VONORE, TN—JTEKT Automotive Tennessee, which manufactures steering components, will invest $218.5 million to expand its assembly plant here, creating 50 jobs.
TOKYO—Toyota Motor Corp. will suspend vehicle production in Japan for six days this month due to a shortage of parts. The shortage stems from a Jan. 8 explosion at an Aichi Steel Corp. manufacturing plant.
DETROIT—Working with robotics manufacturer FANUC, networking giant Cisco, and hardware maker Rockwell Automation, GM has installed a “mother brain” at its Lake Orion assembly plant. The system accepts data flowing to and from robots, conveyors, temperature sensors and other devices and sends that information to a cloud network. That enables plant managers and supplier technicians to monitor assembly technology and prevent mishaps.
Accurate and timely performance data is just as important to manufacturers as the latest welding technology, super-strong adhesive or unique-thread fastener.
Transmission manufacturing requires several high-precision tasks. This is not news to Škoda Auto, a Czech automobile manufacturer founded in 1895 as Laurin & Klement.
DEARBORN, MI—Some 52,700 UAW workers will get an average profit-sharing bonus of $9,300 in March, following the Ford Motor Co.’s announcement that it earned a record $7.4 billion profit in 2015.
HUMBLE, TX—It’s back to the future—and back into production—for the DeLorean. The sleek sports car, immortalized in the “Back to the Future” movies, is going to start rolling out of an assembly plant here next year after a 34-year break, the DeLorean Motor Co. announced Wednesday.