MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY,DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION,ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION
Allied Electronics & Automation | January 24, 2023
Allied Electronics & Automation is the largest authorized distributor of industrial control equipment in North America, offering over 197,000 products optimized for industrial control systems. It is a trading brand of RS Group plc, a global omni-channel product and service solutions provider.
Industrial control systems (ICS) are systems, devices, networks, and controls used to electronically operate or automate industrial processes in public utilities, manufacturing, chemical and petrochemical, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, oil and gas, automotive, and transportation industries. System sizes can range from a few modular controllers to massive control systems with thousands of field connections.
Allied supports the distinct needs of different ICS with a wide range of industrial control products and a highly experienced, reliable, and responsive technical staff committed to helping customers find the right solutions for their systems.
Allied provides cable entry and exit solutions for industrial control cabinets, including ILME rectangular connectors and Mencom cable gland adapters. These solutions allow for secure wiring connections with contactors inside the cabinet (available from suppliers such as Joslyn Clark) and support high-precision machinery and equipment outside the cabinet, including linear motion technology from suppliers that include SCHNEEBERGER.
Allied's industrial control solutions include contactors, control stations, controllers, disconnect switches, electric linear actuators, electronic and mechanical counters, inductive signal couplers, machine guarding and machine safety equipment, mechanical power transmission equipment, panel meters, power outlets, power transfer switches, robots, signal conditioning and converter devices, slip rings, solenoids, and timers.
About Allied Electronics & Automation
Allied Electronics & Automation is a trading name of RS Group plc, a leading global omni-channel industrial product and service solutions supplier to customers developing, building, and maintaining industrial equipment and operations safely and sustainably. The company ships roughly 60,000 shipments daily through numerous methods to 32 countries. It assists customers throughout the product life cycle through innovation and technical support during the design phase, improved time to market and productivity during the build phase, or reduced purchasing costs and inventory optimization during the maintenance phase. The company provides customers with customized product and service offerings that are critical to the success of their businesses and help them save time and money.
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DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Bright Machines | January 25, 2023
On January 24, 2023, Bright Machines, a leader in intelligent, software-defined manufacturing, and Viridi Parente, Inc., a leading developer of safe, resilient, point-of-use battery storage technology, announced that Viridi has chosen Bright Machines to transform the company's U.S. electric battery manufacturing facility digitally. Bright Machines Microfactories, the company's full-stack assembly automation solution, modernizes production by integrating data and AI. This gives Viridi new capability to fulfill the growing demand for its zero-carbon emission energy battery solutions.
Viridi manufactures battery energy storage systems in Buffalo, New York. Bright Machines will play a key role in the assembly of Viridi's stationary lithium-ion battery pack system modules, which are developed and tested to be fail-safe for installation in industrial, commercial, and residential settings. Companies like Viridi and Bright Machines are fueling the United States' re-emergence as a global manufacturing powerhouse.
Bright Machines will assist Viridi in automating the assembly of its clean, sustainable power sources, which will replace century-old distributed energy platforms, including fossil fuel, lead-acid batteries, and other outmoded technologies. Additionally, Viridi will implement more sustainable practices by utilizing Bright Machines' intelligent automation solution, which evaluates production areas to determine the appropriate material requirements to reduce fault rates.
Viridi will also be able to decrease overproduction and instead produce-to-order depending on local market demand as its facility is near the end consumer. This will result in reduced landfill and an overall reduction in Viridi's carbon footprint.
The only option to reduce costs, emissions, and geopolitical risks while satisfying U.S. battery and electrification demand is to localize the production of crucial battery components. Intelligent assembly automation from Bright Machines enables rapid product evolution at a low cost while minimizing time to market. In addition, the trend toward closer-to-home production promotes jobs in the United States and allows businesses to progress their sustainability efforts through local and regional supply chains.
About Bright Machines
Founded in 2018, Bright Machines is a leading technology firm that offers an innovative approach to software-defined, intelligent manufacturing. It uses machine learning, computer vision, 3D simulation, and adaptive robotics to alter production's flexibility, scalability, and economics fundamentally. Bright Machines runs R&D facilities in the United States and Israel, with additional field operations in the United States, Mexico, China, and Poland, and it employs more than 500 people globally. It has been recognized as a "Technology Pioneer" by the World Economic Forum and one of "America's Most Promising Artificial Intelligence Companies" by Forbes in 2019.
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PROCUREMENT & SUPPLY CHAIN
Sealed Air Corporation | December 12, 2022
Highcon (TASE: HICN) today announced a $8M investment by Sealed Air Corporation (NYSE: SEE) in the context of a strategic collaboration between the two companies.
The scope of the strategic collaboration includes the following components:
Developing new product offerings, expansion into new segments and enabling manufacturing efficiencies by leveraging Highcon technology
$8M investment in the form of convertible debt and 15% warrants to be converted by the 5th anniversary of the Effective Date at a price of 3.1 NIS per share.
Additional warrants to be granted against possible future purchases up to $20 million of Highcon's products and services over a period of 3 years.
SEE, with revenues of $5.5B in 2021, is in business to protect, solve critical packaging challenges, and "make our world better than we find it." SEE has identified that Highcon's digital paperboard converting capabilities and its unequalled knowhow around laser cutting of paperboard can support and accelerate their vision and business objectives.
The strategic collaboration includes the purchasing of a Highcon Beam 2C system for delivery and installation in the first quarter of 2023. The in-house presence of the system will allow SEE to accelerate the testing of new designs and products, as well as the manufacturing and delivery of corrugated products to the company's customers.
"Over the past months, the SEE team has been really impressed with the talent at Highcon and the company's culture. Highcon's technology and capabilities represent a meaningful opportunity for SEE, Highcon's sustainability value proposition aligns with and can help us advance our vision and plans. The roadmap we are developing together is exciting, and our investment in Highcon is a natural first step in this context."
-Sergio Pupkin, SVP and Chief Growth & Strategy Officer, SEE.
SEE is taking Highcon's technology to places that were beyond the way that we typically defined our market opportunity. Growing that opportunity, entering new application spaces, and working together with a world class partner is very exciting, said Shlomo Nimrodi, Highcon's CEO. It's particularly gratifying to see how SEE reacted to the talent and passions of the Highcon team, and their recognition of the strategic value of our technology. I'm confident that it's just the beginning as we prove our value to SEE to enable further expansion of our relationship. I'm proud of what we've built so far at Highcon, and with this strategic partnership, we can move farther and faster. We are certainly expecting that this collaboration will have positive impact on the company's existing business.
In recent months, teams from Highcon and SEE have collaborated to explore the application of Highcon's solutions and technology to a range of different activities. "We've demonstrated that Highcon offers so much more than might at first meet the eye," added Nimrodi. I am proud that we've been able to reach an agreement like this despite the current challenging environment.
About Highcon:
Highcon develops, markets, sells and supports a portfolio of digital cutting and creasing systems that cover a wide range of formats, substrates and applications. The Highcon technology is transforming the industry, by providing cost effective solutions to the increasing manufacturing inefficiencies facing folding carton and corrugated carton manufacturers as the result of the emerging market trends of e-commerce, shorter time to market, lower job sizes and a drive to sustainability. Such requirements cannot be accommodated by the expensive and slow conventional die-making and setup process. The Highcon digital technology bridges the gap between agile production and design flexibility delivering improved responsiveness, JIT production, short runs, customization of structure and design, and the ability to perform a wide range of applications in-house. Highcon products are installed at customer sites around the world, including some multi-national companies, effectively supporting the needs of global and local brands. Highcon is publicly traded in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (HICN) and its leading investors are Landa Ventures owned by Benny Landa and JVP led by Erel Margalit
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