It’s just business: Manufacturing moves from Siemens, ABB, and more
High-tech and where things are made are the focuses of this roundup, part of our regular round-up series on less-noticed business moves.
Move: Uzelac Industries, a large equipment fabricator that specializes in steel rotary dryer systems, is relocating from Greendale, Wisconsin, to Pewaukee. The new, 39,000-square-foot location will be the company’s third since it was founded in 2003. In an email comment sent to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal, CEO Mike Uzelac said the larger space would let the company build larger projects for its large equipment fabrication business.
Investment: Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook announced the company would invest $600 billion in U.S. manufacturing between now and 2029. In an interview on CNBC’s Mad Money, Cook said the funds would go to 79 separate factories, likely including Apple’s existing partnerships with U.S. manufacturers like Corning, TSMC, Texas Instruments and Applied Materials. Cook added that he hoped the investments would create a “domino effect” of domestic spending.
Partnership: Siemens and Trumpf recently announced the two companies will partner up to add Trumpf’s experience in machine-building and software to Siemens’ Xcelerator portfolio. In a release, the companies said the partnership would help bridge the gap between information technology and operational technology systems and advance the use of AI systems for motion control applications.
Investment: In other AI news, ABB announced it would invest an undisclosed amount in LandingAI to secure the use of its vision-based AI system LandingLens. In a statement, Sami Atiya, President of ABB’s Robotics & Discrete Automation division, said the investment is a step towards enhanced autonomy for robotics. The new vision-based technology has implications for ABB’s robots’ ability to pick items, sort, depalletize, and inspect visually for quality.
Acquisition: Arc Impact announced September 16 it had acquired Desktop Metal’s binder-jet IP and other assets to relaunch it with AI-assisted materials R&D. In a statement, Thomas Nogueira, Arc Impact CEO, said the resurrected Desktop Metal would help reshore manufacturing. The company says it will begin to build on several contracts with the U.S. Army, Department of Defense, and Department of Veterans Affairs to research aluminum binder jet materials, missile defense system performance optics, and patient cushioning devices.