Darren Roos led SAP cloud ERP business before joining smaller competitor IFS, and has some words of wisdom concerning manufacturing in the cloud and making the top role your own. Cloud computing isn’t new, but it's mature enough now that it looms large over every aspect of manufacturing. Darren Roos has felt how big a role the cloud can play to plant operations as president of SAP's cloud ERP business, which he helped construct and launch in 2016. Now the native South African has taken the...

The factory cost $58 million to build, but the business value is so much more for the 20-year-old company, says co-founder and managing director Martin McVicar. "The combination of this state-of-the-art production plant and the growing skilled workforce will allow us to double production within the next five years," he says.

Ultimaker's North American president discusses the evolution of the desktop 3D printer and how they have immediate cost and time benefits on the factory floor. John Kawola began working in the additive manufacturing space in 1997, a time when decent 2D printer could cost several thousand dollars. He worked his way up the Z Corp ladder, residing as CEO for four years, until the company was acquired by 3D Systems in 2012. He left the 3D printing world to run an automation company and few other...

Safety and plant managers are bombarded with super safe, productivity-boosting solutions they can't always afford. So what's the alternative? It’s not an easy time to be a material handling manager. Aside from whatever specific day-to-day you-know-what gets shoveled on you from the top and bottom of the supply chain, you have every trade mag and organization that enters into your purview telling you how safe and productive robots are, while your human workers, who always seem to have a sick...

Using 3D printing methods, robotics and the Red Planet's dirt could be the secret to construct a permanent Martian settlement. Applying this strategy on Earth could build a brighter future for industry. We all know Elon Musk's true goal in life isn't to perfect automated manufacturing to churn out Tesla's electric cars. The ambitious futurist wants to get to Mars. He detailed last September how that journey could start as early as 2022, with cargo shuttles dropping off power and mining...