Current pulse

25th anniversary for BIG Kaiser

Incorporated in the spring of 1990 under the name Kaiser Precision Tooling (KPT), the subsidiary of Switzerland-based Heinz Kaiser AG, BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling celebrates 25 years of North American operations this year.

KPT officially opened its doors on Aug. 1, 1990, daily orders have gone from the teens to 150-plus. The engineering team is larger by more than 10 times, and available parts that numbered around 2,000 in 1990 now exceed 20,000. A major catalyst of that growth came in 2003 when KPT formed an alliance with BIG Daishowa Seiki, a Japanese manufacturer recognized as a worldwide leader in tool holders, cutting tools, and measuring accessories.

Acknowledging the importance of the alliance, KPT changed its name to BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling Inc.

“Quality, innovation, and performance – it’s always been about that,” BIG Kaiser President & CEO Chris Kaiser says. “That’s gotten us to where we are today and it will not change.” www.bigkaiser.com

Accelerating products into the Internet of Things market

Identiv Inc. officials have launched Identiv Labs, a design hub supporting next-generation products built on identity, security, connectivity, and mobility. Identiv technology is used in millions of customer products globally, ranging from medical devices to consumer goods. Identiv Labs will enable customers to rapidly introduce new products by providing a complete service, including design, prototyping, and manufacturing, and accelerate their products into the connected world of the Internet of Things (IoT).

“Identiv Labs is our idea incubator. It serves as an in-design platform for customers to quickly partner with Identiv experts and cost effectively innovate new or improve upon existing products in a rapid turnkey process,” says Jason Hart, Identiv CEO.

The team consists of experts in all areas, from microchip design to embedded manufacturing, mobility, and cloud services. www.identivlabs.com

ATS, RÖHM form Single-Source Partnership

RÖHM and ATS Systems have partnered to create a single source, offering extensive workholding and machining accessory selection, application expertise, and local sales and service support.

ATS’s 30-plus full-time sales and service staff will provide support for RÖHM’s power workholding products, including chucks, cylinders, steady-rests, mandrels, tool clamping systems, and robot grippers. ATS will continue offering products such as collet chucks, quick-change chucks, air chucks, rotary tables, bar feeds, and the recently acquired Cooljet high-pressure coolant line.

RÖHM retains its product brand-identity, as well as its invoicing, inventorying, and product management responsibilities. RÖHM’s technical staff will reinforce ATS’s efforts with relevant product support and custom solutions for specialized applications. www.rohm-ats.com

Pneumatic products & solutions catalog

Clippard Instrument Laboratory’s full-line catalog is now available. It features details on more than 10 new product lines. Specifications, technical drawings, and application highlights are included for the new lines. www.clippard.com