contract electronics manufacturing in the booming EV industry. — Read more via Reuters

Nearly half (49%) of UK automotive companies are concerned about skills shortages in key roles from research and design to engineering and manufacturing, according to the latest survey by the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The results come as a new automotive Career Guide is launched to attract top talent to help drive the transition to zero emission vehicles. — Read more via The Manufacturer

The UK also doubled its target for low carbon hydrogen production to 10GW by 2030 in its energy security strategy, which was drawn up following Russia’s assault on Ukraine.

Yet, just 12 months on from Kwarteng’s visit to ITM’s Sheffield factory, there are signs that Britain risks missing out on building a large new manufacturing sector around green hydrogen. ITM announced in September that it was scrapping plans to build a second electrolyser factory in the UK. — Read more via Financial Times

The supply chain may be getting better, but the challenges aren’t going away.

That’s according to a new survey from SAP which finds more than half (51%) of US companies expecting the supply chain to remain challenging into 2023.

The findings from the German software giant, the global leader in supply chain software with approximately 23% market share, according to Cowen, paints a picture of a supply chain that will remain in rapid flux for the US. economy. — Read more via CNBC

Governor Doug Ducey has announced a historic $100m investment in Arizona’s fast-growing semiconductor industry to spur greater growth in a critical sector of the state’s economy.

“Arizona has earned a place as one of the world’s leading destinations for chip design, manufacturing and innovation,” said Governor Ducey. “With historic opportunities before us, this funding ensures we make the most of this moment and cement our semiconductor leadership for decades to come. My thanks to all our partners in the private sector and higher education for their commitment to expanding our high-tech economy.” — Read more via Office of the Governor Doug Ducey

The Navy advanced efforts to improve self-sufficiency for deployed ships and their crews and reduce supply chain lead times by leveraging additive manufacturing (AM) through the installation of the first metal 3D printer permanently installed aboard a naval ship, November 3.

“The introduction of Additive Manufacturing (AM) into naval operations supports readiness and self-sufficiency,” said Rear Adm. Brendan McLane, commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic. — Read more via America’s Navy

Absolut Vodka is to become the first global spirits brand to move to a partly hydrogen energy-fired glass furnace for large-scale production in a significant step to reduce the CO2 emissions from making its iconic bottles.

The hydrogen initiative is an important milestone for Absolut Vodka in becoming completely CO2neutral by 2030. A prerequisite for being able to meet this goal is in reducing the carbon footprint of its glass packaging. — Read more via The Manufacturer

Okabashi, an Adidas manufacturing partner and family-owned footwear company in Buford, Georgia, has laid off 142 employees as a result of Adidas ending its partnership with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.

“As of right now there are not enough orders to keep all employees busy with work. Very regrettably, Okabashi is announcing a layoff of 142 employees effective immediately,” said the statement. — Read more via CNN

In the final episode of our series on Leadership, we hear some of the leaders of industry that will be appearing as keynote speakers at this year’s Manufacturing Leaders’ Summit and SME Growth Summit at Digital Manufacturing Week in Liverpool.

Get a sneak preview of the discussion at these events, with insights from MLS speakers Natalie Watson, Group Head of Sustainability at Vita Group, Richard Lloyd, General Manager at Accolade Wines The Park and Professor Rab Scott, Director of Industrial Digitalisation at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC). — Read more via The Manufacturer

With the deadline to replace the European CE mark with the UKCA mark following Brexit fast approaching, manufacturers would do well to heed Womble Bond Dickinson’s advice. — Read more via Womble Bond Dickinson

Vermont Business Magazine Perrigo Company plc, with a major plant in Georgia, Vermont, announced on Tuesday a $170 million strategic investment to expand and strengthen its US infant formula manufacturing, which is expected to bolster industry capacity, enhance consumer choice and increase access to safe, affordable infant formula for parents and caregivers. As part of this strategic investment, Perrigo has purchased Nestlé’s Gateway infant formula plant in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, along with the US and Canadian rights to the Good Start infant formula brand. — Read more via Vermont Biz

Ahead of SME Growth Summit 2022 (16-17 November), The Manufacturer caught up with Professor Andrew Schofield, Chair of the North West Aerospace Alliance, to learn what attendess can expect from his keynote speech at this year’s event and find out a little more about the organisation he heads up. — Read more via The Manufacturer

US-based PV module manufacturer Mission Solar Energy will ramp up its manufacturing capacity to 1GW in the US to meet industry demands for 2023 and beyond.

The expansion of the facility located in Brooks, Texas will start in Q4 2022, with the company expecting to reach 1GW of annual production capacity in 2024, up from its current 300MW. — Read more via pv magazine

And finally, to end today’s and this week’s Daily Manufacturing News Digest is the news that Bounty hunters may have their work cut out this Christmas, after chocolate manufacturer Mars Wrigley said it would be eliminating the sweet from some of its tubs.

The coconut-flavoured treat may be marketed as a slice of paradise, but nearly 40% of us hate them, Mars says.

So a limited run of “No Bounty” tubs will go on sale at 40 Tesco stores in the run-up to Christmas. — Read more via BBC News

General Motors and battery manufacturer Microvast are partnering to develop new electric vehicle battery technology and build a factory in the United States with hundreds of jobs to manufacture what they call specialized separators.

The two companies announced the partnership Wednesday, saying the factory and the specialized separator technology development will be funded by a $200m grant from the US Department of Energy’s Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing initiative and by $300m that GM and Microvast will put into it. — Read more via Detroit Free Press

Governor Kathy Hochul and US Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer have announced that Edwards Vacuum, a British-based world leader in vacuum and abatement equipment in the semiconductor industry and part of the Atlas Copco Group, has chosen the Western New York Science & Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park located in Genesee County, as the location for their new $319m, US dry pump manufacturing facility.

The dry pump technology that will be produced at the new facility is a vital component to controlling the highly sensitive environment of semiconductor manufacturing processes. Phase One of Edwards Vacuum’s 240,000 square-foot campus include manufacturing, warehouse and administration. This new commitment from a global leader in the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain to invest in New York State builds on the announcement that Micron is investing an unprecedented $100bn in Central New York. — Read more via New York State Governor’s Office

Danish shipping giant Maersk, widely seen as a barometer for global trade, cut its forecasts for container demand this year, and predicted that the global economy could enter recession.

Maersk now expects global container demand to fall by between 2% and 4% this year, and believes freight rates have peaked. — Read more via The Guardian

Nacka, Sweden, November 2, 2022: Atlas Copco has acquired Aircel, LLC., a US-based provider of air treatment and air purification solutions.

Aircel is a privately owned company headquartered in Maryville, Tennessee in the US. The company has 19 employees and had revenues of MUSD 6.4 (around MSEK 55*) in 2021. — Read more via Atlas Copco

SME Growth Summit 2022 takes place in Liverpool on 16-17 November, where key figures from the SME manufacturing sector will get together to discuss the issues that matter relating to people, product and process. It offers a unique opportunity for manufacturers to develop their growth strategies and network with their peers.

With just two weeks to go until this year’s event, The Manufacturer’s Ashley Oulton, Conference Production Manager, provides an overview on what you can expect . — Read more via The Manufacturer

UK battery startup Britishvolt said it has secured a short-term investment to stay in business and staff will take a temporary pay cut while the company seeks longer-term funding for its planned gigafactory project in northern England.

Britishvolt did not name the investor.

The company said on Wednesday that its almost 300 employees have agreed to an unspecified salary reduction for the month of November to further reduce short-term costs. — Read more via Automotive News Europe

Ricardo has signed a memorandum of understanding with InoBat, a pioneer of premium electric vehicle battery R&D, engineering, production and recycling, jointly to supply battery cells, modules and packs to high-performance automotive manufacturers for their electrification programs.

Ricardo and InoBat will co-operate on the assembly, production and testing of cells, modules and full battery packs for a number of high-performance automotive applications. — Read more via Green Car Congress

The latest Institute for Supply Management (ISM) US Manufacturing PMI was released yesterday. It reveals that manufacturing activity in the country is at its slowest in nearly two and a half years. Nevertheless, the report outlines how economic activity in the manufacturing sector still recorded grwoth in October, with the overall economy achieving a 29th consecutive month of growth.  — Read more via ISM

Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin is deepening its investment in satellite manufacturer Terran Orbital with a $100m investment and a cooperation agreement for the development and sale of smallsats through 2035.

Terran also announced that it will now build its massive, $300m space vehicle manufacturing facility in Irvine, California, not Florida as originally planned. CEO Marc Bell told press that the company decided to move the facility to California, where Terran Orbital already has a substantial footprint, because it could move into the facilities faster than in Florida. It’s a big loss for Space Florida, the state’s economic development agency focused on aerospace, which was going to provide the conduit financing for the facility. — Read more via Tech Crunch

Jordan’s air force has agreed to purchase ten light helicopters from US manufacturer Bell Aircraft, the company announced on Tuesday.

The Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) will use the Bell 505s to train new pilots at its King Hussein Air College in Mafraq, Jordan.

The agreement was announced during the Special Operations Forces Exhibition and Conference (SOFEX) in Aqaba, Jordan on Tuesday afternoon. — Read more via Alarabiya News

Infant formula manufacturer Perrigo Company Plc (PRGO.N) said on Tuesday it is buying the Good Start brand and a Wisconsin plant that makes the product from Nestle SA (NESN.S), as US retailers recover from shortages of the good.

The deal is part of a $170m investment that Perrigo is making in its US infant formula manufacturing. The investment includes $60 million to expand the plant’s capacity by roughly 100 million eight-ounce bottles each year. — Read more via Reuters

The Pentagon wants to use an advanced technology process known as additive manufacturing to design and build hypersonic weapon and vehicle systems that can operate in extreme conditions.

As the U.S. Department of Defense looks to field its first hypersonic capability in fiscal 2023, officials emphasize the need to shore up the industrial base and ensure programs can smoothly transition from development to production. Through an initiative called Growing Additive Manufacturing Maturity for Airbreathing Hypersonics, or GAMMA-H, it’s targeting materials and processes used to build systems that travel and maneuver above Mach 5. — Read more via C4ISRNET.com

Battery-powered buses are hitting streets nationwide as operators ditch their diesel-guzzling models. This week, the Biden administration awarded nearly $1bn to help school districts revamp their yellow bus fleets and reduce kids’ exposure to air pollution. Transit agencies from Los Angeles County to New York City are working to fully electrify public transportation networks. And across the asphalt expanses of airports, electric buses are increasingly whisking passengers from terminals to tarmacs. — Read more via Canary Media

Ten months ago, San Francisco-based Bright Machines pulled its $1.6bn deal to go public via SPAC as the market turned. The firm told Forbes Monday that it had raised $100m in venture funding led by Eclipse Ventures (plus an additional $32m in debt financing) to fund its next stage of growth. The new investment values Bright Machines, whose microfactories automate electronics production lines with robotics, powered by intelligent software, at $938m. — Read more via Forbes

Britishvolt was teetering on the brink of collapse on Monday, after ministers turned down a request for emergency funding and the embattled battery start-up made a final effort to secure a private rescue to avoid bankruptcy.

The company, which planned to develop a £3.8bn gigafactory in the north-east of England, had been preparing to appoint administrators earlier on Monday, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

The move had been triggered in part by a government decision over the weekend to reject a request for £30mn funding, which the company needs to prevent it running out of cash within weeks. — Read more via Financial Times

Leading building products manufacturer Forterra has marked National Lorry Week (24- 30 October) with a substantial investment in its trucking fleet.

Following an investment of nearly £12m into its fleet in 2021, Forterra has invested a further £8m to add another 30 Volvo lorries, making a total of 200 vehicles in its nationwide fleet. — Read more via The Manufacturer

Less than a month after building the first production verification Van at its microfactory outside London, commercial EV startup Arrival has announced it will shift its manufacturing focus to Charlotte, North Carolina.

The company’s earlier plan had been to deliver its first Arrival Vans to UK customers this year, then launch its US microfactory in 2023. But with cash reserves diminishing and its microfactory in Bicester, northwest of London, requiring significant investment in hard tooling and working capital to scale up production, Arrival decided that the benefits of such an investment would be best directed to the US market. — Read more via Inside EVs

After more than a decade in development, China’s first passenger jet is finally on the runway. The single-aisle C919, built by state-backed aerospace champion Comac, won regulatory approval by authorities late last month, a move hailed as a major milestone by officials.

Beijing has made no secret of its desire to break the duopoly enjoyed for decades by Airbus and Boeing, helping to smooth the C919’s development with up to $72bn in state-related support, according to estimates from US think-tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies. — Read more via Financial Times

Yunex’ Poole factory has been recognised for excellence in operational performance, supply chain excellence and future talent development by The Manufacturer MX (TMMX) Awards and Make UK Manufacturing Awards

Winners will be announced at the awards events in November.

In the TMMX Awards, the company has been shortlisted in the ‘Leadership and Strategy’ and ‘Supply Chain Excellence’ categories, with Make UK judges also recognising the company’s achievements in their ‘Developing Future Talent’ and ‘Manufacturing Matters’ categories. — Read more via Traffic Technology Today

The latest episode of The Manufacturer Podcast is out now.

Join the TM editorial team for episode five of Leadership Series to find out the true implications of a low valued pound and what that means for UK manufacturers. — Read more via The Manufacturer

TMAC at The University of Texas at Arlington aided a Fort Worth-based aerospace supplier and manufacturing company become the first firm in the nation to qualify for a certification required of its contractors by the Department of Defense.

Aero-Glen International LLC, a privately owned small business established in 1976, successfully underwent the Department of Defense’s Joint Surveillance Voluntary Assessment Program. — Read more via EurekAlert!

US thin film module manufacturer First Solar has secured a 2GW deal with developer Swift Current Energy for its thin film solar modules, which will be supplied in 2025-26.

It is the second large-scale agreement between the two companies and just the latest in a flurry of recent activity for the US module maker.

Earlier this year, Boston-headquartered Swift Current Energy bought 1.27GW of thin film modules from First Solar to support its growing pipeline of over 9GW of planned renewable assets. — Read more via pv magazine

Rockwood Composites (Devon, U.K.), a composite components manufacturer, has announced it will quadruple its capacity in the next five years. This includes increasing its factory floor space from 5,000 to more than 30,000 square feet, which will be supported by a commensurate increase in sales and recruiting more highly skilled engineers.

This growth has already started with the recent relocation to a new, larger factory in Paignton, U.K. Rockwood has also invested in new machinery, such as a Hexagon (Stockholm, Sweden) Absolute Arm, which has been instrumental in developing novel business class seats for aircraft, and a Hurco Co. (Indianapolis, Ind., U.S.) CNC. The growth is also being provided with a new Moroccan subsidiary, Rockwood Composites notes, which will have a footprint of 2,000 square meters, specifically for the aerospace industry. — Read more via Composites World

The UK’s first live trial to test the effectiveness of exoskeleton suits in a working factory environment is being run by Kenoteq – the company behind a cutting-edge sustainable brick made from recycled construction waste.

Two types of exoskeleton suits are being trialled by employees of the Heriot-Watt University spinout, as part of a wider initiative to accelerate the adoption of exoskeletons among European SMEs in construction and manufacturing. The EXSKALLERATE programme is co-funded by Interreg North Sea Region and Built Environment – Smarter Transformation (BE-ST) with support from the University of Strathclyde and National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS). — Read more via Premier Construction News

President Joe Biden has issued a statement, to coincide with the United States’ Third Quarter GDP report, saying US manufacturing is “booming.” — Read more via The White House

BorgWarner Inc. is planning to expand its US manufacturing footprint to handle its fast-growing electrification business, expected to generate about $4bn by 2025.

That’s as the automotive supplier’s top and bottom lines stabilize following prolonged volatility in car supply and production. — Read more via Automotive News

The $70m, 130,000-square-foot Arlington manufacturing facility will initially produce Wallbox’s Pulsar Plus smart home EV charger. Next year, production will begin on the company’s Hypernova EV chargers, which can add up to 100 miles of range in five minutes. — Read more via Dallas Innovates

US microinverter manufacturer Enphase has plans to establish four to six new manufacturing lines in the US by mid-2023 as it seeks to take advantage of manufacturing production tax credits contained with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

The announcement was made as part of the California-headquartered company’s Q3 financial results, which also showed that Enphase shipped more than 4.3 million inverters (1.7GW) and made record revenues of US$634.7m in the quarter, up 20% on Q2, with European revenue jumping 70%. It had a GAAP gross margin of 42.2% and a GAAP operating income of US$135.4m. — Read more via pv tech

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart McWhorter and Ferrari Stampi USA Inc. officials announced today the company will invest $1.4m to expand manufacturing operations at the company’s US headquarters in Clarksville.

As a result of the project, Ferrari Stampi will create 30 new jobs in Montgomery County over the next five years.

Ferrari Stampi’s expansion at its Dunbar Cave Road location is a direct result of the company’s decision to purchase Poligraph USA, which will support additional production lines at its U.S. headquarters and help grow its overall customer base. — Read more via Tennessee Governor’s Office

In this second part of his Smart Factory Expo 2022 feature, The Manufacturer’s James Devonshire speaks with key individuals from Deloitte, Porsche-owned MHP, Made Smarter, Invest Liverpool City Region and Nokia about what we can expect from them at this year’s show. — Read more via The Manufacturer

Enphase Energy Inc., which makes components that convert solar electricity into usable energy, plans to open four to six manufacturing lines in the US following the passage of the country’s landmark legislation that provides funding for clean power projects.

The company is working with three contract manufacturing partners and expects the new lines to open by the second half of 2023, Chief Executive Officer Badri Kothandaraman said on a call Tuesday to discuss earnings. — Read more via Data Center Knowledge

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to Cleveland on Thursday to promote the Biden administration’s economic initiatives aiming to revive U.S. manufacturing, especially in overlooked cities, the Treasury said.

In the latest of a series of campaign-influenced economic speeches ahead of Nov. 8 U.S. congressional elections, Yellen will discuss the growth of Ohio manufacturing brought about by recent legislation enabling hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of investments in infrastructure, semiconductors, research and clean energy technology. — Read more via Reuters

The U.S. Treasury on Wednesday launched a series of meetings with clean power groups, utilities, labor unions and others to develop detailed rules for some $270 billion in newly enacted incentives to jump-start green energy investments.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met with 16 industry groups representing more than 1,000 firms in the clean energy supply chain, more than 2,000 utilities and more than 1 million American workers, the department said. — Read more via Reuters

Contract manufacturing superpower Magna International announced it is investing over $500 million to erect two new manufacturing facilities and expand a third in the state of Michigan. The new and expanded Magna facilities will develop components specifically for the growing market of electric vehicles and are expected to create over 1,500 new jobs in Michigan. — Read more via electrek

The UK is constructing numerous massive Tesla Megapack systems to combat the ongoing oil crisis.

As the energy crisis continues to raddle Europe, Tesla Megapack projects are the newest tool countries are turning to, to battle oil reliance. Currently, three Tesla Megapack projects are under construction in the United Kingdom, including the UK’s largest, and two others are already in operation. — Read more via Teslarati

Ford is to scrap the Fiesta — Britain’s most popular car.

It has no plans for an electric version of the £19,000 supermini, The Sun has learned.

That means it is likely to be withdrawn from sale within a year.

Ford has sold 4.8million Fiestas in 46 years and it had 12 consecutive years as the No1 biggest seller from 2009 to 2020. — Read more via The Sun

For the first time, a Boeing 777-300ER operated by Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) took off on a passenger flight with the AeroSHARK surface technology jointly developed by Lufthansa Technik and BASF.

The fuselage and engine nacelles of the aircraft were recently fitted with approximately 950m2 of Riblet films, which replicate the flow-efficient properties of shark skin in order to reduce drag. Flow simulations have already identified a savings potential of just over 1% for this type of aircraft. The first scheduled flights with the aircraft registered as HB-JNH will now serve to validate this savings potential in daily flight operations. — Read more via Aerospace Manufacturing

U.S. business activity contracted for a fourth straight month in October, with manufacturers and services firms in a monthly survey of purchasing managers both reporting weaker client demand, the latest evidence of an economy softening in the face of high inflation and rising interest rates.

S&P Global said on Monday its flash U.S. Composite PMI Output Index, which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, fell to 47.3 this month from a final reading of 49.5 in September. — Read more via Reuters

The countdown to Digital Manufacturing Week 2022 has begun in earnest here at The Manufacturer HQ; at the time of writing, we are less than 50 days away from the doors opening at UK manufacturing’s premier showcase event, and you can feel the excitement in the air.

Our October issue is continuing our pre-event coverage and features Part 2 of Reporter, James Devonshire’s Smart Factory Expo preview which began in September. This month sees him catch up with headline sponsors Deloitte, Porsche-owned MHP, Made Smarter, Invest Liverpool City Region and Nokia (page 6).

Multimedia Editor, Tom St John sits down with three industry leaders who will be participating at this year’s Manufacturing Leaders’ Summit to get the lowdown on some of the primary discussion points at the event (page 52), while Conference Production Manager, Ashley Oulton, gives a sneak preview of the SME Growth Summit and introduces us to some of the keynote speakers (page 36). — Read more via The Manufacturer

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry François-Philippe Champagne met in Washington to discuss issues of mutual interest and reiterated their commitment to work together to address challenging bilateral, multilateral, and global issues.

Secretary Raimondo and Minister Champagne discussed the passage of the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act (CHIPS Act) and its implications for the North American semiconductor industry. The two leaders noted the importance of the CHIPS Act and its significant investments that will help revitalize the U.S. manufacturing economy and spur research and development in semiconductors. The Secretary and Minister underscored their commitment to U.S.-Canada supply chain security in the semiconductor industry and highlighted this as a key sector for collaboration between the two nations. — Read more via American Journal of Transportation

UK Export Finance, the UK’s export credit agency, has supported an £89m loan to Embraer.

This was made possible through partnership with JP Morgan, who acted as the lending bank and arranger for this deal.

Securing UK exports to this major manufacturer means UK goods and services will be embedded in aircraft that fly 145 million passengers globally every year. — Read more via GOV UK

DuPont Artistri has completed a capacity increase for the manufacturing of water-based pigment inkjet inks and dispersions at its plant in Fort Madison, IA, USA.

Tucker Norton, general ganager for Artistri Digital Inks at DuPont, says, “In the fast growing world of digital printing, our customers not only expect us to deliver inks with great colors and consistency, but they’re also looking for improved productivity as well as delivery flexibility and reliability. With this capacity increase we’ ll be better able to respond to customers around the world and the growing demand for pigment inkjet inks.” — Read more via Label & Narrow Web Magazine

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Junior says he is standing by his predecessor’s decision to scrap a deal with Russia to buy military helicopters. He said on Thursday the government will get aircraft from the United States, instead.

President Marcos said, “The deal with Russia was for some heavy-lift helicopters and now we have secured an alternative supply from the United States through the manufacturer in Poland.” — Read more via NHK News

It appears that Tesla battery supplier Panasonic is working hard to secure the supply chain for its battery facilities in the United States. As per a recent press release, Panasonic Energy Co., Ltd., and Mitsui & Co., LTD have entered into a Framework Agreement with Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc.

With the agreement in place, Panasonic could secure active anode material for its US-based battery plant. The agreement is also expected to enable the next phases of the development of NMG’s ore-to-battery-market integrated graphite project in Québec, Canada. — Read more via Teslarati

Applications are still open for Made Smarter Innovation Alley, the UK’s largest showcase of leading-edge digital technologies for the manufacturing sector.

We are looking for companies with innovative solutions in exciting technologies such as AI, machine learning, additive manufacturing, sensors, blockchain, robotics, immersive technologies and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) who are less than five years old and employ less than 10 members of staff, to join us on Innovation Alley where businesses can test their ideas, develop partnerships, raise their profile and meet potential customers. — Read more via The Manufacturer

Rolls-Royce SMR is carrying out site visits of the eight locations now in the running to host its first factory for small modular reactors.

In July the company announced six potential locations for the factory, saying the shortlist was selected against a clear set of criteria, picked from more than 100 submissions from local enterprise partnerships and development agencies. They were: Sunderland in Tyne and Wear, Richmond in North Yorkshire, Deeside in Wales, Ferrybridge in Yorkshire, Stallingborough in Lincolnshire and Carlisle in Cumbria.

Two more locations – Shotton, Deeside, in North Wales and Teesworks, Redcar, in north east England – have now been added after the sites met the shortlist criteria for the first of three expected factories in the UK, which will produce the vessels for the 470 MWe pressurised water reactor. — Read more via World Nuclear News

Today, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced additional actions to phase down climate-damaging hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a crucial component of President Biden’s ambitious agenda to combat the climate crisis while advancing American manufacturing and innovation. EPA today issued a proposed rule to implement the next step of the nation’s HFC phasedown, an ambitious 40% reduction below historic levels starting in 2024. The proposal follows the Senate’s bipartisan approval to ratify the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, a global agreement to phase down HFCs and avoid up to 0.5°C of global warming by the end of this century. — Read more via United States Environmental Protection Agency

Factories added 467,000 jobs in the last 12 months. And factory production in September was the highest in 14 years, according to the Federal Reserve.

Even as other industries struggle under the weight of rising interest rates, factories keep churning out products to meet consumers’ insatiable demand for cars, computers and candy bars. Now manufacturers are working to expand their capabilities, while struggling with supply and labor scarcities and looking to the near-future, where some economists and many on Wall Street say a recession looms. — Read more via npr.org

The UK’s world-leading manufacturing industries will be boosted thanks to £211m in new government funding for battery research and innovation, Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg confirmed today (Friday 21 October).

The record funding uplift will be delivered through the Faraday Battery Challenge, which began in 2017 and supports world-class scientific technology development and manufacturing scale-up capability for batteries in the UK. It will help to seize on opportunities for private investment and economic growth in industries where powerful, fast charging batteries will be essential – such as domestic energy storage and electric vehicles. — Read more via GOV UK

After starting construction last year and putting the finishing touches on the site this year, Charles River is finally ready to cut the ribbon on a new 16,000-square-foot facility across the Atlantic.

The manufacturing facility will produce plasmids to be used in cell and gene therapies. The site, located in Cheshire, UK, is the result of Charles River’s acquisition of Cognate BioServices and Cobra Biologics in 2021 for $875 million last year. — Read more via Endpoints News

An updated report reveals that the UK’s national synchrotron facility, Diamond Light Source, has had a £2.6 billion impact on UK science and economy since 2007.

The impact is rooted in the delivery of almost 12,000 journal papers on findings from research carried out at Diamond.

The UK taxpayer contributes only £2.45 annually towards Diamond’s world-changing science, less than the cost of a cup of coffee. — Read more via UK Research and Innovation

The Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), today announced the first set of projects funded by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to expand domestic manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and the electrical grid and for materials and components currently imported from other countries. The 20 companies will receive a combined $2.8 billion to build and expand commercial-scale facilities in 12 states to extract and process lithium, graphite and other battery materials, manufacture components, and demonstrate new approaches, including manufacturing components from recycled materials. The Federal investment will be matched by recipients to leverage a total of more than $9 billion to boost American production of clean energy technology, create good-paying jobs, and support President Biden’s national goals for electric vehicles to make up half of all new vehicle sales by 2030 and to transition to a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. — Read more via Department of Energy

The US government is considering a plan to jointly produce weapons with Taiwan, a business lobby said on Wednesday, an initiative intended to speed up arms transfers to bolster Taipei’s deterrence against China.

US presidents have approved more than $20bn in weapons sales to Taiwan since 2017 as China has ramped up military pressure on the democratically-governed island Beijing claims as its own territory. — Read more via Reuters

In the latest announcement from an automaker to expand electric vehicle manufacturing in the US, BMW released Wednesday it will invest $1.7 billion in its US EV operations to boost output.

After setting a new US delivery record in the third quarter with 4,337 EVs delivered, BMW plans to accelerate the pace even further.

The US just hit 6% EV market share in the third quarter as it progresses towards its goal of 50% by 2030. With new federal incentives and a shifting consumer preference for EVs, demand is only expected to pick up from here. — Read more via electrek

BMW boss Oliver Zipse thinks the government has caused ‘self-inflicted’ wounds to the UK car industry by moving too fast with its EV ambitions.

The chairman of the board of management for BMW issued a warning to ministers that plans to ban sales of combustion-engined cars by 2030 were too soon.

In an interview with Car Dealer at the launch of the new electric BMW i7, Zipse said the government’s decision will hurt the car industry supply network as the car market and UK production shrinks. — Read more via Car Dealer

French building materials manufacturer Lafarge and its Syrian subsidiary Tuesday pleaded guilty in a New York federal court to conspiring to provide material in support of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and the al-Nusrah Front (ANF). Both ISIS and ANF are designated foreign terrorist organizations in the US. Lafarge must pay a total of $777.78m in penalties and serve probation. — Read more via jurist.org

Apple supplier Foxconn is stepping up the expansion of its nascent electric vehicle business in Thailand, the U.S. and Taiwan as part of its plans to diversify from its flagship iPhone assembly business and its biggest manufacturing base in China.

The Taiwanese group unveiled two EV prototypes — a pickup truck and a sporty crossover hatchback — at its annual tech day event on Tuesday, aiming to put the models into mass production in 2024. Carmaking partner Yulon Motor had also introduced an sport utility vehicle based on its earlier design, Foxconn said. That model will go into mass production next year. — Read more via Nikkei Asia

Cardiff-based startup Space Forge has successfully integrated Wales’ first satellite, ForgeStar-0, into Virgin Orbit’s launch system and is now ready for the first orbital launch from UK soil, due to take place this November from Spaceport Cornwall.

Space Forge is on a mission to make space work for humanity by harnessing the power of microgravity; offering an on demand service to advance the expansion of the in-space manufacturing market for the research and production of new super materials that aim to tackle some of the biggest problems faced by modern society. — Read more via The Manufacturer

Defence industry organisations from India and the UK have come together to create a new Defence Industry Joint Working Group for more effective cooperation. The initiative is supported by the UK Government.

The inaugural meeting of the UK-India Defence Industry Joint Working Group was held on the side-lines of DefExpo 2022 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat today. DefExpo will see representation from 20 UK defence companies. UK industry is already integrating Indian defence suppliers into their global supply chain, manufacturing defence equipment not just for India but for the world. — Read more via GOV UK

LIBERTY Steel UK has successfully completed trials of ecoke – a sustainable new raw material that can replace anthracite, the main source of charge carbon in electric steelmaking, and reduce steel’s carbon footprint by as much as 30%.

The ecoke initiative is part of LIBERTY’s drive to lead transformation of steel manufacturing through its GREENSTEEL strategy. Production at LIBERTY’s electric arc furnace in Rotherham generates just 10% of the direct emissions compared with traditional coal-based blast furnaces which produce the vast majority of the UK’s steel output. — Read more via The Manufacturer

Fisker Inc. is accelerating the search for a US production site for its Ocean SUV after the White House announced plans to focus electric-car subsidies on those made in North America.

The company is considering a range of options, including buying a factory or extending its partnership with Magna International Inc., Chief Executive Officer Henrik Fisker said Monday at the Paris auto show. The EV startup is on track to start making the Ocean at Magna’s plant in Austria next month, he said. — Read more via Bloomberg

Western suppliers have started cutting ties to some Chinese chipmakers in response to new U.S. export controls, in another sign of the partial technology divorce the Biden administration is mandating to stymie China’s military development.

One large supplier of chip-making equipment, ASML, told U.S. employees to stop installing or servicing equipment at any Chinese chip factory while it sorts through the new rules. Another equipment provider, Applied Materials, said the export restrictions will prevent it from making sales of roughly $400 million in the fourth quarter. — Read more via The Washington Post

Boeing Co. is offering 737 Max jets once slated for Chinese customers to Air India Ltd. as the planemaker tries to offload some of the roughly 140 aircraft it’s currently not allowed to deliver.

The Indian carrier, which is overhauling its fleet under new owner Tata Group, is one of a number of potential customers for Boeing, which is in talks with lessors and other airlines, according to people familiar with the matter. Many operators are eager to line up new narrowbody jets while Boeing and rival Airbus SE struggle to hit production targets amid labor and parts shortages. — Read more via Bloomberg

The US Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is announcing cooperative agreement awards totaling nearly $19.8m to four organizations to operate Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Centers in Kentucky, Nebraska, Rhode Island and South Dakota.

The MEP Centers will be operated by the four awardees, the University of Louisville Research Foundation, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Rhode Island Research Foundation, and South Dakota’s Lake Area Technical College, and will provide services to small and medium-sized manufacturers in their states. — Read more via Bloomberg

The war in Ukraine and rising tensions over Taiwan have caused demand for high-tech, American-made weapons to surge. And with the ongoing supply chain crunch and inflation continuing to rise, military industry watchers question whether the US defense sector can keep up.

Even with the largest defense budget in the world, the US military is not immune to supply chain challenges. But with an already massive budget and questions on Pentagon spending, some critics think that more funds may not be the answer. — Read more via CNBC

Manufacturing in the US is advancing, but to grow it needs more workers—including via immigration. That’s why immigration reform is one of the NAM’s key policy priorities to boost the industry’s competitiveness, as NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons told the Minnesota Manufacturers’ Summit yesterday in Minneapolis. The event was hosted by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.

This week, the NAM released an updated version of its immigration policy blueprint “A Way Forward,” which Timmons highlighted in his speech. What our immigration system needs: “Despite all the overheated rhetoric, one thing we can agree on is this: the United States has a broken and unreliable immigration system—and it is harming manufacturers’ competitiveness,” said Timmons. — Read more via NAM

The transformation of American manufacturing that is unfolding here promises to reshape the nation’s economy and its politics, with new solar energy, electric vehicle and semiconductor plants sprouting in faded factory towns.

Talk of industrial revival already is starring in the race for Ohio’s open U.S. Senate seat, as both Rep. Tim Ryan, the Democrat, and Republican J.D. Vance seek to embed themselves in the state’s comeback narrative. — Read more via The Washington Post

BMW has confirmed it will stop building the electric version of the Mini in the UK next year, in a move that leaves its Oxford plant entirely reliant on petrol models for much of the coming decade.

The German carmaker launched its first battery version of the historic Mini Cooper in 2019 as part of a wave of models released by manufacturers to help them meet tightened European emissions rules.

The model has proved more successful than expected, picking up numerous awards and growing to account for a third of the vehicles produced at BMW’s Oxford facility. — Read more via Financial Times

While the price of gold has dropped in value from the asset’s all-time high on March 8, the UK’s oldest precious metals (PMs) company, the Royal Mint, saw record profits over the last 12 months. In fact, the Royal Mint’s annual earnings show the firm has seen the highest profits in 12 years, with PMs accounting for roughly 86.7% of the Royal Mint’s revenue. — Read more via Bitcoin.com

The United States is scrambling to tackle the unintended consequences of its new set of export curbs on China’s chip industry that could inadvertently harm the semiconductor supply chain, people familiar with the matter have said.

Hours before the new restrictions took effect, South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix said the US had granted it authorisation to receive goods for its chip production facilities in China without additional licensing imposed by the new rules. — Read more via Al Jazeera

UK-based Skyrora has attempted to launch its suborbital Skylark L rocket from a site in Langanes, Iceland into space, marking another milestone on its way to commercial viability and the first vertical orbital launch from UK soil in 2023.

The vehicle left the launch pad and experienced an anomaly, landing in the Norwegian Sea approximately 500 metres away from the launch site. No people or wildlife were harmed in any way, and recovery of the vehicle is currently ongoing. Multiple tracking systems as well as boats and aeroplanes have been employed to optimise the recovery process. — Read more via Diginomica

ASML, one of the world’s most important semiconductor toolmakers, told US employees to stop servicing Chinese customers, as Washington’s latest export restrictions begin to hit the global chip industry.

The Dutch firm said in a memo that any US staff, including American citizens, green card holders and foreign nationals living in the U.S., “are prohibited from providing certain services to advanced fabs in China.” — Read more via CNBC

A manufacturer of telecommunications equipment plans to establish its first U.S. operations in western North Carolina, company officials announced.

Emtelle Group said the forthcoming, 300,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Fletcher, North Carolina, would improve its position in the U.S. market, which it currently serves through suppliers and distributors. — Read more via Thomas Insights

Multinational engineering and technology company, Bosch, has announced the UK expansion of its cybersecurity procurement platform, Bosch CyberCompare, to help businesses make the right selection when it comes to purchasing cybersecurity solutions. — Read more via The Manufacturer

The White House said Wednesday it is tapping a Commerce Department official to run an office aimed at spurring the U.S. government’s purchase of more American products and services.

Livia Shmavonian is taking the helm of the White House Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) “Made in America” office created by President Joe Biden last year.

Shmavonian was at the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration and previously staff director for a Senate Finance trade subcommittee. She is replacing Celeste Drake, a former trade official at the AFL-CIO, who has moved to a new White House job. — Read more via Reuters

Schneider Electric plans to invest $46 million in two manufacturing facilities to modernize operations and increase circuit breaker and related electrical product output, the energy management company announced Wednesday.

The investments in a Lexington, Kentucky, and Lincoln, Nebraska, plant include the installation of new equipment and machinery that offer more connected technology and automation, in an effort to boost production capacity and energy efficienis tcy.

The plan comes as Schneider Electric looks to increase its manufacturing capabilities in North America as it prepares for long-term demand, Ken Engel, senior vice president, global supply chain, North America, said in a statement. — Read more via Supply Chain Dive

In an industry where technology and processes can change quickly, manufacturers in the United States must be able to invest, grow and maintain their edge against foreign competitors.

At a time when China is providing extensive support for its manufacturing industry, the NAM is pushing to ensure that the men and women who make things in America have the tools they need to succeed. — Read more via NAM

NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons is on a barnstorming tour of the U.S., to raise more support among leaders for addressing supply chain challenges, creating more manufacturing jobs and making the country more resilient. He brought this message to the 2022 Arizona Manufacturing Summit in Phoenix, Arizona on Tuesday. — Read more via NAM

Canada’s battery manufacturer Electrovaya has chosen New York State as the location for its first factory in the USA. Electrovaya will build the US plant in Chautauqua County and produce cells worth over one-gigawatt hour for commercial vehicles when fully operational.

Electrovaya wants to open the New York factory in several phases beginning by late 2023. The new plant will build on a disused electronics factory in the Town of Ellicott, near Lake Erie and not far from the border with Pennsylvania. Electrovaya said it selected the southern Chautauqua County facility due to its skilled labour force and available renewable electricity from the Niagara, amongst other advantages. — Read more via electrive.com

The countdown to the first satellite launch from UK soil is on, with Virgin Orbit’s carrier aircraft, ground support equipment, and rocket set to arrive in Cornwall this week.

Made possible by funding from the UK Space Agency, the mission, which is on track for a November launch from Spaceport Cornwall, has been named Start Me Up in tribute to the iconic British band, the Rolling Stones.

Start Me Up will mark the first orbital launch from the UK, meeting a key ambition of the Government’s National Space Strategy, as well as the first commercial launch from Europe and the first international launch from Virgin Orbit. — Read more via UK Space Agency

Signalling its imminent exit from the market, Nissan’s Executive Committee has today approved the sale of its Russian operations to NAMI, the Central Research and Development Automobile and Engine Institute.

The sale will transfer all Nissan operations in Russia under the Nissan Manufacturing Russia LLC (NMGR) legal entity to NAMI for future passenger vehicle projects. This covers Nissan’s manufacturing and R&D facilities in St. Petersburg, and Sales & Marketing centre in Moscow, which will operate under a new name. — Read more via Nissan

Agro-chemical firm Safex Chemicals India Ltd on Tuesday said it has acquired UK-based Briar Chemicals for £73m to expand its business globally. Briar Chemicals is the UK’s leading agrochemicals Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO). — Read more via The Economic Times

The US Department of Labor has obtained a federal court order to stop an Alexander City manufacturer of Hyundai and Kia auto parts from employing 13-, 14- and 15-year-old workers illegally, and to prevent the company from shipping or delivering any goods produced in violation of federal child labor laws.

In a Sept. 29, 2022, consent judgment, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama permanently enjoined SL Alabama LLC from violating the Fair Labor Standards Act’s child labor provisions and from shipping any goods produced within 30 days of a child labor violation. This action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division, in cooperation with the Alabama Department of Labor’s Child Labor Enforcement office and Alabama’s Office of the Attorney General. — Read more via Department of Labor

US solar racking manufacturer Unirac has secured a recapitalisation investment led by private equity firm Greenbelt Capital Partners.

Albuquerque-based Unirac said the investment will support its pursuit of new product development and supply chain resiliency.

The company designs and manufactures PV mounting solutions for the residential and commercial and industrial (C&I) markets. It was acquired by private equity firm Tenex Capital Management in 2016.

Tenex Capital Management, along with key members of Unirac’s management team, will continue to own a significant stake in the business. — Read more via pv magazine

Global electrification specialist Equipmake has been selected by Australia’s leading space company, Gilmour Space Technologies, to support its commercial space rocket programme with the supply of advanced electric motors and inverters.

Led by former F1 engineer Ian Foley, Equipmake has built its reputation developing advanced EV technology for automotive OEMs and specialist supercar manufacturers, offering a complete suite of solutions from electric motors to power electronic systems, and complete EV drivetrains for buses.

Based in Norfolk, UK, Equipmake has expanded its operations to apply its pioneering technology in the aerospace, agriculture, marine, mining and off-highway sectors, and by partnering with Queensland-based Gilmour Space, is now set to make the exciting move into space manufacture. — Read more via Equipmake

US President Joe Biden and his immediate predecessor, Donald Trump, have little in common.

One policy area in which the two men have been in full agreement, though, is China.

The Trump administration made a number of interventions aimed at blocking Chinese economic interests, for example slapping tariffs on steel and aluminium imports and blocking the $117bn (£105.8bn) Chinese-backed bid for US chipmaker Qualcomm. — Read more via Sky News

Gotion High-tech, China’s third-largest manufacturer of electric-vehicle batteries, has made considerable advancements in its expansion in the US, despite the rising competition between the US and China over technology.

On October 5, the local government approved the Chinese company’s proposal to construct a $2.4 billion facility in the US.

The plant, which will be located near Big Rapids, Michigan, aims to create 2,350 high-tech jobs with an average annual salary of $61,995 over the next decade, according to the state application.

It is projected that the facility will produce up to 150,000 tons of cathode material and 50,000 tons of anode material per year. — Read more via PingWest

Avon Protection has received a delivery order – worth $42.1 million (€43 million) – from the US Army for the supply of ‘next-generation integrated head protection systems’.

The UK manufacturer is currently ramping up manufacturing after having completed “rigorous testing” for the helmets, said Avon in a 29 Sept statement. — Read more via European Rubber Journal

Reliable lead times due to investment in raw material stock will be a big selling point as Alloy Wire International (AWI) returns to SpringWorld 2022 (CASMI) in Illinois, USA this week (October 12-14).

The UK’s leading manufacturer of round, flat and profile wire will return four years since the last show and is looking forward to engaging with spring makers from across the globe, especially those based in North America where demand has grown by 150%. — Read more via The Manufacturer

A fantastic in-depth look into why the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is going all-in on semiconductor CHIPS for US manufacturing’s benefit. — Read more via NIST

The first Protector aircraft has been accepted off-contract by the UK MoD from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI).

The handover last month followed the successful conclusion of the acceptance test procedure performed jointly by UK MoD and GA-ASI.

Ownership of the aircraft has now transferred to UK MoD and the aircraft will now fly with a UK Military tail number, PR005, under a UK Military Permit to Fly. — Read more via Aerospace Manufacturing

Toyota has been supporting regional suppliers and local economies for the past 60 years — fostering a close connection between the company, its customers and its surrounding communities. Including Toyota’s new battery plant in North Carolina – Toyota has 11 manufacturing plants in the U.S. (including a joint venture with Mazda), employing over 39,000 people to design, engineer and assemble the vehicles driven by their friends and neighbors.

By supporting thousands of employees, a network of suppliers and contractors, and their respective families, each Toyota plant helps to sustain a community. Toyota’s manufacturing plants are unique. Find out what’s been happening at the plants over the past year. — Read more via Toyota

The United States on Friday added China’s top memory chipmaker YMTC and 30 other Chinese entities to a list of companies that U.S. officials have been unable to inspect, ratcheting up tensions with Beijing and starting a 60 day-clock that could trigger much tougher penalties.

The new listings were the first of a slew of new restrictions announced on Friday on exports of technology to China aimed at blocking military advances. The crackdown included curbs on access to chipmaking tools for Chinese firms including Yantze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC), as reported by Reuters a day earlier. — Read more via Reuters

Nokia has announced it is enhancing its market-leading range of ruggedised user equipment for use in hazardous, flammable, explosive and dusty environments.

The company is introducing enhanced versions of Nokia Industrial 5G fieldrouter and Nokia XR20 smartphone created by HMD Global, for 4.9G and 5G networks, to allow oil and gas companies and other industries to maintain vital connectivity of their workforce and machines. — Read more via The Manufacturer

hina-based Global battery company Gotion will build a battery component manufacturing facility in Big Rapids, Michigan. The $2.36 billion project is expected to create 2,350 jobs.

The facility will produce 150,000 tons of cathode material per year, covering an area estimated to span 260 acres with plans to build two 550,000 square foot production plants along with other supporting facilities. — Read more via Area Development

Germany’s factories, which power Europe’s economy, produced less during September than at any time in the past two years in what experts say could be an indicator of a looming European recession.

The S&P Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, or S&P Global PMI, found that Germany’s manufacturing activity dropped to 47.8 in September, from 49.1 in August.

The closely watched survey measures whether sectors are growing or contracting, with numbers below 50 registering shrinkage and those larger than 50 recording growth. — Read more via China Daily

Michigan, long the automotive manufacturing capital of the United States, is now getting pumped with investment both publicly and privately to build out a series of battery manufacturing plants that will power the wave of electric vehicles coming to market.

The demand for domestically produced batteries has reached new peaks after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which includes consumer tax incentives for buying EVs with battery material produced in the United States. Battery makers are rushing to grab available land and start production on factories to meet that demand, shore up their own supply chains and qualify for incentives laid out in the IRA. — Read more via Tech Crunch

On paper, Apple US manufacturing operations doubled between 2020 and 2021 – but the likely reality is that the vast majority of US production is carried out on a small scale, for test purposes.

The number of US manufacturing sites among Apple’s suppliers increased from 25 to 48 in the course of a year, according to the company’s latest supplier list. — Read more via 9to5mac.com

Engineering services company Hill & Smith has acquired the business and assets of portable solar construction equipment manufacturer National Signal as part of a deal valued at almost $30.0m.

Hill & Smith will make an initial cash consideration of $25.3m for National Signal, on a debt and cash-free basis, with a further cash payment of up to $4.0m payable, conditional on the business’ achievement of certain financial performance targets in the three years post-acquisition. — Read more via ShareCast

The first ever orbital satellite launch from the UK is happening soon, marking a new era in the UK’s space history.

The first launch will take place from Spaceport Cornwall in the south-west of England. It will be what is known as a ‘horizontal launch’.

A specially modified Boeing 747 from Virgin Orbit called Cosmic Girl, with a rocket attached under its wing, will take off from a runway. In flight, the LauncherOne rocket will launch from the wing, taking multiple small satellites into orbit.

The plane will then return to the Spaceport, able to launch more satellites in future. — Read more via UK Space Agency

A global manufacturer of security technology will build its new U.S. headquarters in Greenville County.

Paxton Access is investing at least $10m into the project, according to a news release from the Greenville Area Development Corp. Job additions are planned but were undisclosed. — Read more via GSA Business Report

Anemoi Marine Technologies, a UK provider of rotor sails, has reached an agreement with COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (CHI), one of China’s major shipbuilding organisations. CHI has nine yards capable of up to 7.5m dwt annual production across all major vessel segments and a significant global customer base.

CHI customers will now have the option to install Anemoi’s rotor sails on newbuild vessels or retrofit during dry dock. Under the terms of the agreement, the companies can offer a turnkey installation solution to customers. — Read more via Splash 247

Tech giant Micron said it will invest $20bn in a new chip factory in Upstate New York and up to $100 billion over 20 years if it decides to expand — another sign of a domestic semiconductor manufacturing boom.

Micron said it will build the factory in Clay, N.Y., just north of Syracuse, with the first phase of construction to run through the end of the decade. The site will initially employ 3,000 people and could eventually include four factories and 9,000 employees if Micron opts to continue building. — Read more via The Washington Post

U.S. manufacturing experienced a substantial decline in employment from 2000 to 2010 due largely to the 2008 Great Recession but rebounded – until the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020. Despite these fluctuations, it began inching up again in 2021.

But the renewed upswing doesn’t mean a return to traditional manual jobs. Instead, manufacturing employers now need a new kind of worker, one with skills to operate in a highly automated environment. — Read more via US Census Bureau

Accenture is working with Mars to transform and modernise its global manufacturing operations with artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, edge technology and digital twins. — Read more via The Manufacturer

Heterojunction cell and module manufacturer Meyer Burger is looking to raise funds to accelerate its expansion as it enters the utility-scale segment.

The Switzerland-headquartered company is planning an ordinary capital increase through a rights offering, targeting gross proceeds of up to CHF250 million (US$253 million).

With the proceeds from the capital increase, management aims to finance the expansion of PV cell and module production capacity in Germany and the US, with a goal to reach 3GW annual production capacity for each by year-end 2024. — Read more via pv tech

Samsung Electronics Co. has announced an aggressive five-year plan to tempt U.S. chip buyers with more advanced technology, aiming to produce transistors that are just 1.4 nanometers wide by 2027.

The company’s contract chip-manufacturing unit — known as a foundry — is looking to triple its revenue by that year from the 2021 level, Senior Vice President Moonsoo Kang said at a briefing Monday in San Jose, California. To get there, the business will need to make several technological leaps and further inroads into the U.S. market for outsourced chips. — Read more via The Japan Times