Eric Sorensen

IEN Radio

News EN ↓ 1102 episodes

Radio for manufacturing and engineering professionals. New industrial products, news and technical articles.

Author

Eric Sorensen

Category

News

Podcast website

www.ien.com

Latest episode

Jul 11, 2026

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Episodes

LISTEN: California Doles Out $100 Million to Improve Jobs, Manufacturing in the State 19.11.2025

California Governor Gavin Newsom yesterday announced nearly $100 million in tax credits spread across nine different companies to create new jobs and strengthen manufacturing in the Golden State.  The Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development awarded $99.9 million in California Competes Tax Credits to support some 2,752 new jobs with an average weighted annual salary of $139,000....

LISTEN: Tesla Says No More Chinese Components in U.S. Cars 18.11.2025

Tesla is asking suppliers to remove all Chinese components used in the manufacturing of its cars for the U.S. market.  According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal , the company had previously stopped using Chinese suppliers for automobiles destined for the U.S. market, and now it's asking suppliers to do the same. 

LISTEN: Tesla Recalls 10,500 Powerwalls After Fires 17.11.2025

Tesla yesterday issued a recall for its Tesla Powerwall 2 AC Battery Power Systems. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the lithium-ion battery cells in about 10,500 Powerwall 2 systems can cause the unit to stop functioning during normal use.  The systems are overheating. Tesla has already received 22 reports of malfunctioning devices, including six in which the unit started smok...

LISTEN: Oshkosh Defense to Cut 160 Workers Following Q3 Sales Slide 14.11.2025

On the heels of securing an $89 million U.S. Army modernization contract and introducing a new family of multi-mission autonomous vehicles, Oshkosh Defense is making headlines again; this time for workforce reductions. Following a $52.8 million decline in third-quarter sales, the company announced plans to lay off 160 employees at its Oregon Street plant in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, effective January. T...

LISTEN: Honda Wheels Could Fall Off Due to an Italian Fence Mishap 13.11.2025

Honda has issued a massive recall impacting hundreds of thousands of Civic models and the root cause is, you guessed it, a mixup with a fence in Italy. The automaker warned that 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels that were sold as accessories could detach from the vehicle due to a manufacturing error. As the company points out, having the wheels fly off your car can result in “a loss of control, increa...

LISTEN: How This 19-Foot-Long Station Wagon Hit 180 MPH 12.11.2025

A fascinating feat of automotive engineering is set to be auctioned later this month. The 'Beast' is a 19-foot long, two-door station wagon made in 1972 by British engineer John Dodd, and combines an aircraft-derived engine in a custom chassis. Station wagons are typically 15 feet to 16 feet long.  According to Historics Auctioneers, which will set the Beast free to the highest bidder on...

LISTEN: Musk’s Tunneling Company Fined $500K for Dumping Wastewater into Manholes 11.11.2025

The Boring Company, a tunneling firm founded by Elon Musk, received a fine of about $500,000 for dumping wastewater at two sites across its Las Vegas project, Fortune reported . Musk’s company wants to build a network of tunnels beneath cities to decrease traffic congestion. The company’s website mentions that it has received approval for 68 miles of tunnel and 104 stations for its Vegas Loop. How...

LISTEN: Novelis Reveals Plan to Restart Hot Mill Damaged in Fire 10.11.2025

Novelis announced in its latest quarterly report that it plans to restart a hot mill damaged by a fire at its Oswego, New York plant. The metal manufacturer expects operations to resume in December. 

LISTEN: Flooring Manufacturer to Close 3 Plants, Cut 500 Jobs At Christmastime 07.11.2025

A McAdenville, North Carolina carpet factory will be closing its doors, with layoffs set to begin just two days after Christmas. Mannington Mills is a fifth generation family-owned business based in Salem, NJ that’s produced flooring products for 110 years. On its website, the company claims to have more than 3,500 associates and multiple locations globally. But those figures will be shifting meas...

LISTEN: ATS Countersues Andersen After Accusations of ’Poor Management’ for Project That Ran 860 Days Late 06.11.2025

Last month, Andersen Corporation, a leading manufacturer of windows and doors, sued automation company ATS Corporation, for allegedly failing to deliver equipment for a multi-million dollar factory project at its Iowa subsidiary, Eagle Window and Door Manufacturing, Inc. Andersen claims it poured millions into the facility to increase production of its high-end E-Series windows for the custom home...

Toyota Debuts Autonomous Car Concept to Transport Kids 05.11.2025

It looks like an escape pod. 

LISTEN: Anduril Opens Ghost Shark Factory as First Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Rolls Off the Line 03.11.2025

The project went from prototype to fleet in less than three years.

LISTEN: Sandvik Unveils “eNimon” to Highlight the Critical Role of Sustainable Mining 30.10.2025

Swedish engineering company Sandvik says the global transition to sustainability faces a major challenge: while technologies such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels depend on “clean” minerals, the demand for materials like copper, nickel, and lithium is rapidly outpacing supply. To draw attention to the source of these essential resources, Sandvik has introduced the eNimon, or N...

Gen Z in Manufacturing: How Gen Z Decides Between University and Trade School 28.10.2025

Welcome to another episode of Gen Z in Manufacturing , a podcast where I interview 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 Kyle Walter, a 24-year-old analyst at Deloitte . Walter graduated from Wichita State University, where he studied mechanical engineering and worked...

LISTEN: Amazon Believes Robotics Could ‘Flatten’ Its Hiring Within a Decade 28.10.2025

Automating most company operations could prevent more than 600,000 new hires.

LISTEN: Rivian Reportedly Laying Off 600 Workers 27.10.2025

Electric vehicle maker Rivian plans to lay off approximately 4% of its workforce, according to the Wall Street Journal. The report stated that the development would impact over 600 employees. However, the company has not provided further details. The news comes after a WSJ report in September that Rivian would cut about 1.5% of its workforce. A company spokesperson said that the previous layoffs i...

LISTEN: World’s Largest Playable Gaming Screen Carried by a Helicopter in Miami 24.10.2025

Some marketing efforts are just simple PR stunts, while others are truly revolutionary feats of engineering. But when a gamer and a hip-hop artist take to the skies to play a video game on a giant screen suspended from a helicopter while flying in a different helicopter, why can't both be true?

LISTEN: Hypersonic Space Plane Promises Delivery in One Hour, Anywhere on Earth 23.10.2025

Even a fairly straightforward pizza delivery still requires at least 30 minutes to bake the pie, throw it in a car and drive it to your door. But Inversion, an aerospace and defense technology company, is raising the stakes by promising to deliver cargo from space to just about anywhere on Earth within one hour.

LISTEN: SpaceX 'Behind' on Moon Mission, NASA to Reopen Contract 22.10.2025

The goal of Project Artemis has been characterized as a journey to the Moon “for scientific discovery, technology advancement, and to learn how to live and work on another world as we prepare for human missions to Mars.”

LISTEN: Eye Implant Paired with AR Glasses and AI to Help Blind Patients Read Again 21.10.2025

Researchers from University College London and Moorfields Eye Hospital recently announced the results of a trial for a new device that helps the blind not just see again, but read again. The Prima device is a novel wireless subretinal photovoltaic implant paired with specialized glasses that project near-infrared light to the implant, which acts like a miniature solar panel. The device is being de...

LISTEN: Battery Startup Launches Factory in Former Newspaper Building 16.10.2025

The Austin American-Statesman reported that battery manufacturing startup Base Power moved into the newspaper’s former downtown Austin building. Founded in 2023, the startup makes residential batteries and plans to use the publication’s previous site temporarily.

LISTEN: Former Ohio Paper Mill Repurposed to Manufacture Medical Gloves 15.10.2025

In the heart of Chillicothe, Ohio, a 175-year-old paper mill, long considered an unofficial symbol of the community, was forced to end production in August. Once a cornerstone of the town of 22,000, demand for the specialty paper it produced steadily declined, leading to its closure. First announced in April, the shutdown affected roughly 750 employees, who were notified months in advance. As Pixe...

LISTEN: ABB to Sell Robotics Divison for $5.4 Billion 14.10.2025

An engineering brand synonymous with bots will divest its robotics division. ABB has announced that it is selling this business to SoftBank – a Japanese financial holding company with a heavy emphasis in technology. SoftBank owns significant stakes in major companies like Nvidia and T-Mobile, and recent reports have suggested that the firm is carving out a strategic growth plan specific to AI. And...

LISTEN: Ford Could Lose Up to $1 Billion as Plant Fire Hobbles F-150 Production 13.10.2025

The Ford F-150 has been a top-selling pickup truck in America for many years running, but a recent disaster at the plant of one of the automaker’s key suppliers speaks to the precarious nature of even the most valuable supply chains. On September 16th, a fire took place at the Oswego, New York factory of metal manufacturer Novelis – an event that reportedly leveled the plant’s hot mill, which is t...

LISTEN: Manufacturer Sues Automation Company Over Troubled Factory Overhaul 10.10.2025

The maker of windows and doors says that its equipment is more than two years overdue.

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