January 18, 2024 Belting Solutions Powering the Manufacturing Renaissance

Conveyor belting solutions keep business moving as American manufacturers experience an industry-wide revival.

Following the buzz around reshoring, and the tailwind provided by new legislation, the U.S. manufacturing resurgence comes as no surprise. At the end of 2022, American manufacturing growth started outpacing the rest of the world for the first time in recent memory. Construction spending from manufacturers rose about 71% from 2022, according to Commerce Department data, and manufacturers had over 105,000 more employees in August 2023 compared to a year earlier. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentivized investment and growth in the U.S. industrial sector by prioritizing technological advancement, clean energy initiatives, and job growth. Despite the economic headwinds of 2023 that will continue into 2024, according to a recent Deloitte report, embracing Industry 5.0, supply chain transformation, sustainability, and worker wellbeing will help U.S. manufacturers weather contraction and continue to fuel a transformation of the sector. From sea to shining sea, it feels like manufacturing isn’t just coming back. It’s in a full-blown renaissance.

Don’t Call it a Comeback.

So, what makes it a renaissance? Companies across the landscape aren’t just reviving U.S. production but advancing the sophistication, efficiency, and sustainability of U.S. operations. Most importantly, it’s not just a renaissance of technology, but also in the way people connect. Companies are expanding efforts to innovate and work closer than ever in meeting sustainability goals, and navigating supply chain, and industry 5.0 challenges. However, keeping pace is critical.

The one thing companies cannot afford to do in this transitional time is stand idle. This is where the seemingly little things—like belting solutions for conveying and power transmission—can be pivotal. Downtime due to belts that are unreliable or ill-equipped for the application can wreak havoc on productivity, inventory, timelines and, ultimately, customer and consumer trust. To help mitigate these issues, AMMEGA is growing in the U.S. to help U.S. businesses grow and tackle challenges across the key drivers of today’s manufacturing renaissance.

Shaking off the Supply Chain Chaos for Resilience and Agility

You can’t talk about today’s rising demand for localizing production without acknowledging the difficult lessons learned over the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic that tested (and revealed the limits) of lean approaches to manufacturing and supply chain management. Success in manufacturing depends on resource management. When you consider that conveyor belts are moving product from early production through distribution, it’s important to ensure this essential equipment is quick and easy to assemble, precise, quiet, customizable and made of fitting material.

Beyond efficiency, companies also prioritize resiliency and transparency in supply chains. Before these priorities became part of the national dialogue, AMMEGA—a global leader in belting solutions for conveying and power transmission—was already investing $100M to boost U.S. production, warehousing, and innovation. With their global presence and perspective, AMMEGA has a vision about not letting their customers build in isolation, but rather relying on AMMEGA as their local partner of choice. Ammeraal Beltech and Megadyne are companies within their group whose products are made in the USA with U.S. and imported materials. Proximity to U.S. customers has allowed them to ensure operational efficiency and profitability for their clients through:

• Shorter lead times
• Just-in-time service for inventory optimization
• Lower total cost of ownership (TCO)
• High performance and reliability (and hygiene – for food conveying applications)

Supply chain management encapsulates quick responses to challenges, as well as smooth day-to-day operations. Understanding client needs in these areas allows companies to be more agile and able to address other industry trends.

Embracing Industry 5.0

Industry 5.0, the advent of humans working alongside smarter machines and robots, is a phenomenon fostered by the close collaboration of humans to make it possible. The 2023 State of the Industry Report by PMMI (The Association for Packaging and Technology) pointed to the continued proliferation of robots across manufacturing, increasing use of robotic systems in end-of-line applications like palletizing, and penetration of automation withing warehousing and logistics operations. As robots (and co-bots) become more available and affordable, we can continue to see more and more sophisticated machinery guiding operations across the manufacturing landscape.

A key advantage to working with smarter, more interconnected machines is the increased opportunity to mitigate challenges. Enhanced preventative maintenance capabilities keep companies one step ahead of disruption by identifying performance patterns and anticipating alterations or repairs. AMMEGA is introducing smart belts into the mix: belts that are able to assess their own health and wellness, give a heads up on replacement needs, remind humans of system diagnostics and provide prognosis. However, knowing is just half the battle. More often than not, knowledgeable and experienced tradesmen are still required to replace parts or make repairs. So, expanding our team of engineers and tradesmen was another critical part of AMMEGA’s U.S. investment.  

Spotlight on Sustainability 

Sustainability has increasingly been the focus across industries. This renewed and magnified focus–partly fueled through legislation like the IRA–has companies re-examining all avenues to reduce carbon footprint. Belting solutions are a great starting point to help American manufacturers drive toward a more sustainable future. Belts made of recyclable materials, energy-efficient belts, and belts with lower material consistency, are all examples of avenues for improving sustainability targets. Benefitting both the environment and the bottom lines, having local partners ensures smaller carbon footprints.

The Ecovadis Gold Certification is an example of an industry recognition that is given only to top 5% of sustainability-focused companies, and it vouches for a dedication to sustainability through using recyclable materials, creating durable products, and adhering to green processes. Beyond that, it also guarantees partners’ commitment to sustainability and continuous, incremental innovation to ascertain it. Moreover, sustainability has five different pillars, according to the United Nations, which equally recognize: planet, prosperity, peace, partnerships, and people.

Focus on worker well-being

As part of Industry 5.0 and sustainability initiatives, it is crucial to design belts and machinery that coexists with workers and minimizes injuries or straining. While precision and speed are important, this is never done at the expense of human safety. In belting particularly, there are “pinch points” where workers’ hands can get caught between moving components. Minimizing this exposure, alongside lowering noise levels, are some of the considerations when assessing employee safety in the workplace. Dampening noise levels to improve employee comfort and decreasing the main hazards present in belt manufacturing (which include exposure to chemicals and risks involving heavy machinery) are all crucial to actualize sustainability goals.

AMMEGA’s aim is to not only customize solutions to fit business needs but also increase accessibility of solutions that are safe, reliable, and create comfortable work environments. Oftentimes, there has to be a certain reliance on innovation to establish this.

Looking Ahead

Innovation is a category of its own, an ever-present industry trend, an omniscient key to success in manufacturing. For belting needs, constantly innovating ensures higher precision and more suitable product fits. AMMEGA invests in research and development of new products, and the technical know-how to engineer solutions for their customers. The US manufacturing renaissance will undoubtedly bring benefits to US customers; some, such as expanded warehousing capabilities and local production, are tangible and some, such as local expertise and reaching sustainability goals, intangible.

While there will be challenges to manufacturing in 2024, the US manufacturers are more prepared and capable of navigating them thanks to legislation, local partnerships, and lessons learned during the pandemic. Conveyor belting serves an important role in this manufacturing renaissance as it (hopefully quietly) continues to power a range of activities from manufacturing to packaging and more.   

To learn more about AMMEGA’s solutions, visit https://www.ammega.com/.

About the Author:
Tom Doring was appointed President of the Americas at the Ammega Group in August, 2019. He also serves on the company’s Group Executive Committee. He has direct responsibility for leading the core businesses of Ammeraal Beltech, Jason Industrial and Megadyne in North America and Central and South America.

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