Manufacturing & Industrial Technology

SAN ANTONIO – October 31, 2026 -- Toyota Texas has surpassed 4,000 team members at its San Antonio plant and is committing $250,000 in workforce development grants to three local organizations.

Supplier base adds 5,600 jobs on the Toyota Texas campus

More than 20 on-site suppliers employ an additional 5,600 people on the plant campus. The headcount milestone follows the completion of hiring for the new Rear Axle Unit Plant, which has brought on more than 400 employees ahead of its upcoming operations.

Toyota Texas said training, professional development and upskilling programs are meant to prepare employees for evolving manufacturing technologies.

"Manufacturing is ultimately about people," said Frank Voss, group vice president of truck manufacturing at Toyota Motor North America and president of Toyota Texas.

Frankfurt – October 31, 2026 -- Orders at German machine tool makers rose 12% year on year in the second quarter of 2026, following a 15% gain in the first quarter and bringing the first-half increase to 14%, according to the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders' Association). Domestic orders climbed 16% and foreign orders 13%.

Bernhard Geis, head of economics and statistics at the VDW, said the trough is behind the industry and the upward trend is consolidating. He cautioned against an all-clear, however. The recovery starts from a low base, and project business still contributes substantially to growth, so a broad-based demand recovery can only be claimed to a limited extent.

Frankfurt am Main – October 31, 2026 -- GrindingHub 2026 drew about 11,000 visitors and 462 exhibitors from 28 countries, with foreign participation above 50 percent, as grinding-technology suppliers pitched networked process chains to an industry facing falling output.

The show took place against declining production, weaker exports, rising energy and material costs and volatile sales markets. Exhibitors therefore stressed more productive and robust process chains over standalone machines. Sensors, measurement data and digital feedback are used for process monitoring and quality assurance. The 2024 edition already covered automation, digitalization, sustainability, coolant delivery and new grinding-tool concepts. In 2026 the emphasis moved to grinding as a connected process of machine, tool, sensors, metrology, data management, automation and service.

Frankfurt am Main – October 31, 2026 -- German machine tool orders rose 15 percent in the first quarter of 2026, the first notable upturn after three difficult years, while production fell 11 percent to EUR 2.8 billion, according to the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders' Association).

VDW chief economist Bernhard Geis said the trough has probably been passed but a clear trend reversal is still some way off. The coming months will show whether the recovery holds. Higher uncertainty and costs linked to the Middle East conflict are weighing on investment appetite.

Domestic and foreign orders rise 18 and 14 percent from a weak base

Domestic orders grew 18 percent and foreign orders 14 percent. The VDW cautions that the figures are only partly reliable: the starting level is low, especially in Germany, and one-off orders and project business play a major role. Service and retrofit business continue to stabilize the sector.

Frankfurt am Main – October 31, 2026 -- Fabio Schoppet, a 28-year-old apprentice at K.H. Müller Präzisionswerkzeuge GmbH, won the two-day live "Grinder of the Year" (GOTY) competition at GrindingHub in Stuttgart on May 6-7. He beat Max Bergner (2nd), Laurin Mink (3rd) and Arman Hamidi (4th). Finalists received education vouchers worth between 3,000 and 500 euros.

Organizer KSKomm runs the contest to promote young talent and counter the skilled-labor shortage in grinding technology. Managing Director Barbara Hannappel said the live format lets trade-fair visitors watch a drawing become a precision tool step by step.

Stuttgart – October 31, 2026 -- GrindingHub 2026 closed in Stuttgart with about 11,000 visitors and 462 exhibitors, and 37% of buying-influential attendees plan to invest within six months, organizer VDW said.

Visitor survey shows 82% involved in purchasing decisions

Visitors came from 59 countries, with Switzerland, Italy, France, Austria and Turkey the strongest represented. International attendees accounted for 38% of the total. Of those surveyed, 82% said they take part in purchasing and procurement decisions, and 37% of that group intend to invest in the next six months.

Dr. Markus Heering, Managing Director of VDW (German Machine Tool Builders' Association), said companies are investing in productivity, efficiency and future viability.

Stuttgart – – October 31, 2026 -- Foreign orders for grinding technology fell 51% in January and February 2026, even as GrindingHub opened in Stuttgart with 462 exhibitors from 28 countries. The trade fair is running against a weak demand backdrop for machine builders, tool makers and industrial users.

Foreign orders drop 51% while domestic orders rise 35%

Grinding technology orders declined by about 5% in 2025, with the sharpest losses in the domestic market. Production fell 19% last year and exports dropped 24%. The export ratio slid to roughly 76%, the lowest level in about six years.

The first two months of 2026 widened the gap between markets: foreign orders fell 51%, while domestic orders gained 35%.

Frankfurt – October 31, 2026 -- Fractions of a micrometer in grinding now decide the efficiency and noise level of electric vehicle drivetrains, and machine builders are answering with sub-micron surface finishing and digital twin process control. The topic is in focus at GrindingHub, organized by the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders' Association), which runs May 5-8, 2026 in Stuttgart.

Missing engine noise exposes gearbox flaws

Electric vehicles lack the masking sound of a combustion engine, so excitations from components such as the gearbox become far more audible, according to Prof. Thomas Bergs. He heads the Manufacturing Technology Institute (MTI) at RWTH Aachen and is a director at Fraunhofer IPT.

Global – October 31, 2026 -- Emerson completed the acquisition of all outstanding AspenTech common stock it did not already own in March 2025, the latest step in a portfolio reshaping that began with an all-cash $1.6 billion deal in 2020.

Emerson built a 55% AspenTech stake in 2022 before moving to full ownership

In May 2022, Emerson and AspenTech closed the combination of Emerson's industrial software businesses, OSI Inc. and its Geological Simulation Software business, with AspenTech. The deal created what the companies called a global industrial software leader, "new AspenTech." Emerson held 55% on a fully diluted basis, and AspenTech shareholders held the remaining 45%.

In November 2024, Emerson proposed to acquire all remaining AspenTech shares. It also began exploring strategic alternatives, including a cash sale, for its Safety & Productivity segment.

DAKAR – October 31, 2026 -- TCL donated a solar-powered 75-inch display delivering 4,000 nits of brightness at roughly 300W to Université Amadou Mahtar Mbow (UAM) in Senegal. The system uses about half the power of comparable outdoor displays, according to the company.

FSC panel drops color filters to lift light transmittance above 15%

The screen is built by TCL CSOT on Field Sequential Color (FSC) technology. It removes conventional color filters and generates color by sequentially switching red, green and blue light. This lifts transmittance above 15%. At UAM it will serve as an outdoor information hub, designed to stay legible in direct sunlight.