It’s just business: manufacturing moves from Siemens AG, Oshkosh Corp., Sandy’s Donuts, and more

The business of manufacturing never stops. Industrial companies merge, invest and strategically expand to keep competitive, even under adverse business conditions. Read on for more details on five such recent business actions made by industrial and manufacturing companies, including increased investment in firetruck manufacturing, two acquisitions related to industrial AI, and an expansion at a North Dakota donut bakery. 

Expansion: Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corp.-owned firetruck manufacturer, announced it would spend $150 million to upgrade its Bradenton, Florida and Appleton, Wisconsin manufacturing sites. The company says the expansions have already added 800 new jobs to the factories. In Bradenton, Florida, Pierce said the upgrades would add a 185,000-square-foot building, improve production flow and increase capacity. In a statement, Marty Bass, President of Pierce Manufacturing, said the expansion reflects the Brandenton site’s “critical role” in the company’s production chain.

Acquisition: Integrated Power Services (IPS) announced January 28 that it had closed its acquisition of the TechPro Power Group, initially announced December 19. According to a company release, TechPro brings IPS with it its power systems lifecycle management business. John Zuleger, President and CEO of IPS, said in a statement that the purchase will let IPS better serve customers with high demand, like data centers, “where uptime and compliance are non-negotiable.” Michael Kilpatrick, CEO of TechPro Power Group, said the purchase would give the company “new opportunities for our customers and employees.”

Partnership: Morgan Motor Company, a UK-based manufacturer of lightweight sports cars, announced February 10 that it would extend its five-year partnership with IFS, an industrial software company, to ten years. According to a joint statement, the partnership gives Morgan access to IFS’ technological expertise and IFS gets access to the real-world manufacturing problems Morgan faces. In a joint release, the companies also noted that Morgan will act as an ambassador for IFS’ AI program. Daniel Godwin, IFS lead at Morgan Motor Company, said in a statement that the next phase of the partnership will “support the industry-leading coachbuilding, lightweight engineering and timeless design for which Morgan is known, helping us work more efficiently without compromising the character that defines every Morgan sports car.

Acquisition: Siemens AG announced February 4 that it had acquired Canopus AI, a software startup developing uses for computational and AI-driven metrology for use in semiconductor manufacturing. According to a company release, Canopus hopes its processes will lead to increasingly precise and efficient semiconductor wafer designs. In a statement, Tony Hemmelgarn, CEO of Siemens Digital Industry Software, said the purchase demonstrates Siemens’ efforts to use AI to improve industrial manufacturing.

Expansion: Sandy’s Donuts of Fargo, North Dakota has announced it would expand its existing 11,300-square-foot bakery in West Fargo by 3,000 square feet to open a manufacturing and distribution center and make more donuts, reported local news source KFGO.