Diversification not only offers benefits when investing. It also provides a way for manufacturers to better serve their current customers and attract new ones.

MyAppCafé is a fully automated robotic barista. The machine is the brainchild of caterer and entrepreneur Michael Stille of Karlsruhe, Germany, who envisioned a fully automated system for vending coffee at catered events and trade shows.

Diabetes is on the rise worldwide. Some 10 million people are diagnosed with the disease every year. That unfortunate statistic has led to increased demand for insulin pens. These medical devices are used by diabetics to inject insulin.

A simple mechanical watch contains roughly 130 components. More complex watches contain hundreds of parts. A top-of-the-line model can have well over 1,000 parts.

Since 2010, more than 4,700 companies have brought back some or all of their manufacturing operations and sourcing to the U.S. Despite COVID-19, reshoring was up in 2020.

On March 26, Stellantis announced that it would temporarily close five North American assembly plants starting April 5. The affected plants are in Illinois, Michigan, Mexico and Canada. At press time, the plants were expected to be closed through mid-April.

Clichés have a place in manufacturing, so long as they truly fit the application. For example, the expression "It's not rocket science" is perfectly appropriate to describe the use of a small manual press for a punching operation in the assembly of a consumer product.

Last year's California wildfire season was a record-setting one for the state. By the end of 2020, more than 9,600 fires had burned nearly 4.4 million acres, or more than 4 percent of the state's roughly 100 million acres of land.

Some challenges that manufacturers face are simple, while others are multi-faceted. An example of the latter is continually providing customers with products that are stronger and more durable, yet lighter and smaller to minimize shipping costs.

No one wants to smell bad. Which is why deodorant is big business. The top 10 deodorant brands in the United States totaled more than $1.36 billion in sales in 2019, according to market research firm Statista.