Tesla’s new German investment
This week Tesla announced its intentions to acquire Grohmann Engineering, a German automated manufacturing company, which will be renamed Tesla Grohmann Automation. It has been described as world-renowned for its engineering and specializes in highly automated manufacturing techniques. The company will design and produce several critical elements of Tesla’s automated manufacturing systems.
Tesla’s new output target of 500,000 cars annually by 2018, up from 100,000, meant it had to invest in a company with the correct expertise and knowledge to manufacture its product. Grohmann Engineering capabilities ensure quality of manufacturing while maintaining cost. Its production expertise and advanced technology will help in the development of Tesla’s first mass-market model. The acquisition will create over 1,000 jobs at the company over the next two years, taking place after the completion of purchase in early 2017. However, the deal must firstly be approved by regulators in Germany. In the future, the hopeful acquisition could allow Tesla to expand production and sales throughout Europe with this German company as its production base.
Find more on the potential acquisition here.
New UPS logistics hub
UPS is, reportedly, planning on building what could be one of the world’s largest logistics hubs in the U.S.A. The prospective building permit was filed on Tuesday in Atlanta, including over 2,300 auto parking and trailer storage spaces, 57 retail auto spaces and 216 tractor service parking spaces. The secretive project named ‘Project Shark’ will be similar to UPS’s two other mega hubs in Louisville and Ontario.
Atlanta’s recent population boom makes it the perfect place to develop a hub. Infrastructure is well developed in Atlanta, with close proximity to a major seaport and international airport. The ever-expanding e-commerce market has created the need for UPS to further expand its operations and respond to this rise. This new hub will help UPS react to the decrease in popularity of brick and mortar stores, which has in turn increased UPS business due to online sales and the need for delivery services. The suggested plans fall in line with UPS’s recently announced multi-year strategy of putting new technology and systems into its hubs to help the sorting and loading process.
Read more on the proposed plans here.
Project Wing taking a dive
Google parent Alphabet’s Project Wing is beginning to unravel after two managers on the drone-delivery project have been pushed out. This comes after disagreements on launch and test dates for the product, which will now further delay other such plans due to a lack of specific direction. It shows the effect that Dave Vos’ departure, Project Wings former leader, has had. There was also talk of a partnership with Starbucks, however proceedings fell apart when Alphabet requested their customer data.
It has resulted in a hiring freeze and some staff have been given 90 days to find other positions within the company or be forced to leave. This shows the financial struggles of the project and questions its future development. However, there is still hope for the project, as a spokeswoman has said Alphabet is committed to the concept of delivery drones and the beneficial service it can offer consumers with further development.
Further information on the project developments can be found here.
Have a nice weekend!
