Manufacturing & Industrial Technology

Frankfurt am Main – October 31, 2026 -- The German Machine Tool Builders' Association (VDW) will launch NexGeM (Next Generation Metalworking), a new trade show on digital metalworking, as a co-located event of Hannover Messe from April 5 to 8, 2027.

VDW Managing Director Dr. Markus Heering said the move was overdue. Machine tools are embedded in the full digital industrial value chain, from planning to service, he said, yet connected machines receive too little attention outside a few specialist fairs.

NexGeM runs as a standalone event, not a scaled-down EMO Hannover

NexGeM is an independent show that links mechanical engineering with the IT and software sectors, which have so far exhibited largely separately. Because digitalization is its focus, it is not a classic machine tool fair and not a "small EMO Hannover," according to the organizers.

Frankfurt – October 31, 2026 -- Eike Rodenbäck of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) won the VDW Research Institute's Research Project of the Year award on September 17 for identifying where AI can pay off for machine tool manufacturers. The prize was presented at the AMB trade fair in Stuttgart for his work in the KI4WZM project.

Three application fields identified for AI in machine tool building

VDW members first flagged their own challenges. Rodenbäck, 28, then identified fields where AI could support the sector economically: knowledge management, fault diagnosis and process optimization. Turning these into concrete pre-competitive projects is planned for a later stage.

Kuala Lumpur – October 31, 2026 -- Malaysia's Newsigns Solutions Sdn Bhd has been recognised by ASEAN Records as the first signage contractor to design, fabricate and install self-supporting geometric contour LED building façades fully in-house, after completing three projects totalling 1,501 square metres between 2023 and 2024.

Largest of three projects covers 715 square metres

The first installation was completed on 29 July 2023. The largest single project spans 715 square metres, nearly half of the combined 1,501 square metres delivered.

Geometric contour LED façades differ from conventional flat signage. They involve complex shapes and structural arrangements that require coordination between design, fabrication and on-site installation. Newsigns handled all three stages internally on each project.

Kuala Lumpur – October 31, 2026 -- ASEAN Records has recognised ORIZI Group as the largest integrated health, wellness and beauty OEM manufacturing group by number of manufacturing certifications, regulatory approvals and audited standards held, citing 24 credentials across 11 distinct schemes.

ORIZI Group runs five licensed facilities across six member companies

The group operates six specialised member companies in three divisions: cosmetics and personal care, functional food and nutrition, and medical devices and healthcare. Its five licensed production facilities cover cosmetics, personal care, perfume, functional food, nutrition and medical devices.

Each member company has a defined role in manufacturing, product development, business development, quality management or market support.

San Antonio – October 31, 2026 -- Electronics manufacturing services provider SMTC has received Frost & Sullivan's 2026 North America Company of the Year Recognition in mid-tier EMS, the third consecutive year it has won the award, according to CEO Mike Buseman.

Frost & Sullivan cited SMTC's strategy effectiveness and strategy execution. The award comes as OEMs put more weight on supply chain resilience, regionalized production and faster response to market changes.

SMTC combines small-provider agility with Tier 1 capabilities, analyst says

Sujan Sami, Senior Research Director at Frost & Sullivan, said SMTC pairs the "flexibility and responsiveness of a smaller EMS company" with capabilities typically associated with larger Tier 1 players. He credited the company's direct access for customer decision-makers from the outset of an engagement.

TORONTO – October 31, 2026 -- Blue Moon Metals Inc. (TSXV: MOON; NASDAQ: BMM) has terminated its proposed acquisition of a portfolio of 33 tungsten and antimony projects in the western United States, ending a deal first disclosed in a news release dated August 11, 2026.

Blue Moon and the vendor end the portfolio deal by mutual consent

The private owner and Blue Moon agreed to end the arm's-length transaction under the terms of the letter agreement dated August 10, 2026. The source gives no financial terms for the deal and no reason for the termination.

Blue Moon completes its move from British Columbia to Ontario effective October 23, 2026

The company's corporate continuance from the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) to the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) took effect on October 23, 2026. Blue Moon filed new articles and by-laws with the Ontario ministry, replacing its prior notice of articles and articles.

DENVER – October 30, 2026 -- Gates Industrial Corporation (NYSE: GTES) raised its full-year 2026 guidance after third-quarter net sales climbed 5.6% to $903.6 million, with core sales up 5.5%.

Adjusted EBITDA margin reaches 23.8% on $215.4 million

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter ended September 26 came to $215.4 million. Net income from continuing operations was $91.6 million, a 10.1% margin. Net income attributable to shareholders was $86.5 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, while Adjusted Net Income per diluted share was $0.47.

Industrial OEM sales grow high-teens as aftermarket accelerates

CEO Ivo Jurek said the team "executed well" in the quarter, producing mid-single-digit sales growth and a significant gross profit margin increase over the prior-year period. Sales in the Industrial OEM channel rose high-teens year over year. Growth in the Industrial Aftermarket channel accelerated from the previous quarter.

ANSAN-SI, South Korea – October 30, 2026 -- A single 10-millisecond light pulse produced molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) gas-sensing material with a 23.6-fold stronger response to 5 parts per million of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) than material made by a conventional solvothermal method, according to researchers at Hanyang University-ERICA and KAIST.

Platinum-doped sensor reaches 100.8% response to NO2 at room temperature

Adding 1.2 weight% platinum raised the sensor response 22.8-fold. The response reached 100.8% at 400 parts per billion of NO2 at room temperature. The platinum-enhanced sensor detected NO2 at concentrations as low as 17.2 parts per billion.

The device was selective for NO2 against several other tested gases and held a stable response through 25 exposure-and-recovery cycles. After three weeks in ambient air, its response had declined by only 2.6%.

ATLANTA – October 30, 2026 -- Novelis Inc. will report second-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings on Thursday, November 5, 2026, with management discussing the results on a live investor call the same day.

CEO Steve Fisher and CFO Dev Ahuja host the 7:00 a.m. EST call

President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Fisher and Chief Financial Officer Dev Ahuja will lead the conference call at 7:00 a.m. EST, which is 5:30 p.m. IST. Novelis will webcast the call live on its investor website and post presentation materials there.

Telephone participants must register in advance. After registering, they receive dial-in details, a unique PIN and an email confirmation. A webcast replay will be available on the investor site after the call.

MEXICO CITY – October 30, 2026 -- Taiwan will field 29 companies at PLASTIMAGEN MÉXICO 2026, targeting buyers in Mexico and across North America with plastics processing, printing and packaging, testing, colorant and finished-product offerings.

Mexico ranked ninth among destinations for Taiwan's plastics and rubber machinery exports in 2024, at US$23.88 million, according to the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry's 2025-2026 directory. The United States ranked third, with US$64.44 million.

Taiwan's 2025 plastics and rubber exports to the U.S. reach US$3.0894 billion

Taiwan's Ministry of Finance reports 2025 U.S. exports of US$650 million in plastic raw materials, US$1.8178 billion in plastic products and US$621.6 million in rubber and related articles. Mexico's Ministry of Economy reports that Mexico imported about US$40.7 billion in plastics and rubber goods in 2024.