Despite conventional wisdom that the South is the "best" place for manufacturing in the United States, the Northeast and West appear to be more cost-efficient locations.
Green manufacturing activity has remained steady over the past 12 months, buoyed by the rebounding economy. Manufacturers are engaged in a wide variety of sustainable initiatives, such as recycling, landfill gas and solar panels.
Assembly professionals are working harder than ever, but they’re travelling less. Almost one-half (49 percent) of ASSEMBLY’s 2011 State of the Profession survey respondents claim they do less work-related travel today vs. five years ago. One reason for that is the widespread proliferation of computer technology.
A humanoid robot named Elektro was the star of the Westinghouse pavilion at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Compared to the whiz-bang technology being developed by today's engineers, Elektro is quite primitive. But, he’s a bona fide robotic pioneer.