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Massachusetts awards $4.5 million to 20 local manufacturers

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The Healey-Driscoll Administration and the Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM), a division of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech), has announced the first cohort of 20 manufacturers participating in a redesigned Massachusetts Manufacturing Accelerator Program (MMAP), an updated initiative that combines capital grant funding with no-cost equipment assessments, expert guidance, and peer learning opportunities to help small- and medium-sized manufacturers modernize, grow and compete.

This program supports small- and medium-sized manufacturers with grant funding. It will also provide recipients with access to workshops, peer learning and hands-on guidance to help companies modernize and grow.

“Manufacturing has always been a cornerstone of Massachusetts’ economy, and it continues to drive innovation, job creation and economic growth across our state,” said Governor Maura Healey. [Read more…] about Massachusetts awards $4.5 million to 20 local manufacturers

Misumi launches Misumi Americas as part of $1 billion global manufacturing investment

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Japanese industrial components supplier Misumi Group has launched Misumi Americas and announced a $1 billion (¥150 billion) global investment program aimed at expanding its digital manufacturing and supply chain capabilities.

The initiative combines Misumi’s industrial components business with the AI-powered manufacturing platform acquired through Fictiv, positioning the company as a broader manufacturing and supply chain partner rather than solely a parts supplier.

The expansion includes significant investment in the United States and marks the appointment of Dave Evans as the first American CEO of Misumi Americas. [Read more…] about Misumi launches Misumi Americas as part of $1 billion global manufacturing investment

The expertise leak: Why high-growth technical operations are bottlenecked by admin bloat

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Robotics and automation companies are growing faster than ever, yet most run headfirst into the same problem: Top engineers lose precious time handling admin work instead of solving real technical challenges.

Whether it’s project tracking or juggling vendors, all this extra administration quietly saps expertise from technical teams and drags down innovation across the industry.

Speed is everything in robotics and automation. The winners are usually the folks who get from prototype to deployment without tripping over operational messes. But there’s an issue inside all these fast-growing tech companies that isn’t talked about enough: Expertise leak. [Read more…] about The expertise leak: Why high-growth technical operations are bottlenecked by admin bloat

Itera raises $12 million for fluid circuit board that rewires itself in under a minute

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Deep tech startup Itera has emerged from stealth with a prototype of the world’s first fluid circuit board – a technology that allows engineers to rewire and retest physical electronic circuits in less than a minute.

The company also announced $12 million in seed funding from Upfront Ventures, Costanoa Ventures, and Colle Capital to launch their first product and bring it to market.

Traditional printed circuit board (PCB) prototyping cycles force engineers to wait two to six weeks per design iteration, costing hundreds of thousands to millions in burn for a single hardware team and contributing to an estimated $50 billion of direct spending on electronics development annually. [Read more…] about Itera raises $12 million for fluid circuit board that rewires itself in under a minute

Yaskawa America acquires Colombian drive specialist Variadores

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Yaskawa Electric, through its subsidiary Yaskawa America, has acquired Variadores, a long-standing partner in Colombia.

The acquisition formalizes a relationship between the two companies that dates back to 1991, during which Variadores has distributed Yaskawa drive technologies across a range of industrial sectors. [Read more…] about Yaskawa America acquires Colombian drive specialist Variadores

Vexlum raises €10 million to scale semiconductor and laser manufacturing

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Vexlum, a manufacturer of advanced semiconductor lasers for high-impact applications, has announced it has secured €10 million in funding to scale its proprietary semiconductor chip manufacturing and laser technology operations in Finland.

The round consists of €6 million in equity investment led by Kvanted, with participation from Finnish state-owned Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd) and the EIC Fund, alongside a €2.4 million grant from the EIC Accelerator, and a €1.6 million loan from Nordea.

Vexlum’s semiconductor-based Vertical-External-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VECSEL) technology addresses a critical bottleneck in high-tech industries: the lack of compact, cost-effective, high-power laser sources at precise wavelengths. [Read more…] about Vexlum raises €10 million to scale semiconductor and laser manufacturing

Digitalisation and the greatest industrial show on Earth

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Hannover Messe is probably the largest and most important industrial technology show on Earth. 

The venue for the event spans an area the size of a small town and it takes several days to visit all of the most important areas you might be interested in.

Covering an event of that magnitude from a journalistic point of view can be difficult if you’re interested in too many things.  [Read more…] about Digitalisation and the greatest industrial show on Earth