Manufacturing news - March 2026

Mergers and acquisitions

FARO Technologies has combined its 3D Measurement business segment with Creaform, creating FARO CREAFORM, a business unit providing dimensional measurement solutions for manufacturers. These include 3D scanning, coordinate measuring machine (CMM), and metrology products for complex measurement applications.

FARO CREAFORM, led by Business Unit Manager Fanny Truchon, aims to make metrology more mobile and user-friendly by combining FARO’s 3D measurement strengths with Creaform’s handheld metrology innovation. FARO’s reality capture business segment will become FARO INSIGHT.

https://www.creaform3d.com; https://www.faro.com

Lock Joint Tube (LJT), manufacturer of mechanical and structural grade steel tubing, acquired the Tectron mechanical tube product line and manufacturing facility in De Pere, Wisconsin from Atkore Inc. The 140,000ft² facility will now operate as Lock Joint Tube Wisconsin. The acquisition strengthens LJT’s small-diameter tubing capabilities and brings its total locations to six.

https://www.ljtube.com

Appointments, promotions, new hires

Critical Manufacturing appointed Paul Straeten as vice president of life sciences. Straeten brings more than 20 years of experience in manufacturing operations, supply chain, and Industry 4.0 technologies across the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical device sectors. Prior to joining the company, he led large-scale manufacturing execution systems (MES) and systems applications and products (SAP) programs at Medtronic.

https://www.criticalmanufacturing.com

Nissha Medical Technologies (NMT) named Brandon Hoffman as CEO and Michael Memminger as COO/CFO. They’ll lead the next phase of strategic expansion, operational excellence, and long-term investment for NMT, which designs, develops, and manufactures single-use medical technologies, specializing in patient monitoring and surgical solutions.

https://www.nisshamedical.com

BIG DAISHOWA promoted Edgar Argueta to regional sales manager – West. Argueta will oversee sales operations and strategy across California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, Montana and Nevada. He joined the company in May 2024 as sales manager, Southwest District, and previously served as a manufacturer’s representative to BIG DAISHOWA for several years.

https://www.bigdaishowa.com

David Kruise has been appointed marketing & communications manager at Star Cutter Co. Kruise has nearly 30 years of experience in marketing and communications, with a strong background in technical documentation and sales support within the manufacturing sector. In his new role, he’ll lead all marketing activities for the Star Cutter, Star SU, and H.B. Carbide brands across four business divisions: Round Tools, Gear Tools, Machine Tools, and Carbide Material Technologies.

https://starcutter.com

INDEX Corp. promoted Ross Kenyon to director of applications and Tyler Economan to director of sales. Kenyon joined the company as an applications engineer in 2002 and has played an integral role in supporting customer success across a wide range of industries, technologies, and machine platforms. His career includes roles as applications engineer, lead engineer, and department manager. In his new role, he’ll oversee INDEX’s applications engineering teams, process development, and machine installations throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Economan joined INDEX in 2006 as a proposals engineer and has held a wide range of roles spanning proposal, applications, customer support, operations, and sales. In his new role, he’ll lead the company’s external sales, internal sales, and marketing functions and be responsible for sales strategy, market development, distributor management, and ensuring consistent execution across INDEX’s commercial organization.