When automation arrived during the Industrial Revolution, it was a luxury, not a necessity.
The inverse is true today.
"Made in the U.S.A." gave way to off-shoring, which has given way to on-shoring once again.
Automation is one of the reasons for that.
Many rubber manufacturers want to be "in the market, for the market." With rising transportation costs and the permeation of supply chain issues that can bring the movement of products to a halt, being close to customers makes sense from a logistical and cost standpoint.
In the tire industry, automation has helped make investment in new tire plants in the U.S. and North America a viable option again, after years of inactivity.
Automation, especially on the non-tire rubber product side, mitigates the difficulty in finding qualified workers to fill positions on the shop floor.
Automation is more sustainable, producing less scrap, and it allows companies to shift their intellectual capital to more useful places.
Injection molding machinery manufacturers like Maplan and Desma are ahead of the curve, while Netherlands-based VMI is out front in developing automation for tire making machinery.
Other companies are becoming curious about the virtues and vices of AI, a next step in automation.
Here, then, are five stories of advancements in Industry 4.0 in 2024.