Going with the flow of the marketplace not only makes sense for a manufacturer, it can also make the company lots of money. An equally beneficial strategy—implemented on an application-by-application basis—is to know the flow of each material being dispensed and equip accordingly. Electronics contract manufacturers are well aware of the benefits of both practices.

Millions of people visit health clubs to work out on stationary bikes and treadmills every day. In contrast, only several thousand people get their daily exercise by actually assembling these pieces of equipment.

Airline passengers may not be familiar with the manufacturer SAFRAN Landing Systems (SLS). But, for the past decade, the company’s braking, landing and monitoring systems have enabled millions of passengers to arrive safely at their destinations.

Most challenges manufacturers face involve the assembly process of one or more of their products. Sometimes, though, a company struggles with where to locate its headquarters or build another plant for market expansion.

Among the most innovative features on a new car is the keyless antenna, which emits a radio frequency signal to identify the owner’s key and open the car.

On construction jobsites throughout the world, contractors rely on the spirit level to make sure surfaces are truly flat (horizontal) or plumb (vertical). This type of level—so named because it contains a vial of alcohol (spirit) with a bubble in it—has been used for centuries and remains very popular.

Robots are increasingly being made to mirror humans. The best example of this is the dual-armed robot—such as ABB’s YuMi and Rethink Robotics’ Baxter—designed specifically to work closely with people on the assembly line.

Crop sprayers play a vital role in professional farm management. Farmers and farming contractors rely on this equipment to evenly apply exact amounts of nutrients and protectants on hundreds of acres on demand—although it’s not as easy as it sounds.

If Ohio ever needs a catch phrase to promote its manufacturing success, “five out of eight is great” would be appropriate. The reason is because Ohio is home to five of Whirlpool Corp.’s eight U.S. assembly plants. Those five factories are located in the Ohio cities of Clyde, Findlay, Greenville, Marion and Ottawa.

When one thinks of Italy, several things immediately come to mind. There’s wine and pasta, world-class soccer and gondoliers singing in Venice. Another thing that symbolizes Italy is Maserati, the manufacturer of technologically advanced sports cars.