Museum exhibits highlight some of the many products that were once made in Chicago and Milwaukee factories

According to ASSEMBLY magazine’s annual Capital Equipment Spending Survey, half of all U.S. assembly plants will purchase electric or pneumatic fastening tools in 2020.

To draw attention to the breadth and quality of new technologies on display at The ASSEMBLY Show, we’re holding the 2nd annual “Product of the Year” contest at the show, and you—the attendees—will be the judges. We’ve nominated 20 products in five categories that we think are particularly innovative. Among them are four fastening tools.

John Glenn, the famous astronaut and politician, wrote about his history-making earth orbit flight, “As I hurtled through space, one thought kept crossing my mind: Every part of this rocket was supplied by the lowest bidder.” Today, we are all John Glenn.

The news about the 737 MAX has got me thinking about my own experience with the aerospace industry. There’s something cultural about the avionics and aerospace industries, the Defense Department and the FAA; they are impervious to ideas. The status quo cannot be unseated.

A professor at Purdue University believes that icy bobsled tracks could someday be replaced with a lubricated plastic surface.