It's just business: Manufacturing moves from ISM, Space Forge, Sanmina, and more
As manufacturers strive to optimize and improve profitability, they often use various business strategies to stay competitive. These actions include mergers, acquisitions, promotions, layoffs, funding, and much more. Below are just a few of the companies that are making moves and making headlines in the industrial sector.
Personnel: The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) announced that Timothy R. Fiore will step down as chair of the Manufacturing Business Survey Committee in June 2025, after leading the group since 2017. He will be succeeded by Susan Spence, a seasoned supply chain executive and former FedEx vice president, who will author the monthly Manufacturing ISM Report On Business and serve as its official spokesperson. Fiore is recognized for his impactful leadership during critical economic periods, while Spence brings decades of experience and industry recognition to the role.
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Capital: Space Forge has completed a record-breaking £22.6 million Series A funding round, the largest in UK space tech history. The funding, led by the NATO Innovation Fund with support from several global and national partners, will accelerate the company’s efforts to manufacture advanced materials in space for use in semiconductors, quantum computing, clean energy, and defense. In a recent quote, Joshua Western, CEO & Co-Founder, Space Forge, said: “This funding marks a significant milestone—not just for Space Forge, but for the entire space economy. With the backing of our investors, we’re accelerating our mission to make space a practical and accessible platform for industrial-scale manufacturing. Our upcoming launches will prove that the future of materials innovation lies beyond Earth, helping us build a more secure, sustainable, and technologically advanced world.”
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Capital: Solestial, Inc., a solar energy company for space, has closed a $17 million Series A funding round led by AE Ventures, with participation from new and existing investors including Crosscut Ventures and Airbus Ventures. The funding will support scaling manufacturing capacity of its silicon photovoltaics to 1 megawatt per year. In a recent quote, Stanislau Herasimenka, Founding CEO and newly appointed Chief Technology Officer, said, “We are thrilled to welcome Margo to lead Solestial into its next chapter. This transition allows me to continue developing our cutting-edge technology, while Margo brings additional strategic leadership and operational experience to deliver at scale.”
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Acquisition: Sanmina Corporation has announced a definitive agreement to acquire the data center infrastructure manufacturing business of ZT Systems from AMD. The acquisition is expected to enhance Sanmina’s capabilities in delivering end-to-end Cloud and AI infrastructure solutions for hyperscalers through expanded manufacturing capacity and integration expertise. In a recent quote, Jure Sola, Chairman and CEO of Sanmina Corporation, said, “The acquisition of ZT Systems' manufacturing operations positions Sanmina as an industry leader in the Cloud and AI ecosystem and enables us to further capitalize on the significant growth opportunity of this market. Combining Sanmina's global expertise and vertical integration capabilities with ZT Systems' high-quality manufacturing capacity in the U.S. and Europe and extensive experience with critical Cloud and AI infrastructure for hyperscalers will give us enhanced scale and deepen our customer relationships. Sanmina will be better able to deliver a competitive advantage to its customers, accelerating our growth initiatives and enabling us to deliver long-term sustainable value for shareholders.”
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Capital: CarbonSix, Inc., a robotics startup focused on AI-powered manipulation for manufacturing, announced it has raised $4 million in seed funding led by Foothill Ventures and Storm Ventures. The company aims to automate complex, variable manual tasks with advanced robotic intelligence and plans to launch its first product by Q3 2025. In a recent quote, Terry Moon, CEO of CarbonSix, said, "Our primary goal is to automate complex assembly tasks that remain difficult for humanoid robots today, using economically viable and high-performance AI solutions."
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