Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

newsworthy

East Penn acquires majority share of Navitas Systems

Marriage of forklift battery makers will compound lithium battery R&D programs, firms say.

East Penn Manufacturing Co. has acquired a majority stake in Navitas Systems, bringing together two forklift battery makers in a move designed to accelerate East Penn's expansion of its motive power battery offering, the firms said today.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Navitas Systems will continue to be run by their current management team, and both of their research and manufacturing facilities will remain in Ann Arbor, Mich.


Navitas Systems makes the Starlifter line of lithium forklift batteries, and East Penn's Deka battery line is designed for lift trucks and automated guided vehicles (AGVs).

More broadly, Navitas provides larger-format lithium battery technology and systems for heavy-duty commercial and industrial applications as well as the government and defense market segments.

East Penn said the venture aligns with its existing plans of providing a robust array of optimized energy storage system solutions. "Navitas products will complement East Penn's offerings, and its lithium research and development expertise will add to East Penn's current lithium R&D program," the company said in a statement.

The Latest

More Stories

AI sensors on manufacturing machine

AI firm Augury banks $75 million in fresh VC

The New York-based industrial artificial intelligence (AI) provider Augury has raised $75 million for its process optimization tools for manufacturers, in a deal that values the company at more than $1 billion, the firm said today.

According to Augury, its goal is deliver a new generation of AI solutions that provide the accuracy and reliability manufacturers need to make AI a trusted partner in every phase of the manufacturing process.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

AMR robots in a warehouse

Indian AMR firm Anscer expands to U.S. with new VC funding

The Indian warehouse robotics provider Anscer has landed new funding and is expanding into the U.S. with a new regional headquarters in Austin, Texas.

Bangalore-based Anscer had recently announced new financial backing from early-stage focused venture capital firm InfoEdge Ventures.

Keep ReadingShow less
Report: 65% of consumers made holiday returns this year

Report: 65% of consumers made holiday returns this year

Supply chains continue to deal with a growing volume of returns following the holiday peak season, and 2024 was no exception. Recent survey data from product information management technology company Akeneo showed that 65% of shoppers made holiday returns this year, with most reporting that their experience played a large role in their reason for doing so.

The survey—which included information from more than 1,000 U.S. consumers gathered in January—provides insight into the main reasons consumers return products, generational differences in return and online shopping behaviors, and the steadily growing influence that sustainability has on consumers.

Keep ReadingShow less

Automation delivers results for high-end designer

When you get the chance to automate your distribution center, take it.

That's exactly what leaders at interior design house Thibaut Design did when they relocated operations from two New Jersey distribution centers (DCs) into a single facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2019. Moving to an "empty shell of a building," as Thibaut's Michael Fechter describes it, was the perfect time to switch from a manual picking system to an automated one—in this case, one that would be driven by voice-directed technology.

Keep ReadingShow less

In search of the right WMS

IT projects can be daunting, especially when the project involves upgrading a warehouse management system (WMS) to support an expansive network of warehousing and logistics facilities. Global third-party logistics service provider (3PL) CJ Logistics experienced this first-hand recently, embarking on a WMS selection process that would both upgrade performance and enhance security for its U.S. business network.

The company was operating on three different platforms across more than 35 warehouse facilities and wanted to pare that down to help standardize operations, optimize costs, and make it easier to scale the business, according to CIO Sean Moore.

Keep ReadingShow less