IEN Radio

EV maker Rivian decided they wanted to have some fun with their customers this Halloween and - when that’s the case - who you gonna call? Apparently Sony Pictures - where a collaboration with the studio, says Rivian, will “bring the Ghostbusters universe to all Rivian vehicles.” Delivered last week via an over-the-air software update, Rivian is transforming its vehicles into “ghost-hunting machine...

Engineers from the University of Colorado Boulder have designed invisible multicolored tattoo inks that can be switched on and off with different kinds of light.  The ideological version of this technology would allow individuals to hide their tattoos during important business meetings—and not for any other reason ever.  The inks, known as "PhotoTat," are made from dyes and a plexiglass-...

Welcome to another episode of Gen Z in Manufacturing, a podcast that asks young people about their journeys in manufacturing, how they intend to influence the industry and what they are looking for from an employer. For this episode, I welcome Rayyan Shafqat, a 15-year-old student at Brooklyn Technical High School. Shafqat recently designed an Arduino-based carbon monoxide detection system that au...

When Volkswagen-backed Scout Motors announced in 2023 that it would be building a sprawling factory in Richland County, South Carolina, reaction for the community was largely positive. The goal for the 110,000 square-foot-plant was to produce 200,000 vehicles per year and employ 4,000 workers. But more recently, the supporters of this project have declined by at least two. An elderly couple who li...

Investigators in Northeast Philadelphia responded to the scene of an alleged cargo theft this week. A truck driver from Wisconsin reported that he had driven his rig to Pennsylvania before settling down for the night to rest in a parking area. At 3:45 am, the driver awoke to his cab shaking and discovered that three individuals had broken the vehicle’s seal and begun loading pallets of meat into a...

The name VinFast might ring a bell - not because you’ve likely seen its auto badge out on the road, but because the company has made some headlines over the past few years. This Vietnam-based EV maker, in 2022, pledged to build a $2 billion factory in Chatham County, North Carolina. The goal of this plant was to open in 2026 and produce 150,000 VinFast vehicles each year, a task they said would em...

Researchers from North Carolina State University are using powdered eggshells to make high-quality magnesium alloys that could be used in an array of automotive, aerospace and biomedical applications. And while Americans consume roughly 275 million eggs every single day, we certainly have a substantial waste stream to work with.  The researchers believe the eggshells could help create a low-cost,...

When Figure, a company developing humanoid robots, needed ideas for disposing of its previous generation, an elegant solution came from a somewhat unlikely source. The company said that with its fleet of Figure 03 bots growing, it no longer had the time and space to support Figure 02. But it couldn’t just throw out the humanoids and risk someone getting their hands on all types of proprietary tech...

When the pigeons started getting a little too familiar at one Ford factory, plant managers turned to another bird for help. Ford’s 12 million-square-foot facility in Hermosillo, Mexico employs more than 4,000 workers and builds more than 300,000 pickup trucks and SUVs every year. It also used to have a serious pigeon infestation issue. According to the Wall Street Journal , the stout-bodied birds...

Researchers from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) have created a new biomimetic autonomous drone. Released from the air, the Albatross falls like a maple seed, lands on the water and then rights itself to sail autonomously by harvesting wind energy. These drones could one day monitor environmental conditions for weeks at a time. After all, remote waters are difficult to mon...

On Friday afternoon, a massive industrial fire erupted at the East Jordan Plastics Factory in South Haven, Michigan. The blaze started at 3:47 pm and firefighters remained on the scene until the site was finally cleared around 6:00 am Saturday. A giant column of smoke could be seen for more than 40 miles, and at least 16 different fire departments used about 2 million gallons of water to contain t...

Ultium Cells, the joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solution, announced plans to retool its Spring Hill, Tenn. facility to manufacture prismatic lithium manganese-rich (LMR) battery cells for future GM electric vehicles. The companies anticipate construction and upgrades will begin this year, with completion scheduled for 2028. The project also intends to create 500 jobs. Ultium C...

Welcome to another episode of Gen Z in Manufacturing , a podcast that asks young people about their journeys in manufacturing, how they intend to influence the industry and what they are looking for from an employer. For this episode, I welcome Nick Knotts, a 25-year-old graduate research assistant for Advanced Steel Processing and Products Research Center at the Colorado School of Mines. Knotts s...

A recent situation at a Purina plant in Flagstaff, Arizona resulted in a visit from the local Fire Department. Responders were called to an active chemical leak at the plant, which produces hundreds of thousands of tons of dog food annually for brands like Alpo, Beneful and Pro Plan. According to reports, the factory team came upon a chemical spill of approximately 10 gallons and evacuated its boi...

The new facility will consolidate its current locations in Iowa and California. A century-old Iowa honey producer has broken ground on what it says will eventually be the largest honey bottling plant in the world. The Sioux Honey Association Co-op held a ceremony Tuesday to officially start construction on a 440,000-square-foot facility in Sioux City. The $130 million project, KTIV-TV reported, wo...

The Lego Group today announced a massive $400 million expansion in Monterrey, Mexico. The project will add 62,000 square meters, increase total production capacity by 35% and create additional packing and warehousing capacity. It will also add 1,300 jobs by 2029. The facility currently has some 7,300 employees. The Lego Group has continued to expand its Monterrey factory since it opened in 2008. C...

A West London man was sentenced to three and a half years in prison after police uncovered an “underground vinyl manufacturing plant operating on an industrial scale.” According to officials, the facility generated more than $3.5 million by producing and distributing thousands of counterfeit vinyl records across the UK. The City of London Police estimate the underground plant, led by 40-year-old R...

Hanwha Defense USA, a subsidiary of South Korean Hanwha Aerospace, yesterday announced plans to build a $2.2 billion advanced manufacturing campus in Arkansas. The investment is expected to create some 400 jobs at an average wage of $50 per hour at U.S. Army Pine Bluff Arsenal (PBA) over the next seven years. Hanwha Defense’s new facility at the military manufacturing installation will focus on th...

The projects will include expanded or new sites across production, distribution and administration. The Coca-Cola Company plans to invest some $10 billion dollars across its U.S. operations over the next five years, company officials said this week. The Atlanta-based beverage giant said that the projects would include new sites or expanded locations across its production, distribution and office o...

Welcome to another episode of Gen Z in Manufacturing, a podcast that asks young people about their journeys in manufacturing, how they intend to influence the industry and what they are looking for from an employer.  For this episode, I welcome Bahir Usanmaz, a 26-year-old AI software engineer for Nordson Test & Inspection, a manufacturer of metrology and inspection systems and sensors for a r...

Being trapped in a collapsed building or cave is already scary enough without giant cockroaches crawling toward you. But don’t worry! They’re here to help. Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia have worked with biomedical engineers at the University of New South Wales to develop a swarm of cyborg insect paramedics. The Giant Burrowing Cockroaches are outfitted with lightweight e...

Yenkin-Majestic Paint Corporation pleaded guilty in federal court to a negligent endangerment charge related to an explosion that killed a press room supervisor, hospitalized eight other workers and caused more than $90 million in property damages.  The Department of Justice reported that the Ohio-based coatings and resin manufacturer fabricated and installed a new door, or manway, on one of the k...

Researchers from North Carolina State University recently found that composite metal foam (CMF) could significantly improve auto safety during frontal collisions.  The team used computational models to run detailed simulations and found that adding CMF to a cars front rails would help absorb more energy during high-velocity impacts. These foams have hollow spheres made of metals or alloys embedded...

Northern Tool + Equipment isn’t your typical retailer. While the business has more than 130 retail locations throughout the U.S. selling power tools and light industrial equipment, Northern Tool is also a manufacturer, and it recently made significant changes to reshore manufacturing operations. The company's retail shelves are filled with more than 100,000 tools from notable brands, like Sti...

On August 19th, tool giant Stanley Black & Decker filed a WARN notice with the state of Maryland, alerting officials to its plans to close a 75-year-old factory. Built in 1951 to produce power tools, the Hampstead, Maryland Black & Decker plant well preceded the 2010 merger between the former company and Stanley Works. And over the years, the company’s name isn't the only thing that’s...