A Budding New Manufacturing Reality: Embracing E-Waste
Upgrading electronic devices has become second nature for most, while correctly disposing of related materials for recycling has, in many places, become “the right thing to do.” But what do statistics tell us about the realities of electronics disposal? Is recycling all that it is made out to be and are materials reaching manufacturers? How could the electronics waste (e-waste) repurposing loop be improved?
A D Metro
Touch screen technology has come a very long way since A D Metro was founded in 1993, with some of that advancement thanks to innovations from this livewire company.
K-1 Technologies
K-1 Technologies, based in St. Petersburg, Florida, has a supplier and customer base that spans the globe. The company is a distributor of electrical and electronic supplies and components—power supplies, semiconductors, wires and cables, connectors, and more—to a wide range of industries.
Leonhardt Manufacturing
In the ever-evolving world of manufacturing, not all metal tubing parts are created equal. Leonhardt Manufacturing, a prominent player in the industry, stands out as a testament to the power of innovation and the importance of workforce development. Leonhardt Manufacturing has consistently demonstrated its mastery of metal tube bending and manufacturing, earning a reputation for excellence.
The International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA)
“It is a happy talent to know how to play.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Rock Hard Landscape Supply
Rock Hard Landscape Supply is a family-run firm that stocks an array of products for beautifying lawns and properties. With four locations in Minnesota, the company stocks everything from mulch, boulders, and natural stone to hardscape items such as concrete pavers and walls, fireplaces, lighting, and pond supplies.
G.W. Becker, Inc.
Over 40 years, G.W. Becker, Inc. has grown from a local, family-owned business into one of North America’s foremost designers and manufacturers of industry-leading overhead crane solutions.
Hangcha Forklift Canada
If there was a textbook showing how to expand a company globally, Hangcha could write that textbook, and Hangcha Forklift Canada would make a perfect case study.
Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center
The Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (MMTC) was founded around 32 years ago with the inception of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). At that time and into the mid-2000s, there was a growing apprehension regarding the loss of manufacturers and small-to-medium businesses across America. To combat this, a manufacturing extension partnership (MEP) was launched in every U.S. state and Puerto Rico, creating a network of organizations. The MMTC won the bid to become the official MEP for the state of Michigan.
Aerostar Manufacturing
With a manufacturing and supply chain network that spans the U.S. and India, Aerostar’s offering is simple: exemplary engineered components and customer service, and always at a highly competitive price.
Diversified Tooling Group
Many companies have a proud and rich past. In other cases, the company’s history is shorter but its prospects are exciting. To speak with the owners of Diversified Tooling Group is to get a peek into a company with both: a proud family history spanning three generations and a passion for their business that points to a bright future.
Atlas Technologies
If one could highlight a single manufacturer in Michigan for being innovative and fresh in the way it approaches the field, it would be Atlas Technologies. As a division of Stonebridge Technical Enterprises, Atlas Technologies goes above and beyond to make careers in manufacturing the envy of many in the trades and in other fields. Moreover, the Michigan-based company has achieved double-digit annual growth in the wake of tremendous transformation over the past three years.
Grotnes
In 1898, Charles Grotnes (pronounced ‘Grote-ness’) founded an eponymous machine works in Chicago to provide services and products for a very specific industry. He “started a business to produce metal rings which held the staves of a barrel together,” Vice President, Jim Zielinski tells us.
Aluminum Blanking Company
At Aluminum Blanking Company, a Michigan-based toll processor of aluminum, stainless steel, and surface-sensitive materials, the team strives to be a cut above the rest in all that it does—which is a lot.
Acorn Manufacturing
Acorn Manufacturing Company, Inc. is a decades-old family business in Mansfield, Massachusetts that manufactures and distributes forged iron builders’ hardware across the United States and abroad. Builders’ hardware refers to metal hardware products used to decorate or protect properties, or to enhance convenience. The company is proud that its goods are made in Mansfield and reflect the heritage of New England.
Mahler Machining
Established in 1983 in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Mahler Machining has grown from a manual machine shop into a flourishing CNC machining facility committed to creating quality products and providing exemplary service worthy of a true leader in the machining industry.
Pyro Shield
Pyro Shield, with locations in Crown Point, Indiana and LaPorte, Texas, is a one-stop shop for temperature-resistant custom fabrication and roll goods for applications in harsh industrial environments.
Davey Textile Solutions
First responders at a traffic accident at night not only have to act quickly to save lives, they also face the danger of oncoming cars while they do it.
Coxreels
In 1923, the world was full of promise. World War I was over, and times were prosperous. The now 100-year-old Hollywood sign in California lit up the mountain slopes, and Vice President Calvin Coolidge became President. Russian-American inventor, Vladimir Zworykin, filed his first U.S. patent for an all-electronic “television system.”
The Right to Repair
Technology has given the world televisions, computers, monitors, printers, copiers, and smartphones, but also a new term for the growing mountains of dead electronics: e-waste. The issue of e-waste has sparked endless debates over what we can do to keep millions of discarded devices out of landfills, and this month, we look at the right to repair.
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Is the Robot Revolution at a Crossroads?
As the global use of automation, robotics, and language processing artificial intelligence (AI) like ChatGPT increases, many are questioning where the world is heading and not if, but when, technology will make their jobs obsolete.
Michelin North America
Since 1891, when Michelin brothers Édouard and André, who ran a rubber factory in Clermont-Ferrand, France, applied for their first patent for an easy-to-remove pneumatic bicycle tire that lent itself to quick repairs, Michelin has been revolutionizing the tire industry.
Specific Mechanical Systems
Specific Mechanical Systems Ltd., a Victoria, British Columbia-based company that designs, manufactures, and installs brewing and distilling equipment, has expanded its automation processes and market reach since it was profiled in November 2022 in Business in Focus magazine. In the face of significant technical challenges, the company has automated its already innovative distillation system.
Champ Industries
In just a few years, Champ Industries has seen a great deal of change come its way thanks to changes within and outside its walls. It currently has locations in Canada and the U.S., in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Jamestown, North Dakota respectively, and is doing better than ever with a renewed focus.
John W. McDougall Co.
One can tell a lot about a company by the company it keeps. When vendors become customers and customers become vendors, as they do at John W. McDougall Co. Inc., it demonstrates that premium solutions and customer satisfaction are paramount here. The processing division of John W. McDougall Co. Inc. is home to in-depth fabrication expertise which has customers, from across the United States and further afield, returning for more.
Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium (EMC)
The Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium (EMC) provides a depth and breadth of services, programs, and opportunities for manufacturers. Headquartered in Owen Sound, Ontario, with a national presence, EMC also encourages young people to enter the manufacturing workforce and is always looking for ways to enhance the sector.
