Battery manufacturers tend to be conservative in their efforts to maximize production processes and still maintain sustainable assembly costs.

MARSHALL, MI—Ford Motor Co. plans to build a $3.5 million factory here to mass-produce lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries.

Whether building new production lines or converting existing internal combustion engine assembly plants to produce electric vehicles, automakers need a broad array of flexible, open and proven automation technologies. 

Based in Plymouth, MI, Adient plc is the world’s largest manufacturer of automotive seating, accounting for one-third of the global market and providing components for 25 million vehicles.

Lightweighting can improve the strength, stability and performance of electric vehicles. To address the challenge, automakers are exploring new materials that boost operating range, one of the biggest hurdles to widespread EV acceptance.

Any assembly that turns, rotates or pivots—gearboxes, bearings, levers, reclining mechanisms—is typically tested to ensure that it works as intended. 

Initiated in 2004, the Assembly Plant of the Year award showcases world-class production facilities in America and the people, products, and processes that make them successful. 

What were ASSEMBLY Magazine's Top 10 most popular articles from 2022? Multimedia Editor Jennifer Pierce links up with Chief Editor John Sprovieri and Senior Editor Austin Weber for a countdown of the ten most-read manufacturing stories from 2022. 

LOS ANGELES—Lockheed Martin Ventures, the venture capital arm of Lockheed Martin Corp., is investing in Machina Labs, a start-up company developing technology that combines AI and robotics to rapidly manufacture advanced sheet metal products.

MEXICO CITY—Tesla is considering building an assembly plant about 2 miles from Felipe Angeles International Airport here.