Published 12/16/2019

Noteworthy News: Growth Spurts

From new facilities dedicated to automation, training and distribution to new hires eager to tackle building relationships through providing excellent customer service, the industry innovators below are growing all across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Heather Wintle

Contributing Writer, MMT, MoldMaking Technology

FANUC Opens North Campus Robotics and Automation Facility

FANUC America will hold a grand opening celebration at its new 461,000 square-foot North Campus robotics and automation facility in Auburn Hills, MI, on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019. FANUC has invited customers, local officials, educators, suppliers and the media to an official program, ribbon cutting ceremony and facility tour. Special guests include Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Auburn Hills Mayor Kevin McDaniel and Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett. Constructed and in full operation just one year after breaking ground, the new facility houses several departments including engineering, product development, manufacturing and warehousing. Now, to keep pace with the growing demand for robots and automation, FANUC occupies over one million square feet of building space in Oakland County, Michigan.

GF Divisions Expand in Canada

Broadening their presence in Canada, GF Machining Solutions and GF Piping Systems will open a new joint headquarters to further strengthen direct sales and service support for Canadian manufacturers. The companies broke ground for the 67,000-square-foot facility located in Ontario, in late October of this year. The new Canadian headquarters will feature a 4,800-square-foot demonstration center along with full sales and service support staff that will ensure high responsiveness and application expertise. Also serving as a distribution center, the facility will streamline the sales and acquisition process for customers as well as help shorten delivery times.

Emuge Corp. Hosts Grand Opening of Expanded Manufacturing Facility

Emuge Corp. held a grand opening ceremony of its significantly expanded, custom-designed manufacturing facility on October 15, 2019. Marking a 35-year presence in the U.S. along with increased growth in North America, the expansion includes more manufacturing and tool reconditioning space, the addition of a new PVD coating center as well as an expanded Technology and Training Center. The expanded facility doubles the size of the original building to over 50,000 square feet total.

Sandvik Coromant Center to Open in North Carolina

Sean Holt, head of sales area Americas for Sandvik Coromant, announced a new Sandvik Coromant center will open in Mebane, NC, a geography heavy with aerospace and automotive manufacturing and a strong culture of innovation. The new center will showcase the latest in innovation and digital machining where customers and partners will be fully immersed in the latest technology and superior digital machining techniques, including CoroPlus, the platform that brings connectvitity to manufacturing. Currently, the company has a production unit in Mebane that manufactures special and standard products and will expand the existing production site space to fully utilize the capabilities of the current building.

SPE Announces New Headquarters Office Location

SPE announces the opening of its new headquarters office in Connecticut. Located at 100 Reserve Rd, Suite B310 in Danbury, the SPE office will be situated in the Summit at Danbury, a 1.3 million square foot living, working, and recreational environment located within 99 wooded acres. Well-known in the plastics industry, the Summit property was formerly home to Union Carbide’s headquarters building. Union Carbide pioneered the petrochemicals industry through the production of synthetic ethylene, which was developed into the industry's most important industrial hydrocarbon used in polyethylene (plastics).

GF Divisions Mexico Facility Broadens Sales and Service Support

GF Machining Solutions and GF Piping Systems are further enhancing their direct sales and service support to customers in Mexico with the opening of a new Nuevo Leon joint headquarters. In late October of this year, the companies conducted a groundbreaking ceremony for the 75,000-square-foot facility. With a state-of-the-art showroom and expansive inventory space, the new headquarters will house a full sales and service support staff that will ensure high responsiveness and application expertise. To help streamline the sales process and shorten delivery times for customers, the facility will also serve as a strategically located central distribution center for Mexico.

Husky Announces Organizational and Leadership Changes

Husky Injection Molding Systems announces organizational and leadership changes to its hot runners, controllers and medical (HRCM) business aimed at helping the company quickly and effectively support evolving customer needs around the world. These changes align with the company’s growth strategy and capitalize on existing synergies within its global operations team.

TST Tooling Announces Regional Sales Representative

TST Tooling Software is pleased to announce that John Barnes is the newest employee to join the company as a regional sales representative. Barnes has worked in the tooling industry for more than 25 years. Through dedication to his customers, he has earned a solid reputation for helping to choose and implement "best of breed" CAD/CAM/CAE solutions, which TST sells and supports. Barnes’ customers can always trust that he has their best interests in mind, forging long term relationships and pro actively addressing their questions about software systems to benefit a shop’s needs.

Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence Production Software Business Hires Four New Members

The Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence Production Software Business has hired four new team members in support of its metal-cutting software, including EDGECAM, SURFCAM and WORKNC.