Welcome to the 8th edition of our KREATIZE newsletter: Cloud Manufactured!🗞 In this issue, we focus on the following topics.
Market Overview
The Eurozone Manufacturing PMI surpassed expectations as supply chain constraints weakened in December. We will look into how a Swedish carmaker is strengthening its battery production capabilities, how an Asian semiconductor manufacturer is eyeing Germany for a new plant, and how an area near the German Black Forest has enough lithium for 1 million EV vehicles a year, among other news items.
KREATIZE World
This month we tell you the fun story of how KREATIZE got its name. We also show you how KREATIZE is fostering entrepreneurship within its alumni network with an insightful video, and revisit our popular article on cloud manufacturing & the 4th industrial revolution.
Innovator Of The Month
The company we’re featuring this month is an innovator and leader in energy storage solutions. It was also recently featured as 7th in the Financial Times 1000 fastest growing companies in Europe.
KREATIZE Product
KREATIZE deployed new features designed to make our customers' and partners’ experience with KMS and Kaktus systems more seamless. Learn how your experience with KREATIZE has improved as a result of our latest updates and enhancements.
Our Holiday Gift
We are gifting you our third playbook, which illustrates how cloud manufacturing provides hardware businesses with a solution to their B&C parts procurement challenges. This guide is an in-depth and yet digestible content piece that illustrates this key benefit of our plug-and-play cloud manufacturing technology.
Fun Stuff
Read to the end for the fun stuff that won’t disappoint! This month we’re featuring the manufacturing process of two distinct but popular objects from the food and beverage industry.
Let’s build! 🛠⚙️📦
MARKET OVERVIEW
Some key points and fresh news to help you better assess the state of the manufacturing industry. ⚙️🔩
🏭 Manufacturing in Europe 📊
The IHS Markit Eurozone Manufacturing PMI fell this December to 58 from 58.4 in November. This was slightly better than the preliminary forecasts of 57.8, according to Trading Economics. Eurozone manufacturers reported a weakening of new order growth, but did see the largest expansion of production since September. The latter was credited to general easing of supply constraints. The pace of job creation in the sector also accelerated to a four-month high.
A research and development center under a joint venture by Volvo Cars and Northvolt is set to open in 2022 in Gothenburg, Sweden, according to Automotive World. The center positions Volvo Cars as one of the few automotive companies that is making battery cell production part of its end-to-end engineering capabilities.The establishment of this new center is to be followed by the construction of a new European next-generation battery cells manufacturing plant for pure electric Polestar and Volvo cars.
Fujifilm Irvine Scientific has opened a new manufacturing plant in Tilburg, the Netherlands, reported PharmTech. This new facility has an area of 13,500 m² and produces dry powder media, liquid media, buffers as well as water for injection. One of the plant's main goals is to manufacture sustainably, in an effort to align with the companywide Fujifilm Sustainability Value Plan 2030 for sustainable operations. This plan embraces several green factors, such as relying on wind energy for production procedures, working towards a CO²-neutral status and adopting sustainable technologies
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is in talks with the German government about potentially establishing a plant within its borders, according to Automotive News. The talks are happening as the European Union aims to strengthen its domestic chip production capabilities over the next few years in order to mitigate supply chain disruptions. The Taiwanese chipmaker has yet to discuss incentives or a location with the German government.
In a valley adjacent to Germany’s Black Forest exists enough lithium for at least 1.000.000 electric vehicles a year, according to Bloomberg. Vulcan Energy Resources, an Australian mining company, says it can get those reserves at a fraction of competing sources, and without discharging greenhouse gases. This critical resource for EV cars is usually extracted in far-away regions with methods that take a toll on the landscape. “We will produce a product locally that’s not only cheaper but also greener than the alternatives,” said Horst Kreuter, managing director in Germany for Vulcan, to Bloomberg.
Find out what we're working at KREATIZE on as we take cloud manufacturing from the fringes to the mainstream! 👨🚀🚀
KREATIZE: The Story Behind Our Name
KREATIZE, that’s a name that’s inevitable when working with us or learning about our company, because it is our name! But what does this name actually mean? How does it align with our company? What’s the story behind KREATIZE? And who came up with it? That’s something you’re gonna find out in this article!
Why KREATIZE? – Interview with Carlo Schmid (VIDEO)
Our former working student Carlo Schmid was kind enough to stop by our Berlin HQ to grant us an interview about his time with KREATIZE. Find out what he learned while working for KREATIZE and how this benefited him in regards to future projects, including his company Second Ride.
Cloud Manufacturing & The 4th Industrial Revolution
The manufacturing industry is undergoing a significant shift in technologies and capabilities. Cloud manufacturing is a key pillar in this exciting technological revolution, and in this article we explain why the cloud is fuelling this industrial revolution.
Polarium is a Swedish company that manufactures energy storage solutions. Specifically, recyclable, sustainable and long lasting batteries that are built in lithium-ion technology. Their storage solutions can be found in the telecommunications, commercial and industrial sectors.
How are they doing? 💪
The company was founded in 2015 in Sweden, where their headquarters and R&D operations remain. They also currently have manufacturing plants in Mexico and Vietnam. Polarium also has sales offices throughout the world. In 2021, Polarium was placed seventh in the annually published FT 1000, which presents the 1000 fastest growing companies in Europe. Last year, they started a partnership with Northvolt, a Swedish battery manufacturer, with the goal of creating the greenest batteries in the world.
What are their plans? 🌍
Polarium recently announced that they are planning to open a new manufacturing plant in South Africa to strengthen their global supply chain. According to Stefan Jansson, CEO and founder of Polarium, the company has set themselves the goal to create the best energy storage solutions worldwide while decreasing the carbon footprint of this technology. Additionally they are working on improving their technologies to create even greener and more sustainable products, reported Evertiq.
We’d like to introduce some new product features which improve our service offering. These upgrades strengthen our transparent, and quality-driven approach to cloud manufacturing. ⚙️📊
What Are These New Features?
For Customers:
KREATIZE Manufacturing Services (KMS) users now benefit from a new optimized list view for parts lists, along with a simplified configuration modal. Our KMS system also now has a more automated and detailed rejection tool.
Key Benefit :
The new parts list view provides a more comprehensive look at a lists information, and status on orders. The cloned modal update speeds up the cloud readiness process of adding new parts into a company’s part portfolio. Finally, the new automated rejection tool allows users to clearly see the problem when uploading a drawing/CAD or configuration that needs additional information or work for it to undergo a proper manufacturing analysis.
For Partners:
Our partners now benefit from better and more refined information on Kaktus. All work done to optimize part information configuration on the customer side is strengthening our platform for partners, as they are able to act upon reliable information with less back-and-forth.
Key Benefit:
Our manufacturing partners now have a better user experience as a result of a more streamlined parts configuration and incorporation process. The new enhanced automated rejection tool is particularly effective as it allows our partners to receive precise and easy to understand drawings/CAD files that can allow them to begin work immediately.
We would like to give you our playbook: "Solve the Dilemma of B&C Parts Procurement With Cloud Manufacturing”
What is it?
Find out how you can radically simplify your B&C parts procurement through cloud manufacturing with our present. This is an easy way of giving your business a stronger bottom line through savings in custom part procurement, and a chance at attaining other benefits as well.
What you will learn in the playbook:
A Simple Yet Detailed Over Of An ABC Parts Analysis
How To Overcome The B&C Parts Dilemma
Why It Is So Important For Companies To Focus On Their A Parts
Why Shifting Your B&C Parts To KREATIZE Will Benefit Your Company
Here is some content that showcases the beauty and fun of making things. 🤹
🥪 Sandwich Cookies 🍪
Sandwich cookies are a classic for cookie lovers all over the world. These delicious treats are available everywhere thanks to the wonders of manufacturing. Take a look at this video to learn how they are made.
Espresso machines are a common example of how humans can make products to make things they love with ease. Find out how this cool tool is made in this fun video.