Sometimes, a new supplier of assembly technology is created by an OEM when it can’t seem to find existing technology to meet its needs.

Cardinal Health Inc. is a Fortune 500 health care services company based in Dublin, OH. The company specializes in distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical products, serving more than 100,000 locations.

In April, President Donald Trump made good on a campaign promise and ordered the Commerce Department to conduct a “Section 232” review of steel imports. A provision of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, Section 232 authorizes the gov-ernment to take action to limit imports of products if they threaten national security.

When I was a lad, the family car only had an AM radio, which was just fine with my father. All he wanted was to listen to the ballgame. FM radio? Tape player? Man, those were luxuries!

A cell phone manufacturer had a problem: Although it was staffed by four assemblers, the screwdriving station had become a bottleneck.

During a recent road trip, I encountered two bridges under repair. Both bridges had only one lane open, necessitating a way to alternate the flow of traffic. At the first bridge, that task was handled by two flagmen, one on each end. At the second, traffic was controlled by a pair of portable, automatic gates.

During a recent visit to this bright, open, state-of-the-art factory, I took a turn on the line assembling one of DEWALT’s hottest products, the 20-volt MAX XR three-speed cordless drill and screwdriver, which is powered by a brushless motor and a 5 amp-hour lithium-ion battery.

Plastics and polymer composites are essential to a wide range of safety and performance parts in cars today. In fact, the use of plastic and polymer composites in light vehicles has increased from less than 20 pounds per vehicle in 1960 to 334 pounds per car in 2015.

On May 12, hackers launched a “ransomware” cyberattack that would eventually infect 300,000 machines in 150 countries over a three-day period.