Gullco International Limited is a global welding and cutting automation manufacturer founded and still based in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, that’s taking its industry-leading skills around the world.

Any conversation these days with a corporation usually begins with the question of how it is handling the current pandemic. Though the situation is bleak now, management at Samco Machinery can see a silver lining in all of this.

Robotics, artificial intelligence, real-time data: Industry 4.0 has us looking at the COVID-19 pandemic’s hard reset as a chance to grow stronger, more resilient and open to innovation.

Last November, the Ford Motor Company made an announcement that shocked die-hard Mustang fans; the Mustang is not only being turned into an SUV, but it’s going to be electric.

The debut of 3D printing has had a spectacular impact on manufacturing. But although the innovative technology has existed for some time, it’s only starting to reach its potential as a staple of advanced manufacturing.

Solving tooling challenges correctly takes years of experience – something Fullerton Tool Company has plenty of. This is a company that prides itself on its people and their dedication to understanding, meeting and exceeding clients’ needs.

Fives North American Combustion, Inc., of Cleveland, Ohio, provides services and solutions for the thermal process industry. The company matches its products with comprehensive customer support.

If someone made a movie about the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) industry, the leading roles likely would be cast with players from extreme ends of industry’s spectrum. There would be the behemoths churning out high-volume consumer electronics and the scrappy “mom-and-pop” shops surviving on small build-to-print projects. While these extremes exist, the industry’s real story is the far more nuanced and multifaceted middle: small and midsize companies that have carved out strategic, defendable niches.

American Photonics (APC) manufactures precision laser optics for the CO2 laser industry. The company has earned its place in a competitive market by providing replacement laser parts for customers who want high quality products without paying the high prices charged by the OEMs.

With over one million tamper evident shrink bands, shrink wrap sleeves, multi-packs, shrink bags, printed shrink labels and PS labels produced every day, and a selection of trademarked SuperSealer shrink wrap machines offering diverse capabilities, Traco Packaging is leading the way.

Alongside industrial health and wellness awareness, Nederman supports manufacturing facilities and the automotive trade in providing trades personnel with the cleanest, safest air.

Polygon International Technology was founded to take advantage of unique connections, and word spread rapidly throughout Canada. Today, Polygon is a vital link in the international supply chain, connecting clients in North America with affordable and quality raw material and parts from across China and Asia.

When the nuclear reactor at Chalk River, Ontario, was forced to shut down because of a leak of radioactive water, there was widespread concern in the medical community. The reactor produced about a third of the world’s supply of medical isotopes required for cancer and heart disease tests around the globe. The predicted shortage would leave patients waiting for these life-saving tests.

Due to the market trends of recent decades, American manufacturing faces a workforce crisis driven by a loss of knowledge as baby boomers transition into retirement. Women are stepping up to help save the day as manufacturing meets gender equality.

The healthcare industry is constantly adapting to the introduction of the newest technologies and innovations that will determine the medical care available to both healthcare providers and, most importantly, patients.

Invotec is globally recognized for designing and building custom equipment for the medical device industry. It specializes in complex assembly, testing, and inspection systems for these manufacturers, and within this market, the company is quite versatile. It can produce equipment for any application ranging from the smallest of components to the most complicated production lines.

Heads up! The future is robotic, especially when it comes to Industry 4.0. Not the chatty Star Wars type robot or the antagonistic HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey, but smart machines doing repetitive, precision or dangerous work – operated remotely by human voice command, touchscreen or joystick. The next generation of skilled workers, in fact, may be technicians who program and manage robotic equipment to undertake difficult or routine tasks, transforming manufacturing and other sectors.

A safe workplace is one where employees can work without risk to their physical or psychological health and wellbeing. A positive safety culture in the manufacturing sector is one where training, personal protective equipment (PPE), machine guarding, and other best practices are regulated and enforced to ensure safety is foremost.

The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s (OECD) Secretary-General, Ángel Gurría has stated: “The coronavirus pandemic is causing large-scale loss of life and severe human suffering. It is a public health crisis without precedent in living memory, which is testing our collective capacity to respond.”