Weekly Brief
Be first to read the latest tech news, Industry Leader's Insights, and CIO interviews of medium and large enterprises exclusively from The Manufacturing Outlook
The Manufacturing Outlook: Specials Magazine
Ujigami operates at the intersection of ambition and reality, where the promise of smart manufacturing has long outpaced its practical deployment. The company has positioned itself not as another layer of complexity, but as the unifying intelligence that brings coherence to the factory floor in an industry saturated with sensors, devices, and fragmented systems. Under the leadership of President Edward Dickson, Ujigami has emerged with a clear and focused proposition: to transform disconnected technological potential into a synchronized, responsive, and self-regulating manufacturing environment. The evolution of smart manufacturing has been marked by rapid technological proliferation. Devices that once belonged to specialized industrial environments now mirror the intelligence found in everyday consumer systems. Sensors can detect motion, temperature, moisture, and power fluctuations with remarkable precision. Yet, despite this abundance of data-generating tools, manufacturers continue to face a persistent challenge. The issue is no longer access to information, but the ability to orchestrate it into meaningful, real-time decision-making and manufacturing control. This is the gap Ujigami addresses with deliberate clarity.
Material Handling Equipment
Cambelt International
Bringing Monolithic-Molded Advantage In Bulk Material Handling
Justin Barker, Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing
In industries like mining, agriculture, energy, and construction—where downtime means lost revenue—bulk material handling systems must be as rugged as their environments. For more than six decades, Cambelt International has been rewriting the rules of conveyor design. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, the company doesn’t just build conveyors—it engineers complete, belt-based conveying solutions tailored to meet real-world demands. Its defining edge lies in its engineering-first mindset, vertical integration, and perhaps most importantly, its unique, belt-first approach. With a proprietary manufacturing process unmatched in the U.S. market, Cambelt has distinguished itself as more than a manufacturer. It’s a long-term partner trusted by clients to deliver durable, cost-effective solutions that perform reliably year after year. A Belt Like No Other: Vulcanized to Perform The heart of Cambelt’s innovation lies in the one component many companies overlook: the belt itself. While most conveyor manufacturers source belts from third-party suppliers and retrofit their machines around those components, Cambelt is the only U.S. manufacturer designing, engineering, and fabricating one-piece rubber conveyor belts in-house. Using a proprietary vulcanization process, Cambelt bonds cleats and sidewalls directly into the belt body— without adhesives, glue, or mechanical fasteners. The result is a homogeneous, seamless structure that virtually eliminates delamination and drastically reduces maintenance costs. “We’ve had belts like the CAMFLEX 3015 move over two billion pounds of Frac sand in less than a year,” says Justin Barker, Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing. “Our belts can unload a 40-ton truck in seven minutes. In the most demanding environments, they’re outlasting the competition by 3x—and that’s not just a claim, it’s backed by real-world data.” Case in point: One long-time Cambelt customer has been running the same belt on a CWR 4245- 6R system for 10 years straight—where previous belts needed replacement after just 3.5 years. The result? Less downtime, fewer replacements, and a significantly lower cost of ownership.
Manufacturing Packaging
A flexible package has to perform long after it leaves the factory. It must protect the product through the customer’s operation and distribution network before reaching the end consumer. For Lithotype, understanding those demands is where the manufacturing process begins. The custom flexible packaging manufacturer has built its approach around a simple premise: understanding what a customer’s package needs to do before deciding how to make it. Lithotype is more than a supplier producing to specification. It is a manufacturing partner that works with customers to address the practical demands behind every packaging requirement. That can mean evaluating barrier properties, sealing performance, durability, graphics, filling equipment, distribution conditions and shelf life before determining an appropriate solution. The company approaches packaging decisions as a complete system. A material selected to reduce usage, for example, still has to protect the product. A package designed for visual appeal must also perform reliably on customer equipment. Cost, durability, manufacturability and sustainability must work together. A product leaving the Midwest in winter may encounter different conditions before reaching the West Coast, making distribution part of the package’s performance equation.
CNC Machining
Pinnacle Machine Tools
A Machine Tool Distributor with a Bigger Purpose
Jerry Edwards, President & Terry Peer, Vice President
A new machine can increase a manufacturer’s capacity. But getting that machine to deliver its full value requires much more than signing a purchase order. The equipment has to fit the application. It has to be configured and installed correctly. Operators need the right technical support. Service resources and replacement parts have to be available when something goes wrong. And as production evolves, the manufacturer may need automation, applications expertise or another solution altogether. For Pinnacle Machine Tools, a purpose-driven machine tool distributor, that is where the relationship begins. Founded in 1998 by Don Roberts, Dennis McCurry, and Jerry Edwards, Pinnacle has spent more than 25 years building relationships with manufacturers across Tennessee, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. What began as a Mazak distributor has grown into a broader manufacturing resource representing brands such as Mazak, C.R. Onsrud, Cosen Saws, AIMS Metrology and RoboJob. “Selling a machine may begin the relationship, but Pinnacle’s value to the customer should continue throughout the life of that equipment,” says Terry Peer, vice president.
Manufacturing Consulting
A coating can look right in the laboratory and still disappoint in production. The difference often comes down to details: a raw material lot, moisture, curing conditions, surface preparation, application thickness, or the environment where the coating must perform. Chemical Dynamics LLC has built its consulting and product development work around understanding those details before they become expensive problems. At Chemical Dynamics, the conversation starts with the customer’s problem. The team works with manufacturers, suppliers, and end users to understand specifications, performance expectations, competing products, production conditions, and why a new coating is being developed.
Surface Treatment
Balancing CNC Machining and 3D Printing for Metal Parts
Greg Thompson, Sr. Director of Operations - CNC, Protolabs
Composite
Driving Holistic Sustainable Packaging Solutions
Martin Rathgeber, Director of Engineering, Studio One Eleven
Industrial Solution
Supply Chain & Logistics: Staying Agile in an Ever-changing Technological Landscape
Ray Polentz, Vice President of Supply Chain and Logistics, Yokohama Tire Corporation
CNC Machining
From Robots to Results: Scaling Manufacturing with People in Mind
Michael Spliedt, Engineering Manager, Yanfeng
Contract Manufacturing
Building Specialized Silicon at Industrial Volume
Danny Kohanek, SVP of Manufacturing, SUMCO [TYO: 3436]
Industrial Engineering
Leading Manufacturing Transformation Through Operational Excellence
Marcelo Varreira, Manufacturing Engineering Director - North America, Electrolux
Fabrication
Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0
Kelly Dodds, Senior Director, Raytheon Industry 4.0, Raytheon
IN MY OPINION
Industrial Molding
Stabilizing Supply Chain Disruption by Building a Lean Organization
Olawale Ojo, Global Head of Planning and Logistics, Griffith Foods
LAST WORD
Industrial Supplier and Distributor
Evolving Manufacturing: The Strategic Role of Industrial Fastener Distribution
Blake Ritter, Branded Products Segment Manager, Lincoln Industries
IN FOCUS
Role of Consulting Services in Enhancing Industrial Paint and Coating Performance
Consultants assist organizations in considering alternatives that will meet environmental goals, durability, application needs, regulatory issues, and costs.
Building Competitive Advantage through Smart Manufacturing Excellence
Smart manufacturing strengthens efficiency, visibility, resilience, and long-term business value through connected operations.
EDITORIAL
Connecting Manufacturing Intelligence with Industrial Excellence
Manufacturers stay competitive by combining technology, material science and engineering expertise to improve quality, simplify production and adapt to changing customer needs. From intelligent factory systems to specialized coatings, flexible packaging and advanced machine tools, the right partners help turn production challenges into practical solutions.
Our cover story highlights Ujigami, named Top Smart Manufacturing Company 2026, for its work in addressing a common challenge on factory floors: getting machines, sensors and production processes to communicate effectively. Under the leadership of President Edward Dickson, Ujigami has developed a logic and control platform that brings existing equipment together, helps manufacturers make decisions in real time and keeps product quality in check through structured validation.
When it comes to specialized coatings, getting the formulation right can make all the difference. Chemical Dynamics LLC, named Top Industrial Paint and Coatings Consulting Services 2026, helps manufacturers bridge the gap between laboratory development and actual production. Through testing, formulation development and failure analysis, the company identifies coating problems, verifies performance and helps customers scale production while meeting growing demands for corrosion resistance and lower-emission solutions.
Lithotype, recognized as Top Custom Bag Packaging Manufacturing Services 2026, understands that effective packaging must perform well throughout production and use. As an employee-owned company, it combines printing and converting expertise with close customer relationships to develop flexible packaging that protects products while keeping manufacturing efficiency, quality and costs in check.
For Pinnacle Machine Tools, named Top CNC Machine Tool Distributor 2026, customer support continues well after equipment delivery. The company provides applications engineering, installation, automation and ongoing service, helping manufacturers keep their machines running efficiently and get lasting value from their investments.
This edition also shares insights from industry professionals. Danny Kohanek, SVP of Manufacturing at SUMCO, discusses the precision, statistical process control and coordination needed to manufacture specialized silicon wafers at scale. Martin Rathgeber, Director of Engineering at Studio One Eleven, examines how packaging decisions influence everything from material use and recyclability to consumer experience and post-consumer recycled content.
These perspectives show that manufacturing progress often comes from solving practical problems, sharing expertise and building relationships that help businesses perform better over time.
