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There are two opposite ways to equip factories to respond quickly to downstream customer orders: One way is for sequential production, and the other is for concurrent production. Both draw heavily from best practices in lean manufacturing.

There’s lots of talk about a manufacturing renaissance. Some call it a resurgence, others a revolution, but the name doesn’t matter. There’s also been a lot of argument over the magnitude of the decline in manufacturing and how to measure it. Some say there wasn’t a decline at all. None of that matters, either.

Where and how a product is used can change significantly over time. Cyanoacrylate (CA) adhesives are a great example.

Automakers are increasingly using hydroformed metal tubing in vehicular structures. Compared with stamped and welded metal parts, hydroformed parts weigh less, cost less, and have a higher stiffness-to-weight ratio.

"The Music Man” takes place in a Midwestern hamlet called River City. The town that it’s based on is Mason City, IA, and the river that flows through it is the Winnebago. If you follow that river a few miles west, you’ll end up in Forest City, which is home to another American classic: Winnebago motor homes.

Fläkt Woods knows its fans—industrial fans, that is. The company is one of the leading manufacturers of air-handling units and air-terminal devices for nonresidential buildings.

All cylinder locks may look alike on the outside, but on the inside, each is unique. Internal cylinder components include core pins, springs and sealing plugs—all of which require precise insertion.

A love for farming and serving farmers are what drove husband and wife Loren and Jean Van Wyk to found LDJ Manu-facturing in Pella, IA, in 1995.

Product traceability is essential for every automotive supplier, regardless of its specialty. International supplier Continental Automotive Group, for example, requires traceability of all of its products, including parts for brake systems, power trains, chassis, tires and vehicle electronics.

Good news: America is now luring as many factory jobs back from overseas as it’s losing to continued offshoring. That’s the assessment of the Reshoring Initiative, a nonprofit group that encourages companies to move work back to the United States.