IEN Radio

The Lanzador features many design aspects that tie back to its legacy but it also differs from many other Lamborghinis by riding higher off the ground – likely making it a lot easier to get in and out of. According to CNN , the Lanzador will offer 1,300 horsepower but since it won’t have a gas engine behind the seats, it can provide optional seating for up to four. The extra seats can also be fold...

On August 7, Ford CEO Jim Farley announced on LinkedIn that he would take a road trip across the American West in the automaker’s F-150 Lightning.  Farley explained that the purpose of the trip was to visit researchers, businesses, dealers, salespeople, EV conversion shops and EV drivers to gain insights that could advance Ford’s electric vehicle division . Highlights on the tour included stops in...

On Tuesday, VinFast went public after merging with a blank check company called Black Spade Acquisition. Motley Fool calls VinFast “a small electric vehicle manufacturer with large ambitions” and it’s just how large and attainable those ambitions are that investors can’t seem to agree on.

 Auto News is reporting that Mitsubishi is looking to eliminate the Mirage from its lineup – most notable for being the only vehicle Cox Automotive says transacted for under $20,000 new last month. With a starting price of just $17,340 – including shipping – the Mirage has offered entry to the new car market during a time period where the average new vehicle sells for a stunning $48,000.

On Monday, Deere & Company announced plans to build a new 115,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in North Carolina. According to the company, the new factory will expand production capacity for Kreisel Electric products, namely battery technology for e-mobility and stationary systems, as well as Level 3 charging solutions. If you recall, John Deere bought a majority ownership stake in the Aus...

OSHA released its findings from a federal workplace safety investigation into a metal plant explosion that an agency official called "entirely preventable." The incident at the I. Schumann & Co. foundry in Bedford, Ohio, last February resulted in a maintenance supervisor's death and injured 15 other workers. Now, the company is facing six serious violations and $62,500 in propos...

A train collision last year that killed four has been blamed on design faults in a railroad crossing. The National Transportation Safety Board this week released findings from its investigation into a 2022 collision involving an Amtrak train and a dump truck. The truck driver and three train passengers were killed in the accident and another 146 train passengers and crew were injured. The accident...

They’re calling it a “consolidation” but what it amounts to illustrates the massive shift in consumer auto preferences that’s taken place over the last few decades. Autocar UK is reporting that Volvo has killed sedans and wagons in the UK, as slumping sales in those models have led the Swedish automaker to a crossover- and SUV-only offering. If you look back at Volvo, it’s fair to say that the com...

Sinister Diesel, a California-based truck parts manufacturer, has been slapped with a heavy fine for selling devices that defeat a vehicle’s emissions controls. For 10 years, Sinister manufactured and sold “delete devices” or “defeat devices” that allow vehicles like diesel trucks to dramatically increase the amount of pollutants they put in the air. The practice, often referred to as “rolling coa...

Drawing inspiration from Seinfeld’s Kramer and Newman, a family that operated recycling centers in California attempted to capitalize on the state's beverage container recycling program. According to a statement from the office of California's Attorney General Rob Bonta, during an eight-month period, the eight family members brought some 178 tons of aluminum cans and plastic bottles from...

The Ohio based EV company recently revealed that a partnership with Foxconn that intended to save it would actually result in bankruptcy . But it’s how quickly that bankruptcy is permitted to take place that’s now the issue at hand. After a fumbling Lordstown took a lifeline from Taiwan-based electronics company Foxconn, it was with the plan that two partners would advance the development and prod...

Fuell’s vision for the Fllow was to “put freedom, technology and emotion back into urban travel.” To accomplish this vision, Fuell sought to reinvent a comfortable ride with powerful acceleration in an urban environment with pollution constraints.  According to Fuell, the Fllow has the luggage capacity and practicality of a large scooter but appears and handles more like a mid-size motorcycle. Ele...

Anheuser-Busch yesterday announced plans to cut hundreds of jobs at the beer maker. Frontline staff won't be impacted, so brewery and warehouse workers as well as field sales and drivers are safe.  According to CNN , the company is laying off less than 2% of employees, primarily corporate staff, in an effort to "simplify" the organization. The company has some 19,000 employees in th...

A NASA employee working within the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is facing charges that he fraudulently obtained COVID-19 relief funds and used the money in part to fund an illegal cannabis growing operation. Armen Hovanesian, a cost-control and budget-planning resource analyst for the JPL, allegedly submitted three loan applications in 2020 for businesses he controlled. Those funds from the...

For this episode, I welcome Kyle Goodman, a 23-year-old project engineer at Buffalo Manufacturing Works, a non-profit R&D organization, operated by engineering consultancy EWI, that helps small and medium manufacturers understand and implement new automation technologies. In this episode, Kyle and I discuss how his experience with cobots in internships brought him to his current position, why...

The timeline of the ill-fated Stanley Black & Decker plant in Fort Worth, Texas, once tasked with manufacturing mechanics tools under the Craftsman brand, lasted about six years. In 2017, Stanley bought the Craftsman brand from Sears for about $900 million. Two years later, the company broke ground on the 425,000-square-foot manufacturing plant.

Efforts on behalf of the federal government to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing have taken the form of the CHIPS & Science Act, which provides billions in funding to bolster capacity, boost R&D, add regional high-tech hubs and facilitate a larger, more inclusive STEM workforce. And while this legislation is credited for the wave of greenfield investment in chip plants that’s foll...

At one point, the Franco-British Concorde provided commercial supersonic air travel. But factors including noise, expense and a fatal crash ultimately led to the aircraft’s retirement in 2003. The historic plane could move faster than Mach 2 and once traveled from New York City to London in under three hours. Its capabilities still intrigue the aerospace industry today, and NASA and Lockheed Marti...

On January 11, 2023, a 21-year-old new employee was being trained at the Missouri Mats sawmill in Brashear, Missouri, when he was caught and pulled into the vertical edger blades of a Hurdle saw. The worker had been on the job less than a month and was fatally injured in the industrial accident. Missouri Mats cuts lumber products that are used in various industries. According to OSHA, company owne...

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the conflict sparked debate over whether manufacturers caught in the midst of battle should stay, sell or shutter operations. On Sunday, Russia seized control of a pair of major food manufacturers, including the French yogurt maker Danone subsidiary and a local brewer owned by Danish outfit Carlsberg . According to Reuters, President Vladimir Putin sig...

When you’re dipping into a big bowl of guacamole, you’re likely not thinking about the tedious labor that went into making it. Before you can enjoy an avocado-based dip, someone has to core, peel and slice the actual avocados. Chipotle workers, however, may soon get to hand off that thankless work to an unsuspecting robot. The fast casual chain is currently testing Autocado , a prototype avocado p...

A paint booth is a volatile environment due to all the small, flammable particles that just need a little ignition to start a fire or cause an explosion. Fire hazards, exposed motors or circuitry, and insufficient ventilation can all spark serious events. But ABB’s IRB 5510 paint robot helps make sure that doesn’t happen by being “explosion proof.” That’s how Israel Garcia, an applications enginee...

In the debut episode, I spoke to Seyi Oluwashina, a 25-year-old employee of Siemens who discussed what drew him to his company, the mindset of Gen Z-ers in manufacturing and how manufacturers can attract more young workers. In this episode, I welcome Sevann Bignon, a 23-year-old process improvement specialist at DeAngelo Marine Exhaust in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Bignon admits joining a manufactu...

The Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN), which is the industry association driving adoption of the Combined Charging System (CCS) and the Megawatt Charging System (MCS) platforms, has come out in opposition to Ford and Tesla’s recently announced agreement that will open Tesla’s EV charging station network up to Ford’s lineup of EVs. The deal will allow Ford’s electric vehicles to use Tesla’s No...