ABB will acquire ASTI Mobile Robotics Group (ASTI), a manufacturer of autonomous mobile robots (AMR), which has a broad portfolio across all major applications enabled by the company’s software. The acquisition will expand ABB’s robotics and automation offerings, providing the company with a complete portfolio of flexible automation technologies.

Located in Madison, Wisconsin, Tribe 9 Foods (Tribe 9) is a specialty foods company dedicated to creating delicious, nourishing and functional food. In 2019, Tribe 9 built a new manufacturing facility to support further growth in Taste Republic’s co-manufacturing, private label and foodservice businesses. Capabilities at this new facility include extrusion, IQF, form-fill-seal, flow-wrap packaging, nut butter milling and gluten-free flour blending.

Automation firmware and software updates are a necessity, and suppliers have made the task much easier through new tools.

While some farms today are trying to get off the mono-crop bandwagon and rotate crops, many large farms still tend to grow corn or wheat in the same field every year, requiring a lot of nitrogen-based fertilizer. But what if corn and wheat could have their own symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria that could pull nitrogen out of the air?