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💴 This Week in Manufacturing

Fixing problems is at the beating heart of the manufacturing industry. Whether with hammers and nails or robotic arms, our leaders are here to make improvements. Today’s newsletter focuses on how focusing on problem-solving helps drive growth through innovation.

Our feature company, Carr Machine & Tool, is supporting a variety of industries in solving a multitude of small, but vital problems through custom machine parts.

In headlines, we have multi-pronged efforts to build a national battery supply chain on one hand and the expansion of beer diversity by introducing Asahi Super Dry on the other. Thirst counts as a problem for this newsletter!

This week’s episode of Augmented Ops dives into combating the challenges of Industry 4.0 and supporting frontline workers. Employees are your first customers, so listen to them.

Finally, we have today’s Fun Fact: problem-solving supply chain transparency. Customers keep asking where and how their products are being produced, and now companies can answer with data.

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⚙ Manufacturing Headlines

• Building a U.S. battery supply chain [PV Magazine]

• U.S. Awards Chip Supplier $162 Million to Bolster Critical Industries [The New York Times]

• Asahi acquires WI brewing facility [Beverage Daily]

• Illinois Machine Shop Leverages Tech To Evolve [CompanyWeek]

• Horwin makes US electric motorbike debut [electrek]

• Panasonic planning for third U.S. EV battery plant in OK [Nikkei Asia]

INDUSTRIAL & EQUIPMENT

♨️ CARR Machine & Tool

After more than 40 years in the machine shop business, Jim Carr has learned that to stay competitive, you need to be willing to invest in new technologies and try new things.

CARR Machine offers state-of-the-art machining for aerospace, defense, semiconductors, and specialty customers. Under Carr’s guidance, CARR Machine & Tool has tripled in size.

Today, the company operates from a 15,000-square-foot shop with the latest automated equipment. According to Carr, the secret of his success is his willingness to move beyond his comfort zone and embrace new technologies and marketing strategies to push CARR Machine & Tool to the next level.

Upshot: “We’ve invested in robotic automation for lights-out machining, which will be a big paradigm shift in the future. We want to be able to set the machines up and have them run 16 hours a day.”

FROM THE FEED

📱 Solar Panel Installation

 🤨 Did You Know?

Today, 76%

of manufacturers are adopting digital tools to gain enhanced supply chain transparency.

^{Source: US Census Bureau}

🎧 Podcasts Worth A Listen

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