TOLEDO, OH—Johnson Controls is expanding the production of absorbent glass mat batteries for automotive applications. Since 2012, the automotive supplier has devoted $130 million to manufacturing this battery technology.
PARIS—Airbus has developed “connected glasses” for technicians to wear on the A330 final assembly line. The glasses enable precise positioning—down to the millimeter—during the cabin installation marking process, when operators designate the exact location where seats and cabin furnishings should be affixed inside the aircraft.
VICTORIA, TX—Caterpillar will move its vocational truck manufacturing operation from Mexico to its assembly plant here. The move will bring 200 new jobs to the facility.
WASHINGTON—A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. Congress is proposing legislation that would designate 25 manufacturing universities across the country and provide each with $20 million over four years. The designated universities would be expected to invest the funds in creating advanced manufacturing engineering programs, strengthening partnerships with manufacturers, and enabling more manufacturing entrepreneurship.
BERLIN—Volkswagen has for the first time edged past Toyota as the world’s No. 1 automaker during the first half of 2015. VW sold 5.04 million units from January to June, while Toyota’s count during the same period was 5.02 million.