Spanish manufacturer Martisa produces metal parts for the automotive industry at its Barcelona plant.

Shreveport, LA, is home to an Android Industries assembly plant and a General Motors manufacturing plant. Located just 1 mile apart, the two companies work closely together.

For more than a decade, the Coventry, UK-based wing of Indian TATA Group has owned Jaguar and Land Rover—two very different types of vehicles.

At every turn, lean has increased profits in the factory. Its best trick is to look at the work through a time lens, see wasted time, and get rid of it.

Situated on the University of Michigan campus in Dearborn, MI, is the Institute for Advanced Vehicle Systems (IAVS). Faculty and students conduct research on low-mass vehicles, power trains, manufacturing processes, and auto body and chassis systems.

KVH Industries Inc. knows that people love to be entertained in their vehicles. This is why they developed the TracVision satellite communications system about 10 years ago. TracVision can provide hundreds of channels of live satellite television and music to cars, motor coaches, RVs or boats. The most recent version of the system is the A7. Assembling the antenna for the A7 posed an adhesive-related challenge for KVH.

“Wire forming is our business,” automotive supplier JR Manufacturing writes on its Web site. As proof, the company points to the fact that it currently makes more than 100 wire seat components for major automakers, including Acura, Chrysler, Honda, Lexus, Mitsubishi and Toyota.

Last September, solar panel manufacturer Solyndra filed for bankruptcy and laid off 1,100 workers. The moves came just two years after the company received a $535 million loan guarantee from the Obama administration. Republicans have rightly criticized the administration over the loan, alleging that the Energy Department overlooked warning signs of Solyndra’s pending collapse.

The Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery AB factory in Finspang, Sweden, is one of the leading suppliers of steam turbines to the solar energy industry worldwide. In fact, two out of every four steam turbines made there will be used in the solar industry.

A unique inflatable gripper handles parts.