Manufacturing is an eternally forward-looking sector. From the First Industrial Revolution about 250 years ago right up until the remarkable advances in connectivity and information analysis that form the heart of Industry 4.0, scientists, engineers, managers, marketers, and quality professionals have joined forces to continually push the outer edges of practicality, reliability, and economic feasibility, all in a quest to create the breakthrough products that markets just can’t live without. Manufacturing is a business of aspiration, and for the last few centuries, business has generally been good.

Today, world-class manufacturers are undergoing an absolute transformation (and that’s not too strong a word) in how they operate, where they make and save their money, why they exist, and what the future holds. Some of these companies are born to change; others have change thrust upon them. But however it emerges, whether additive or subtractive in nature, advanced manufacturing is an industry that increasingly reflects the broader challenges and opportunities found in any and all technical endeavors across the globe.

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