The archive
By topic
Design, production, automation, materials, supply chain, energy, policy, talent. Once a piece runs, it lives here. Also filed by region.
Design
1 piece
From CAD to first article — where products become manufacturable.
Latest · 16 Sept 2026Design changes are still landing after the tools are cut
Production
23 pieces
Yield, takt, changeover. The work that happens on the line — and the science behind it.
Latest · 17 Oct 2026UK manufacturing output rose 1.2% in August as pharmaceutical production jumped 5.1%
Automation
3 pieces
Robots, software, and the long road to a lights-out plant.
Latest · 11 Sept 2026Most plant simulations never get used on the shift
Materials
3 pieces
Metals, powders, composites, and the molecules that move industry.
Latest · 8 Oct 2026Wolfspeed has a conditional offer of a US government loan of up to $1.5bn for silicon carbide and GaN production
Supply Chain
11 pieces
Mines, docks, dual-sourcing, and the politics of the bill of materials.
Latest · 21 Oct 2026Resideo and Honeywell plan to close their neighbouring Motherwell factories, with 207 jobs at risk
Energy
12 pieces
Megawatts as a production constraint — gigafactories, grids, and the plants that make the transition.
Latest · 20 Oct 2026Sumitomo Electric opens the UK's first HVDC subsea cable factory at Nigg
Policy
4 pieces
Industrial strategy, trade, and the state as a customer and a bottleneck.
Latest · 17 Oct 2026France and Germany back a 90% car CO₂ cut for 2035 in return for tougher Made in Europe rules
Talent
3 pieces
The technicians, engineers, and operators who keep tools in spec — and the shortage that now sets the pace.
Latest · 18 Sept 2026Chip plants are going up faster than the technicians to run them