The U.S. manufacturing industry is in the midst of a comeback. Manufacturers are gladly shifting from securing demand to meeting demand. However, reworking the U.S. transportation infrastructure is essential to the success of this progress.
The European Commission has called for research projects that investigate re-use and remanufacturing, in a bid to develop the "factories of the future".
Industrial machinery production - which represents $1.6tr of the $3.8tr global industrial capital expenditure spending in 2013 - is the area to be most dramatically affected by advancing 3D printing technology, says Alex Chausovksy, senior principal analyst, industrial automation, at IHS.
Few economic entities have been grabbing as many headlines in recent years as the factory. Increasingly human-like robots, self-replicating 3D printers, and software programs that are directing complex supply chains have all been in the news. Reactions have been varied, with some worrying about employment implications and others sensing the possibility of a new era of U.S. industrial might.
Robot orders and shipments in North America set new records in the first nine months of 2014, according to Robotic Industries Association, the industry's trade group.
U.S.-based executives at large companies remain bullish on American manufacturing, and their actions are starting to show it, according to new research by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
In the increasingly competitive world of manufacturing, there is one constant: talent is essential to business success. The right talent acquisition strategy and process – the ability to identify, assess, attract and retain the best talent – can significantly impact a company’s competitive advantage.
Imagine if an enterprise in the United States was able to access vital product line information of a subsidiary plant in India or a crank shaft supplier being able to locate its component in an automobile across the globe or a machine being to self-assemble at the end destination. Technology advancements over the last decade have paved the way for all of the above situations to be executed in repeatable fashion.
A new industrial revolution is upon us, characterized by "smart devices", which are part of an "Internet of Things" or IoT that can actually direct machines on the shop floor by communicating autonomously "device-to-device" to man-age manufacturing operations and distribution.