Manufacturing

Leveraging the benefits of automation: the next step for Spanish industry A study by the UOC reveals that industrial companies could significantly increase their sales if they were to rethink how they use new technologies Automated companies are five times more profitable; they generate four times more added value and export up to seven times more than their more conventional competitors. However, despite the obvious advantages of incorporating new technologies into productive processes and delving into the dynamics of the economy 4.0, a study led by Joan Torrent, full professor of Economics and researcher at the Faculty of Economics and...

Drone Industry Investment: DroneBase Scores Additional $7.5 Million Drone industry investment hasn’t dried up in the current crisis.  CA-based aerial data analytics company DroneBase has announced another $7.5 million round – after months of record-setting revenue. Last year, before the coronavirus threw all assumptions and expectations into question, leading drone market analysts DRONEII posited that the drone hype cycle was over – but that drone companies with good fundamentals were still of prime interest to investors.  That’s one prediction that has proved correct: 2019 was a record-breaking year for drone investments.  2020 may still be just as fruitful. The current crisis has hit some aspects...

Booming Space Industry Weathers Turbulent Coronavirus Economy SpaceX launches two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. Despite concerns over coronavirus, Florida's space industry moves forward. Photo: NASA Stay up to date on coronavirus coverage: Listen to WMFE on your radio, the WMFE mobile app or your smart speaker — say “Alexa, play NPR” or “WMFE” and you’ll be connected. When astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken launched from Kennedy Space Center last month, NASA and SpaceX made history. It was the first human launch from the U.S. since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011 — and...

While nothing can replace an in-person connection, online conventions have their pluses — from reduced costs to easier access to guest speakers. While there are upsides to all-digital events, they can’t replace the income for local businesses in cities who have lost a convention. Kirby Lee / AP file June 17, 2020, 10:26 AM CDT By Ben Popken Small signs of optimism are returning to the $100 billion convention industry. After two months of declines, more convention and meeting planners now say they’re starting to source and book future events, according to a survey by Northstar Meeting Group. As of mid-May, just one-third...

How is Covid-19 impacting supply chains in Mexico? While the Covid-19 pandemic has broken 720,000 cases and led to almost 34,000 deaths globally as of 29th March, Mexico – which has the world’s 10th-largest population, at 127m – has reported 993 cases and 20 deaths.   To date the country’s response has been one of tempered caution. Domestic and international flights continue to operate, albeit less regularly, and inbound travellers from countries with high levels of infection, such as the US, China and Italy, are still permitted to enter.   Social and economic restrictions vary by state, but on March 23 the...