Industrial Manufacturing

Akron, Ohio – September 13, 2026 -- Harmoni, a Factory Orchestration platform for manufacturers, has raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners, the company announced. Alongside the raise, Harmoni unveiled HAL, an AI system designed to deliver context-aware intelligence directly to the factory floor.

Manufacturers face a projected shortfall of 3.8 million workers by 2033

Nearly half of those U.S. manufacturing positions risk going unfilled as reshoring initiatives and rising costs compound labor pressure, according to Harmoni. Founded in 2023 by David Caputo and Adam Ellis, the company built its platform to address fragmented factory-floor execution that persists despite heavy investment in ERP systems, machine connectivity, and automation.

Westminster, Colo. – September 13, 2026 -- Ball Corporation (NYSE: BALL) has appointed Darlene J. Nicosia, CEO of Maker's Pride, and Sherry L. Buck, former CFO of W. L. Gore & Associates, to its board of directors, adding decades of manufacturing, procurement and finance expertise ahead of the company's push for profitable growth.

Nicosia brings 30 years of food and beverage operations experience

Nicosia spent much of her career at The Coca-Cola Company, where she served as President of Canada and Northeast U.S. and Chief Procurement Officer. She began her career at PepsiCo and Kraft Foods Group, and previously chaired the Audit Committee at Foot Locker, Inc. from 2020 to 2025. At Ball, Nicosia will join the Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee and Finance Committee.

Cork, Ireland – September 13, 2026 -- Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE: JCI) has approved a regular quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share of common stock, the board announced.

Board sets Oct. 16, 2026 payout date for shareholders of record

The dividend is payable on Oct. 16, 2026, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Sept. 21, 2026.

Company extends 139-year unbroken dividend streak

Johnson Controls has paid a consecutive dividend since 1887, a track record spanning through multiple economic cycles. The Cork, Ireland-based firm operates in thermal management, mission-critical building systems, energy efficiency and decarbonization, serving sectors including data centers, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, advanced manufacturing and higher education.

Pittsburgh – September 13, 2026 -- Industrial Scientific has launched TectraTM, a connected personal gas monitoring ecosystem designed to replace standalone monitors with an integrated safety network for industrial plants.

Tectra iX5 monitor delivers 20-hour runtime and peer-to-peer alerts

The Tectra iX5 personal monitor combines rugged reliability with a 20-hour runtime, peer-to-peer alerts, and effortless data transfer, according to the company. It is built to protect workers throughout every shift without disrupting operations.

System bump-tests and calibrates six monitors simultaneously

Tectra streamlines daily maintenance by supporting quick bump tests and calibrations for up to six monitors at once, cutting the time workers spend preparing equipment before a shift. Hands-free data sharing and over-the-air updates remove dependence on individual docking devices for data transfer, improving system uptime.

Lexington, Ky. – September 13, 2026 -- Valvoline Global Operations has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Luval S.A., a Chilean manufacturer and distributor of high-performance lubricants, greases, and maintenance products, deepening its footprint in Latin America. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Deal builds on 37-year partnership between the two companies

Valvoline Global and Luval have maintained a commercial relationship spanning 37 years, with Luval serving as the brand's representative in the Chilean market. The acquisition formalizes that relationship by merging Valvoline Global's fluid technology leadership with Luval's local operational and commercial infrastructure.

Delray Beach, Fla. – September 13, 2026 -- The global automotive adhesives market will expand from $9.27 billion in 2026 to $12.36 billion by 2031, a 5.91% compound annual growth rate, according to MarketsandMarkets. Growth is being driven by lightweighting mandates, electric vehicle production, and manufacturing automation that favor adhesive bonding over traditional mechanical fastening.

Asia Pacific commands 59.3% of global adhesive value as regional vehicle output scales

Asia Pacific dominated the market in 2025 with a 59.3% value share, while Europe ranked second, supported by robotic dispensing and automated curing systems across vehicle plants. Passenger cars accounted for 70.7% of automotive adhesive demand by vehicle type in 2025, with light commercial vehicles holding the second-largest share as fleet operators standardize high-volume production runs.

North Billerica, Mass. – September 13, 2026 -- Mass-Vac, Inc. has launched the MV Multi-Trap® Vacuum Inlet Trap, a high-capacity filtration unit for plastic extrusion lines that is field-proven to extend vacuum pump life by more than 12 years.

Extrusion byproducts threaten pump reliability across manufacturing lines

Volatile materials released during extruded plastic and composite processing can degrade vacuum pumps over time, driving unplanned downtime and maintenance costs for manufacturers. The new trap is designed to intercept these byproducts before they reach the pump, using a two-stage filtration system built from 304 stainless steel.

Two-stage filtration combines knockdown baffle with gauze filters

The device features a full first-stage knockdown baffle followed by a second stage of stainless steel gauze filters, with an optional bottom cooling feature. Mass-Vac offers the trap in 10

Wilmington, Massachusetts – – September 13, 2026 -- Stafford Manufacturing Corp. has released a full line of shaft collars, couplings, and flange mounts engineered specifically for conveyor and packaging equipment in the food and beverage sector, targeting operators that require frequent wash-down cycles under USDA and FDA compliance standards.

New product line fits round, square and hex bores across multiple materials

The Stafford Shaft Collars, Couplings & Flange Mounts are machined from 303 and 316 stainless steel, food-grade Blue Acetal, Nylon, or Delrin, paired with 18-8 or 316 stainless steel fasteners. The components are available in one- and two-piece designs, giving equipment manufacturers flexibility for assembly and maintenance without full shaft disassembly.

Hong Kong – September 12, 2026 -- SANY Heavy Industry (600031.SH) reported first-half 2026 revenue of approximately $7.89 billion, up 19.49% year-on-year, with attributable net profit rising 9.13% to $838.887 million.

Second-quarter revenue growth outpaces first-half rate at 24.39%

Q2 revenue reached $4.328 billion, exceeding the H1 growth rate, while attributable net profit for the quarter climbed 16.93% to $473.108 million. Operating cash flow totaled $1.440 billion. As of June 30, total assets stood at $26.708 billion and equity at $13.576 billion.

Taipei – September 12, 2026 -- DFI has introduced the ARH171/ARH173, a Mini-ITX embedded platform that runs on two Intel Core Ultra processor generations from a single board, targeting AI-driven robotics and industrial automation.

Platform delivers up to 99 TOPS to power on-device AI inference

The ARH171/ARH173 supports 16 Intel Core Ultra processor options spanning Meteor Lake-U/H and Arrow Lake-U/H, with power ranges of 15-28W and Intel vPro available on select SKUs. Arrow Lake-H configurations reach up to 99 total platform TOPS, with the integrated Intel Arc GPU and dedicated NPU accelerating inference through OpenVINO, DirectML, and ONNX RT, reducing dependence on discrete graphics cards.