NEW YORK — A recent Thomas survey reporting on COVID-19's impact on the U.S. manufacturing and industrial sectors reveals that 64 percent of manufacturers report they are likely to bring manufacturing production and sourcing back to North America. Additionally, the survey finds that one in four U.S. manufacturers are considering expanding industrial automation.
For the past few months, countless manufacturers worldwide have retooled to make personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers and first responders in their battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some of their stories.
Deglobalization was already happening before the coronavirus brought the world to a grinding halt. Global supply chains that were once so appealing were becoming less attractive due to geopolitical turmoil, shifting priorities, rising costs, trade wars and environmental concerns.
SAINT JOSEPH, MI—A pair of systems integrators in southwestern Michigan have come together to make sure local first responders have the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need.
WESTBROOK, ME—Systems integrator Lanco Integrated has completed an automated assembly system to produce components for coronavirus test kits. Typically, designing and building such a machine would take approximately 35 weeks, including design, engineering and manufacturing. Lanco had it ready in just eight weeks.
STUTTGART, Germany—After suspending production for a short time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mercedes-Benz has successfully restarted production at its assembly plants worldwide.
MARYSVILLE, OH—Honda is producing critical components for the production of much-needed ventilators at its assembly plant here. The components are being delivered to Dynaflo Inc., a manufacturer of vacuum pumps and compressors in Reading, PA.
BOWMANVILLE, ON, Canada — Tutelar Technologies Inc. has developed a new online Ujigami SAFE to Work Certification cloud application that is free for manufacturers to use. The application provides a rapid data entry web page for company screeners to certify employees who are eligible/ineligible to work based on the company's screening protocol.
