Manufacturing today

The combined solution expands smart manufacturing with first-mile plant and machine connectivity Troy, MI, February 24, 2021 — Plex Systems, the leader in cloud-delivered smart manufacturing solutions, today announced it has acquired Kors Engineering, a leading provider of plant floor connectivity and manufacturing process automation software. The acquisition is effective immediately and all Kors employees have joined Plex.Plex is uniquely focused on delivering production and plant-level insights. By acquiring Kors and its product, Mach2, Plex extends its solutions to the plant edge.“As a long time Plex partner, Kors is a natural fit for our smart manufacturing strategy. With Mach2, Kors drives plant-floor connectivity, production dashboards and process automation for hundreds of Plex-powered plants today,” said Bill Berutti, CEO of Plex. “The combined solution extends the power of the Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform, giving manufacturers what they are constantly striving for: greater control and continuous improvement to deliver on their customer promises faster and more efficiently.”“Machine connectivity, process automation, and plant control are the new requirements for manufacturers as they look for more predictability, accuracy and speed in their business,” said Kevin Prouty, Group Vice President, Energy and Manufacturing Insights at IDC. “By adding Kors Mach2 to the Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform, manufacturers now have the capabilities to connect MES and Industrial IoT to the plant edge, enabling them to gain the granular control they need to execute quickly, eliminate manual errors and produce accurate insights for customers.”Helping Manufacturers Embrace Smart ManufacturingThe Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform was built on the plant floor, offering ERP capabilities to run business operations, MES to manage production, supply chain planning to accurately forecast and plan, and Industrial IoT to analyze machine-level data. Through this acquisition, the Plex platform expands to seamlessly connect the full enterprise, driving bidirectional data communication that offers greater accuracy and lower

Over their schedules. Schedule a free roadmap call to start building a scheduling model that fits your workforce’s needs.”Manufacturing, which once boasted that one in three jobs in the U.S. was in the industry, is now less attractive. Today, less than 10% of U.S. jobs are in manufacturing, and younger workers are gravitating toward retail, food service, and tech brands like Starbucks, Amazon, and Apple. Manufacturing, on the other hand, is often viewed as difficult, physically demanding, and “dirty.”“That perception of manufacturing is still in the minds of younger generations,” Bill noted, “but that’s not necessarily true anymore. We’ve invested in automation, robotics, and upskilling workers. Manufacturing jobs today can look very different.”Rebranding Manufacturing for New GenerationsBill and I also talked about the perception problem manufacturing faces. Younger generations don’t necessarily see manufacturing as a viable or exciting career path. “They’re comparing entry-level pay at Chick-fil-A or Amazon to what they can make in manufacturing,” Bill said. “What they don’t realize is the career growth potential in manufacturing far exceeds what they’ll find in retail or food services.”Bill shared a personal story that highlights just how much opportunity manufacturing offers. “Both I and Luther, our plant manager at Roper, started out as hourly associates. Now, I’m VP of Supply Chain, and Luther is a plant manager. There’s a clear career path in manufacturing, but younger workers don’t always see that upfront.”Ontop of competitive pay, manufacturing also offers strong benefits and opportunities for upskilling. Bill mentioned that GE Appliances provides education reimbursement, covering a large portion of his own college education and that of many others. “You can start out in manufacturing without a degree and still make $20, $30, $40 an hour,” Bill emphasized. “There are skilled trades jobs, quality technician jobs—all of which offer great pay and benefits.”What Can You Do? Practical Steps for Introducing Flexible SchedulesSo, how do you actually make flexible schedules work in manufacturing? Here are some practical steps to get started:Start Small with Entry-Level Roles & Part-Timers: You don’t have to overhaul your entire scheduling system overnight. Start by offering part-time shifts, like GE Appliances did with their GEA Two Day program. By introducing two or three-day work weeks, you’ll attract students, parents, and retirees who want more control over their time without committing to full-time hours.Let Workers Choose Their Own Shifts: Flexibility doesn’t just mean offering fewer hours. Through MyWorkChoice, GE Appliances allowed workers to select shifts that fit their personal schedules. This shift in control is huge for today’s workforce, who value autonomy over rigid structures. You’ll be surprised how quickly people respond when they can choose shifts on their terms.Offer Real Advancement Opportunities: Flexible schedules don’t mean a lack of growth. In fact, they can be a gateway to long-term careers in manufacturing. Make sure workers understand the clear career paths available to them, even if they start part-time. Highlight opportunities for upskilling, education reimbursement, and internal mobility.Challenge Traditional Mindsets: Change is hard, but the results are worth it. As Bill Good

Manufacturing Recipe Management System for Life Sciences Automate batch processes. Improve efficiency. Ease growing pains. A proven recipe management software system can help you do it all. Recipe variations and substitutions are common in manufacturing settings that rely on batch processes. In fact, they play a vital role in a manufacturer's ability to increase market shares and expand into new markets. The manufacturing recipe management software in the MasterControl Manufacturing Excellence™ solution eliminates manufacturers’ manual recipe-related processes and provides smart variant design and variant management functionality. Video Manufacturing Excellence: Unlock Right-First-Time Production with Modern EBR Watch Video > where the dictionary key is the doc type --> Data Sheet: MasterControl Recipe Data Sheet: MasterControl Electronic Batch Records (EBR) Ultimate Guide: The Ultimate Guide to Digitizing Pharma Manufacturing Insight Brief: 5 Ways MES Solutions Meet Pharma Manufacturing Needs Research Report: The State of Digital Maturity in Pharma and Medtech Manufacturing Learn More About MasterControl's Recipe Management System MasterControl Mx Demo It's time to close to modernize your manufacturing operations - see how MasterControl Manufacturing Excellence can transform your business today Demo Mx Software Contact Us Learn how to quickly achieve faster and smarter quality manufacturing. Contact Us Ditch Your Manual, Error-Prone Manufacturing Processes MasterControl gives you the ability to manage recipe changes directly from an electronic master batch template. This doesn’t just reduce documentation – it ensures the integrity of production data as well. The efficiencies gained by digitizing recipe-related processes and configuration management help manufacturers increase cash flow, improve customer satisfaction and effectively scale their business. -->

OMRON Completes Acquisition of Microscan Systems October 3, 2017 Kyoto, Japan—OMRON Corporation (Headquarters: Shimogyo-Ku, Kyoto; President and CEO: Yoshihito Yamada) today announced the completion of its acquisition of Microscan Systems, Inc. ("Microscan") on October 2, 2017 (U.S. local time). (See previous announcement of August 30, 2017 "OMRON to Acquire Microscan Systems, US-based Industrial Code Reader Company.") Headquartered in Renton, Washington, USA, Microscan manufactures and markets diverse industrial code reading devices, including barcode readers and 2D code readers. As of today, the company name has been changed to OMRON Microscan Systems, Inc. Looking forward, at this dawn of the IoT age, OMRON will strive to develop new code reading devices and comprehensive solutions by combining OMRON Microscan Systems, Inc.'s software technology, which delivers stable reading performance even in demanding conditions, with OMRON's extensive lines of control components and equipment. OMRON's product lineups range from input devices to output devices, as well as industrial robots and safety devices. In response to the rapidly growing trend of assigning an ID code to each product or component throughout manufacturing sites of various industries, OMRON will work to advance control of manufacturing equipment and production lines by adding IoT capabilities to many objects on a manufacturing floor, including various components and machines. This will bring flexible automation to manufacturing floors to meet a diversity of consumer requirements. Moreover, information from various objects read by code readers can be connected to "i-BELT," OMRON's IoT service platform. With this and other examples, OMRON will work with its client companies to accelerate the creation of "intelligent" manufacturing sites—a key to the realization of its "innovative-Automation!*" concept. By so doing, OMRON aims to promote distribution and trading of "information of things" throughout society so that people across the world can benefit from the enhanced safety and security of products. * "innovative-Automation!" Recently, OMRON has developed a manufacturing innovation concept, called "innovative-Automation!" With this concept, OMRON is currently committed to bringing innovation to manufacturing sites through three key innovations, or three "i's." Through these innovations, OMRON aims to enable significant productivity improvements in manufacturing sites in order to enhance high-value-added manufacturing. With the first "i" "integrated" (control evolution), OMRON will seek to advance automated control technology so that virtually any operator, even inexperienced operators, can effortlessly perform work that previously required the expertise of experienced workers. With the second "i" "intelligent" (development of intelligence by ICT), OMRON seeks to create

Are apparently committing to their own major AI data center project. Apple, as a major consumer electronics company, relies heavily on production outside of the U.S. The exercise of laying out plans to invest within the U.S. will not completely replace that, now or ever, but becomes a bone — a very valuable bone — that it can throw to show that it’s making efforts too. Second, the focus on artificial intelligence in Apple’s news today should be noted. The major server factory that it will be building will be focused on building machines that can handle AI compute. Similarly, the ecosystem fund and training budget are largely focused on skills and manufacturing of hardware that will be used in AI systems.Of note: It is not clear what kinds of tax breaks (if any) companies will get on the investments such as the ones Apple listed today. That will be top of mind for companies, their investors, and hopefully the U.S. public. Apple did note that it “remains one of the largest U.S. taxpayers, having paid more than $75 billion in U.S. taxes over the past five years, including $19 billion in 2024 alone.”The news today, in any case, is being represented as Apple’s own commitment to growing America’s industry profile in the world. “We are bullish on the future of American innovation, and we’re proud to build on our long-standing U.S. investments with this $500 billion commitment to our country’s future,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a statement. “From doubling our Advanced Manufacturing Fund, to building advanced technology in Texas, we’re thrilled to expand our support for American manufacturing. And we’ll keep working with people and companies across this country to help write an extraordinary new chapter in the history of American innovation.”One of the bigger specific projects

Latest HeadlinesSUBSCRIBER ONLY DEA, police bust drug manufacturing operation Drugs, manufacturing gear found at Union Street garage An assortment of illegal drugs, including fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine, as well as a motorized pill/tablet press was seized by police in late November after executing a search warrant at a Union Street address in Leominster. (COURTESY LEOMINSTER POLICE DEPARTMENT) LEOMINSTER — An combined effort from federal and county drug trafficking task forces, along with support from local police, resulted in the discovery of a drug manufacturing lab at a garage on Union Street.Last Wednesday, law enforcement announced the Nov. 22 seizure of the drug manufacturing equipment and substances.According to the Leominster Police and Groton […] Originally Published: December 4, 2023 at 1:32 AM EST Today in History: March 25, Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in New York kills 146 workers Some US embassies in Europe post warnings to would-be visa seekers: Watch your step ‘Give me liberty or give me death’ turns 250. Here’s what it meant in 1775 2023 December 4