ST. CLAIR SHORES, MI—Fisher Dynamics, a manufacturer of automotive seating systems and mechanisms, has turned to Google Glass to run parts of its floor more efficiently.
ANN ARBOR, MI—Toyota Motor Corp. has begun construction of a $126 million expansion of its Technical Center here. The expansion includes a new prototype facility for vehicle development, additions to the power train development facility, and a supply center.
SAN ANTONIO—Noting that 10 percent of the vehicles produced at Toyota’s assembly plant here are exported, Chris Nielsen, a senior vice president for the automaker, urged Texas lawmakers to support Trade Promotion Authority for the president of the United States.
MACUNGIE, PA—The Mack Trucks assembly plant here is among the sites helping Volvo Group North America achieve its goal of reduced energy consumption under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Better Plants Challenge five years earlier than expected.
Like many machine builders, Fori Automation Inc. faces the daily challenge of building automation equipment that is competitively priced and meets its global customers' varied design requirements.
FORT WAYNE, IN—GM will spend $1.2 billion to revamp its pickup truck assembly plant here. Plans call for improving the paint shop, expanding the body shop, and upgrading the assembly area.
MUNICH, Germany—Deep in the mechanized heart of BMW's assembly plant here is a tiny but significant symbol of Australian ingenuity. Amid the 1,200 robots and other automated machinery is a buffing machine dusting car shells with emu feathers.
CAMBRIDGE, ON—Just two months ago, efforts by the Canadian union Unifor to organize two Toyota Motor Corp. plants in Ontario had all but ground to a halt. But an April announcement that Toyota will move production of the Corolla from its 27-year-old plant here to a new factory to be built in Mexico ignited fears of job cuts. Now, the Unifor campaign is springing back to life.