Latest News

Manufacturing is the ultimate hands-on endeavor. At its most basic, it is the transformation of materials by humans – something that has been going on since our early ancestors first used primitive tools approximately 3.4 million years ago. We’ve come a long way since...

Are you preparing for a second wave of COVID-19? While public health measures have helped reduce the number of people reporting infection with COVID-19, experts have predicted a second wave all along. Today, numbers are on the rise in many areas, and it’s generally...

Many manufacturers were in the middle of process improvements this spring, embracing and enacting principles such as Lean Manufacturing. We were making process, increasing productivity, enjoying a predictable feedback cycle of improvement and then the Coronavirus crisis hit, and everything is suddenly in turmoil....

Eliminating waste is a no-brainer, right? It’s hard to quarrel with the merits of eliminating waste. However, accomplishing it is another story. We’ve all had the experience of witnessing inadvertent waste in manufacturing. Sometimes it’s obvious, and sometimes it takes some detective work, but...

Labs around the globe are populated by creative thinkers seeking to revolutionize materials of all kinds. A hundred years ago, plastic was just beginning to flourish. Kevlar was invented in 1964, and now widely used for personal protective gear, musical gear and car components....

Every manufacturer is constantly seeking to increase efficiency in service of the bottom line. Every percentage point of improvement in terms of time, materials and equipment translates into reduced costs, and potentially greater profit, volume or both. What’s not to love? While honing efficiency...

Teaching moments are seldom easy. COVID-19 is no exception. Nothing like a global pandemic to encourage us to reexamine just about everything. In the manufacturing industry, we’re taking a closer look at business-critical factors like supply chain, IT infrastructure, liquidity, diversification, and more. It’s...