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?
2023
A D Metro
Driving Innovation
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
Trust at the Highest Level
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
A Team You Can Count On
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)
Striving for Safer Play in Vibrant Communities
“It is a happy talent to know how to play.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Rock Hard Landscape Supply
Products for Beautifying Properties
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.
One Company’s Drive to Lift Itself to Success
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
Lifting the Industry Higher
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
At the Forefront of Industrial Revolution
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
Engineering Components, Technology, and Teamwork: Servicing Customer Needs Using a Global Manufacturing Network
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
A Diversified Portfolio Brings 50 Years of Success
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
Making Manufacturing Cool
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
From Metal Rings to Custom Manufacturing
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
A Manufacturing Legacy in the Making
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
This Family-Run Iron Hardware Firm Forges Ahead
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
Collaborative Leadership, Customer Care, and Shared Knowledge
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
Wherever the Heat Comes From, Protection Comes From 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
A Shiny New Future for Textiles in Alberta
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
Responsible for the Reels of the Century
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
Making it Right
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.
Molecular Nanotechnology
Thinking Small Is Going to Be Huge
Nanotechnology is the art of manipulating materials on an extremely small scale to build microscopic machinery.
The Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA)
Protecting North American Electronics
The Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA) is a source of guidance and best practices for companies seeking optimum performance within this highly competitive industry. It is also an advocate for helping North American electronic components manufacturers understand and manage through the regulations and standards needed to serve the wave of companies looking to establish or re-establish facilities in the U.S.
Xymox Technologies
High-Quality Interfaces
After Xymox Technologies was profiled in Manufacturing in Focus in December 2018, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based firm merged with the RAFI Group of Germany. This corporate collaboration has the potential to dramatically shake up the North American touchscreen and digital display markets.
AB Electronics
Building a Mutual Partnership Through Transparency and Integrity
AB Electronics’ goal is straightforward: Improving the productivity of clients’ businesses. How does the company do it? By providing top-notch, full-service, flexible manufacturing solutions with unrivalled responsiveness through long-term, strategic collaborations built on trust and mutually beneficial outcomes.
Masline Electronics
The Midas Touch of Stocking Distribution Flexibility
As a leader in distributing passive and electromechanical components, Masline Electronics is on a growth trajectory following the COVID-19 pandemic. Helping to drive customers’ bottom lines through effective product distribution, logistics, and custom, value-added services, Masline’s team delivers personalized service on a level uncommon in this industry. That is why loyal customers keep coming back for more.
Spirit Electronics
The Spirit of Success
Spirit Electronics is a value-added supplier of high-reliability components and superior supply-chain solutions for the aerospace and defense sectors. The veteran-owned, woman-owned business has been growing steadily since we profiled the company in December 2019, so we sat down with owner and CEO Marti McCurdy again this month to hear the latest news and developments
Elasto Proxy
Family-Owned Fabricator Finds Its Niche
Thriving, family-owned fabricator Elasto Proxy of Boisbriand, Quebec specializes in high-end, low-volume industrial plastic and rubber components. The company also offers a suite of value-added services and maintains close relationships with its clients.
Viking Masek
Proof That Top-Class Automated Packaging Takes Top-Class People
When Leonhard Packaging Solutions (LPS) was founded by Robb Leonhard and his older brother Rick in 2002, the company started small, with Rick serving as President and Robb filling the role of Vice President. The brothers had the drive and talent for finding the right people and empowering others, a quality they brought to the newly formed business. In the next few years they brought in RC Huhn and Scott Miller to the ownership team. Both brought strong skill sets that complemented the team.
BouMatic
Helping Dairy Producers Do More
Across the United States and around the world, the dairy industry remains a significant contributor to the economy.
Cadman Power Equipment
A Leader in the Field
Every business seeks to generate revenue and turn a profit. But there’s something special that happens when a business does that by helping people who are facing real adversity.
Ascension Automation Solutions
Maximum Results. Minimalist Automation.
Simplicity can be elusive, and achieving it can, at the worst of times, lead developers down endless warrens of complexity—especially on large, high-stakes projects. At Ascension Automation Solutions, achieving optimum results through minimal complexity has become a sophisticated art form worth perfecting.
VibraSystems Inc.
Smooth Operators – Innovations in Noise and Friction Control
Vibrations are all around us and, by and large, we may not think much of them when we are exposed to them for a couple of seconds. But they can be a serious problem in many ways for manufacturers. Consider the impact of imbalanced rotating parts, uneven friction, or the meshing of gear teeth. Vibrations like these can cause a number of issues for manufacturing equipment that can hurt productivity and the bottom line. And when employee safety and comfort are a top priority, you also need to protect shop-floor workers who operate machines with noise and vibration issues.
Eco-Flex
Leaders in Recycled Rubber
Eco-Flex of Sturgeon County, Alberta, marked its 30th anniversary last year as a leader in the recycled rubber product market. The company is well-poised for future growth with products that appeal to clients looking for quality eco-friendly goods. Eco-Flex’s proprietary wares include an innovative sound barrier/residential wall as well as items for work sites, homes, and barns, all made from recycled rubber tires.
National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA)
Connecting and Advancing the U.S. Precision Manufacturing Industry
For Roger Atkins, 2023 holds a lot of meaning for him both personally and professionally. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA), headquartered in the manufacturing hub of Cleveland, Ohio.
Hirsh Precision
Achieving Gold Standards Through People and Culture
A well-known presence in the complete fabrication space, Hirsh Precision is home to a welcoming, detail-driven team. As Hirsh is popular amongst some of the country’s best-known brands in medical and aerospace fabrication, clients insist on partnering with its people to take their projects from start to completion seamlessly. From complex medical devices to rocket engines, scientists and developers from North America and beyond turn to the company with their designs for efficient service and intelligent manufacturing that deliver time savings, value, and impressive returns on investment.
JV Manufacturing
Where Excellence and Precision Meet
After nearly half a century specializing in carbide stamping die fabrication, JV Manufacturing knows that providing competitive precision engineering and solid value earns customers more revenue while saving costs on replacement. It is no surprise then that this team of 125 industry experts is well known internationally in its field for cutting-edge quality and innovation. The demand for the company’s products is so high that around half of its annual product is shipped abroad, chiefly to Europe, making its easy airport access a necessity when hosting overseas customers and their representatives.
Sirois Tool Co. Inc.
Mission Possible: Growth and Success Through Brand Promise
Whether clients require standard parts or specialized engineering, Sirois Tool Co. Inc. offers a wide range of build capabilities. The company’s experienced tool and gage makers, apprentices, and staff members turn, mill, grind, and EDM products, all while keeping to its mission statement, “To be a preferred vendor to all our customers, a fair and generous employer, and a good neighbor to our community,” top of mind.
Boulevard Machine
Machining the Future
When one of the world’s leading aviation giants remarks that your new facility is so modern it’s reminiscent of Star Trek’s USS Enterprise, you know you’re doing something right.
Highpoint Tool & Machine
When It’s Precisely Precision That Matters
A leader in precision machining, Highpoint Tool & Machine specializes in projects requiring tight tolerances for clients in the kind of industries where failure is not an option—aerospace, oil and gas, nuclear, and even components for roller coasters.
Bourn & Koch
Unique Solutions Through the History of American Machine Tools
Providing unique solutions for some of the most challenging manufacturing applications, Bourn & Koch is known for meeting customer needs through close interaction and enduring relationships. The machine tool systems from Bourn & Koch are simply the proud proof of its mastery of precision grinding and gear production equipment.
Chick Machine Company
Team Effort and Automation Win the Day
Chick Machine Company is celebrating its 52nd anniversary as one of Pennsylvania’s most well-known and reliable machine shops. The company’s story began in August 1971, with its namesake Jim Chick realizing his vision on roughly 300 acres near the city of Butler, part of rural western Pennsylvania. The business was an idea Chick had after he left a machining position in the area to pursue his fortunes. This decision coincided with a business venture by friends of his, who had just started a local precision laser company, now a multi-billion-dollar outfit in nearby Saxonburg.
Microrobots and Nanobots
Grand Innovation on the Infinitesimal Scale
Robotics is an ever-growing field across a bevy of disciplines, including within manufacturing and its partner industries. More and more companies are beginning to see the benefits of adopting automated solutions to factory processes, fabrication, and more. Beyond the facility floors of various production lines, great strides are being made towards robotics that can fit on the tip of a finger, which is where the fields of micro and nanorobotics come in to evolve the future of automation potentially further in manufacturing.
Canadian Paper & Packaging Co. Ltd.
Sustainable Sales One Step at a Time
Providing excellent customer service and an impressive selection of high-quality packaging materials for more than 85 years, Montreal-based Canadian Paper & Packaging Company, together with Arcadian Paper Converters, are working toward the growth of their business with a focus on sustainable packaging.
Sonoco
Wrapping Products in Sustainability
For some companies, ‘sustainability’ is little more than a buzzword. For Sonoco, sustainable packaging, programs and services are integral to every part of the business, including packaging design, sourcing and end-of-life.
Charter Next Generation
A Better Way of Packaging
With corporate headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, 14 state-of-the-art-facilities in Wisconsin, Ohio, Massachusetts, and South Carolina, 1,900 employees, and more than 100 extrusion lines, Charter Next Generation (CNG) has emerged as North America’s leading producer of high-performance, engineered, specialty films used in flexible packaging.
Engage Technologies Corporation
How Do You Package Innovation? This Is the Company to Ask.
Engage Technologies Corporation is a renowned manufacturer of comprehensive packaging solutions. But it is how this company innovates both its processes and its products that is its true claim to fame.
Mainway Handling Systems
Complete Automated Solutions
Since 1988, Mainway Handling Systems has been creating dependable, advanced conveyor systems and automated warehouse solutions from its headquarters in Burlington, Ontario. Mainway provides systems design, installation, and integration services for multiple logistics industries including warehousing and distribution, logistics, freight, parcel, food, beverage, automotive and manufacturing. “Mainway and our dedicated team offer a complete service,” says Marketing Specialist Matthew Pereira. The company’s one-stop, turnkey approach has helped the business earn its place in the industry.
Edgewater Automation
The Future of Automation
In a little over two decades, Edgewater Automation has grown into one of America’s premier designers and builders of factory automation systems. With competencies including automated systems for assembly, testing, inspection, data acquisition, and material handling, Edgewater serves clients across multiple markets. From automotive to electronics, consumer products to transportation, and life sciences to logistics, the experienced team at Edgewater Automation provides high-quality systems, service, and solutions to help all customers ensure success.
RAMP, Inc.
Taking Automation Integration to New Levels
Specializing in custom automation design-build and equipment fabrication, RAMP, Inc. has turned itself into a veritable powerhouse of innovation, harnessing technology to fabricate next-generation manufacturing equipment and inspection and material handling systems for customers in industries like consumer goods, medical devices, transportation, and others around the globe. Recession-proof and self-sufficient to its core, this company is set to be around for many decades to come.
Promation
Promation Knows Innovation
Instead of viewing COVID-19 as a threat, Mark Zimny, P.Eng., saw it as an opportunity to strengthen his company and deepen empathy in and for his dedicated employees.