It's just business: Manufacturing moves from Rocket Lab, GoEngineer, SmartSights, and more
As manufacturers strive to optimize and improve profitability, they often use various business strategies to stay competitive. These actions include mergers, acquisitions, promotions, layoffs, funding, and much more. Below are just a few of the companies that are making moves and making headlines in the industrial sector.
Personnel: Frank Klein has been appointed the new chief operations officer (COO) of Rocket Lab USA, Inc. Frank has more than 30 years of manufacturing experience and leadership in the automotive industry. In his new position, Frank will help Rocket Lab scale manufacturing of its spacecraft, launch vehicles, and spacecraft components. In a recent quote, Rocket Lab Founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck, said, “Frank is an experienced and seasoned leader in manufacturing and global operations who will bring vision and a strong wealth of knowledge in lean manufacturing and scaling to Rocket Lab at a pivotal time in our evolution as an end-to-end space company. I’m excited to have him join the team and support our increased Electron launch and production cadence, operationalize Neutron, and strengthen our satellite and space systems divisions.”
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Acquisition: GoEngineer has officially acquired Inceptra, which specializes in PLM and advanced CAD software solutions. GoEngineer, which focuses on design and engineering solutions, hopes the acquisition will expand its portfolio and reinforce its commitment to delivering cutting-edge technology. In a recent quote, Ken Coburn, President and Owner of GoEngineer, said, “We are thrilled to welcome Inceptra into the GoEngineer family. This acquisition marks a significant milestone in our journey to offer the most comprehensive and innovative solutions to our customers. Inceptra’s expertise and strong industry presence will enable us to further elevate our service offerings and continue our mission of empowering engineers to create amazing products."
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Capital: Cybord, a visual AI component analytics solution, has raised $8.7 million in a Series A round of funding. Led by Capri Ventures, with additional investments from Ocean Azul Partners, IL Ventures, and NextLeap Ventures, the money will be used to accelerate the company's growth and further global distribution of its products. In a recent quote, Oshri Cohen, CEO of Cybord, said, "We are honored to have secured this round of financing from trusted partners and investors who understand the necessity of the Cybord mission. With a variety of industries increasingly dependent on electronic components, it has never been more important to ensure that they are of the highest quality. The Cybord solution has been validated time and time again by our leading global partners, and these funds will allow us to scale faster and bring our comprehensive AI-powered solution to more companies worldwide, delivering on our mission to ensure only the best electronic products."
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Acquisition: SmartSights has officially acquired Sage Clarity, which offers a suite of apps that enable more effective gathering and analyzing of manufacturing activity data. SmartSights, which specializes in operational intelligence software, hopes the acquisition will allow the company to help businesses harness the power of their data to streamline operations quickly and with higher fidelity. In a recent quote, SmartSights CEO Corey Rhoden said, “The addition of Sage Clarity advances the SmartSights strategic vision by offering customers issue management and root cause analysis, as well as new detection capabilities, in one integrated software platform. It’s a natural fit, and the combination provides us an opportunity to deliver higher value to customers who depend on our products for the upkeep of their manufacturing operations.”
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Capital: Calyxia, which produces advanced and sustainable microparticle and microcapsule products, has raised $35 million in a Series B round of funding. Led by Lombard Odier Investment Managers, Bpifrance, and Astanor, the funding will be used to help the company achieve profitability, deploy its manufacturing technology globally, and establish itself as a market leader. In a recent quote, Jamie Walters, CEO and Co-Founder of Calyxia, said, “Our customers are eager to reduce the environmental impact of their products, but they often face trade-offs with performance and profitability, which hinders widespread adoption. This investment will accelerate the widespread deployment of our products, allowing manufacturers to reduce plastic pollution and GHG emissions, whilst boosting their product performance and profitability, unlocking impact at scale. We are excited to partner with such a world-class group of investors who share our commitment to scaling sustainable technologies and transforming industries. Together, we are poised to address some of the most pressing environmental and industrial challenges of our time.”
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