Supply Chain

Leesburg, Va. – September 25, 2026 -- The American Wood Council (AWC) has published the 2027 edition of the Special Design Provisions for Wind and Seismic (ANSI/AWC SDPWS-2027), adding two new construction systems for engineers designing in high-hazard wind and seismic zones. The standard has been approved as an American National Standard by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and will be referenced in the 2027 I-Codes.

Five-year technical process yields ANSI approval after 13 balloting rounds

The 2027 SDPWS resulted from five years of technical development and two years of balloting under ANSI's consensus-based process, including 13 rounds of balloting and a full public review period. SDPWS is typically updated every six years to keep pace with new research and align with other design references.

Fremont, Calif. – September 25, 2026 -- Leopard Imaging and Lumotive have unveiled Sirius Max, a solid-state 3D LiDAR camera module extending iToF depth sensing beyond 20 meters in both indoor and outdoor environments, targeting robotics, industrial automation and autonomous machine markets.

Sirius Max combines programmable beam-steering with 1MP depth resolution

The platform, designated LI-AR0234-AF0130-TX10-GMSL2-140H, integrates Lumotive's TX10 programmable beam-steering transmitter with the onsemi AF0130 depth sensor inside a compact GMSL2 camera module. Unlike conventional flood-illumination time-of-flight systems, Sirius Max uses directional beam steering to dynamically control illumination and scanning, improving optical efficiency, ambient light rejection and signal-to-noise ratio while eliminating moving mechanical parts.

Dallas – September 25, 2026 -- BuildFreedom.US, a federal workforce campaign funded by the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) Program under the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Industrial Base Policy, is expanding into Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin, the next phase of a national push to fill skilled-trades gaps in America's defense manufacturing base.

Program awards mikeroweWORKS Foundation a $10 million grant

BuildFreedom.US has granted $10 million to the mikeroweWORKS Foundation to support its Work Ethic Scholarship Program, deepening a partnership with Mike Rowe, founder of the foundation and creator of Dirty Jobs. Rowe will continue backing the campaign through its next expansion phase.

Nashville, Tenn. – September 25, 2026 -- The Bridgestone-supported BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team clinched the 2026 FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) title on Sept. 20 at the Bol d'Or season finale at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France, marking the sixth consecutive year a Bridgestone-equipped team has won the series and the seventh title overall for the tire maker.

Bridgestone-equipped teams claim all five top spots in final standings

All five top-ranked teams in the 2026 EWC final standings competed on Bridgestone BATTLAX tires, reinforcing the supplier's dominance in the world's premier endurance motorcycle racing series. Bridgestone served as the exclusive tire supplier for 19 EWC teams in the 2026 season.

Gainesville, Texas – September 25, 2026 -- More than 350 members of Teamsters Local 767 walked off the job at Safran Seats in Gainesville, Texas, launching an unfair labor practice strike after the aircraft-seat manufacturer refused to remove a mandatory overtime provision from its contract offer.

Workers rejected Safran's contract offer on September 18 over overtime clause

Local 767 members rejected the company's proposal on Sept. 18 specifically due to the mandatory overtime provision. The union returned to the bargaining table and warned Safran that any agreement retaining the clause would be voted down, leaving members with no option but to strike.

Woods Cross, Utah – September 25, 2026 -- Sky Quarry Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYQ) has restarted its Eagle Springs Refinery near Ely, Nevada, the only crude oil refinery in the state, after receiving an air permit from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection.

The restart follows the loss of two major West Coast refineries within roughly a year. Phillips 66 ended refining at its Los Angeles plant in late 2025 and Valero wound down refining at its Benicia site in early 2026; together the two facilities had accounted for about 17% of California's refining capacity and 11% of PADD 5 capacity, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Hamburg, Germany – September 25, 2026 -- Gastops has renewed its long-term agreement to supply MetalSCAN oil debris monitoring technology to Vestas Wind Systems A/S, extending a multi-year partnership across the turbine maker's platforms starting September 25, 2026.

Gastops extends turbine monitoring contract with world's leading wind manufacturer

The renewal, announced at WindEnergy Hamburg 2026, continues Gastops' role supplying MetalSCAN sensors for real-time detection of metallic wear within lubricated turbine systems. The technology supports condition-based maintenance strategies by flagging developing mechanical issues before they cause failures, reducing unplanned downtime risk for turbine operators.

Mukilteo, Wash. – September 25, 2026 -- The Inner Circle has named Derreck D. Travers a Lifetime member, citing his management of $3.18 billion in cumulative supply chain budgets and $576 million in documented year-over-year cost savings and revenue growth across a career spanning Amazon, Saks and SmartKargo.

Travers led AMZL rollout across seven countries with 346 personnel

Travers oversaw the global deployment of Amazon's in-house last-mile delivery network, AMZL, across seven countries. His logistics oversight extended to 18 countries and 38 states, coordinating more than 346 personnel and supporting services for airlines including Delta Air Lines.

Austin, Texas – September 25, 2026 -- Buchanan Capital Partners (BCP), an Austin-based zero-fee commercial real estate investment firm, has acquired Churchill Tower, a 277,268-square-foot Class A office building in Dallas's Park Central submarket, marking its second major acquisition after the 2025 off-market purchase of Westbank Pointe in Austin.

Washington – September 25, 2026 -- Knox Systems, which operates the largest FedRAMP and DISA-managed cloud, said veterans now make up 25% of its security workforce as it launches new recruiting partnerships with VetJobs, Military Spouse Jobs, and Hire Heroes USA.

Knox partners with three veteran-employment organizations to widen its hiring pipeline

The company will connect with veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses across its security, technology, and operations lines through the new agreements. All open roles at Knox are open to veteran applicants, with hiring managers working to match military experience to technical and security positions.