ALLISTON, Ont.--The federal and Ontario governments are each providing Honda Canada with grants of up to $41.8 million for upgrades and research and development at its operations in Alliston, Ont. The government money, along with up to $408.3 million from Honda itself, will go toward vehicle-assembly technology, as well as the design and construction of a new paint shop that is expected to cut greenhouse gas emissions nearly in half.
NECKARSULM, GERMANY—Audi is preparing for the future with its Smart Factory, designed to optimize automobile production lines. First mentioned last year, the company envisions a factory where humans and robots will work together, and separate workstations allow a highly flexible working routine.
DETROIT—Fiat Chrysler, Magna Interior Inc., Grupo Antolin and the U.S. Department of Energy have collaborated on a project that reduces the weight of car doors by 42.5 percent without a dramatic increase in cost. Using a holistic approach, engineers looked at the door as a complete system that could integrate everything available on the market today.
COLUMBUS, GA—Firearms and accessories manufacturer will invest $28.5 million to consolidate its New Hampshire manufacturing operations in a new 50,000-square-foot assembly plant here. The project will create 84 new jobs over the next two years.
MOBILE, AL—Alabama’s auto production climbed to a record high in 2016, as workers at the state’s three auto assembly plants kept up a brisk pace of building SUVs, pickups and sedans for markets around the world.
CLEMSON, SC—Researchers at Clemson University and Carnegie Mellon University are collaborating to develop next-generation robots for advanced manufacturing across the automotive, aerospace, electronics and textile industries. Clemson will also help train the workers who will operate the robots, as part of a $253 million plan to fill roughly 510,000 jobs in manufacturing by 2025.
LAS VEGAS—The Bosch Group demonstrated a new industrial robot with a smart “skin” that could allow people to work more closely with machines. Exhibited at the Consumer Electronics Show here earlier this week, Bosch’s Automatic Production Assistant can sense when a person enters a “danger zone” and stop moving before an accident occurs.
NEW BRITAIN, CT—After announcing an agreement to purchase the Craftsman Brand from Sears for $900 million last week, Stanley Black & Decker now says it will construct a new $35 million assembly plant in the U.S. to expand the Craftsman tool line.
SEOUL, South Korea—LG Electronics’ newly appointed CEO Jo Seong-jin said Sunday that the South Korean electronics OEM is considering setting up its first home appliance assembly plant in the U.S. within the first half of this year.
DETROIT—Fiat Chrysler has pledged to spend $1 billion to overhaul its assembly plants in Michigan and Ohio to build the upcoming Jeep Wagoneer, Grand Wagoneer, and Wrangler pickup. The move will add 2,000 jobs to the automaker’s U.S. workforce and will enable the company to move Ram heavy-duty pickup truck production from Mexico to the U.S.
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