New Brunswick, New Jersey – Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC (JJI) entered a definitive agreement to join NXT Biomedical Therapeutic Device Incubator (NXT) through a strategic investment facilitated by Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC. Created in September 2018 by Deerfield Management Company L.P. and Stanton Rowe, CEO of NXT Biomedical, this next-generation medical device incubator is committed to developing transformational technologies to address significant unmet medical needs, helping patients to lead longer and healthier lives. It will develop, advance and de-risk cutting-edge technologies in a highly capital efficient manner.

As a key member of NXT Biomedical, Johnson & Johnson Innovation will have the right to migrate selected NXT projects that are strategically aligned to areas of interest to the Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies for further development at the Center for Device Innovation at Texas Medical Center (CDI @ TMC). CDI @ TMC will accelerate the early-stage development of these projects using the depth and breadth of its state-of-the-art engineering facilities and its expert R&D team. Furthermore, access to Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) pre-clinical facilities, the MITIE Simulation Center and TMC Clinical Research Institute will drive device development through to commercialization.

"The CDI @ TMC model was created to enhance early-stage internal and external medical device innovation," says William N. Hait, MD, PhD, global head, Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC. "Our collaboration with NXT Biomedical has the potential to further strengthen the CDI @ TMC pipeline with validated science coming through the NXT incubator, and to ensure that jointly we deliver best-in-class medical device innovation to patients around the world."

"Through this strategic partnership with NXT Biomedical and Deerfield, we are creating a novel approach to the external funding of projects at CDI @ TMC," says Bruce R. Rosengard, MD, FRCS, vice president, medical devices, Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC. "This will enhance our medical device pipeline and is an example of the industry-leading collaborations Johnson & Johnson Innovation is forging to secure funding for early-stage innovation."

CDI @ TMC brings together the unique strengths, experiences and resources from across Johnson & Johnson and the Texas Medical Center to create a novel approach for medical device innovation. It spans the entire development pathway from needs-based ideation to rapid technology prototyping, pre-clinical and clinical testing all aimed at enhancing development timelines.

The CDI @ TMC team has a proven track record of successful medical device innovation. Since its launch in November 2017, the internal and external CDI @ TMC engineers have advanced six cutting-edge projects from early concept stage through multiple prototypes. This flexibility to engage in new opportunities across a spectrum of different services and needs, including independent development, collaborative co-development, machining / prototyping, design for manufacturing and strategic advising, make CDI @ TMC an ideal destination for projects coming through the NXT Biomedical incubator.

NXT Biomedical expects to invest up to $25 million in cutting-edge technologies over the next five years. Deerfield has allotted up to an additional $250 million for the formation and development of up to eight startup companies that emerge from the incubator.

Vention, a next-generation digital manufacturing platform for custom factory equipment, completed a $17 million Canadian dollars Series A financing round led by Bain Capital Ventures. The company is also announcing the release of its second major platform upgrade since its founding in 2016.

Bain Capital Ventures joins Vention’s previous investors White Star Capital, Bolt, and Real Ventures. With this new investment, Vention will accelerate the development of its cloud-based MachineBuilder 3D software, expand its modular hardware library, and bring the next wave of plug-and-play factory automation solutions to market.

Vention is radically changing the way companies design and order custom equipment for their operations. Traditional design-to-build workflows for custom equipment take anywhere from one to six months, depending on the project’s complexity. Vention’s modular components and easy-to-use cloud platform enable those same workflows to be completed in as little as three days, including shipping (which is offered next-day throughout North America).

Vention’s second major platform release focuses on the user experience, integrating hundreds of new features such as smart part connections, comprehensive design collaboration tools, and a machine learning algorithm that predicts the next parts needed in a design. It also includes 200 new modular components that cover a broad array of use cases in automated equipment, robot cells, tooling, and conveyors applications.

Vention continues its rapid growth trajectory with 600% year-over-year growth. Today, the company serves several hundred clients and thousands of users in a variety of industries, including robotics, aerospace, and automobiles. Vention is also the first and only combined software and hardware platform certified by Universal Robots, and it maintains partnerships with Thomson Industries, Interroll, and PolyAlto.

“Building a large-scale industrial business takes a special breed of investor. We are excited to partner with Bain Capital Ventures, which has a long track record in our industry,” says Étienne Lacroix, Vention’s founder and CEO. “Working with Bain Capital Ventures also means we’re bringing an investor on board with a deep understanding of our manufacturing clients’ needs”

On behalf of Bain Capital Ventures, Managing Partner, Ajay Agarwal notes “As an active investor in robotics and automation, we’ve witnessed the convergence of collaborative robotics, increasing automation, and a growing need for speed and agility in today’s modern manufacturing world.” That’s what makes this investment such a great fit, according to Agarwal. “Etienne and his team have developed a simple and flexible product that’s being adopted at a rapid clip. The company couldn’t be in a stronger position to seize an enormous market opportunity, and we’re excited to help Vention become a leader in the industrial equipment category.”

McLean, Virginia – Manufacturing technology orders were $458 million in November, down 2% from October levels and up 7% from November 2017 numbers. October through December orders levels are running significantly higher than the fourth quarter of 2017 but not at the frenetic pace set by third-quarter 2018 order values. The $5 billion year-to-date sum is up an impressive 22% from the same 11 months in 2017.

 “Orders in the third quarter were amazing, and no one expected that pace to continue into the last three months of 2018,” says AMT President Doug Woods. “The single-digit October and November year-over-year growth rates are a harbinger of what we’ll see in early 2019, but our members are confident growth will continue as the aerospace industry ramps up to reduce order backlogs; medical equipment demand grows with the graying of North America; and the auto sector drives capex investment deeper into the supply chain.”

The strength in November orders was the product of two sectors – contract machining and industrial machinery. October and November levels in the aerospace and automotive industries provided a strong base for order levels in both months but jumps in demand for manufacturing technology in the contract machining and industrial machinery industries accounted for a significant portion of the year-over-year growth in total orders. November industrial machinery orders were a third larger than October. Forging and stamping also had a good November, up 25% in November after a 75% increase from September to October.

Geographically, the North East, West, and North Central East showed strengthening markets during November. The North Central East growth in orders during November was led by stronger auto and aerospace orders, bucking the national trend in these two sectors. Improvement in the West region was driven by several large orders in the consumer electronics industry. The North East saw the largest month-to-month gain for a region due to a strong pick- up in orders from the contract machining sector and growth in the aerospace sector counter to the national trend in aerospace.

Most of the key indicators are very strong. Consumer confidence moved upwards to 98.3 in December from 97.5 in November, and the sales indices available were stable, including light vehicle sales which posted sales at a 17.4 million units-per-year pace for November. The Institute for Supply Management’s Purchasing Managers’ Index slipped five points from November to December but is still in the expansion range for manufacturing. Several other leading indicators used to gauge the health and direction of the manufacturing technology market are unavailable due to the U.S. government shut down.

Independence, Kentucky – The Powder Coating Institute (PCI)’s 2019 PCI Scholarship Program is now open and accepting applications. Designed to award students studying in areas that advance powder coating technologies, the program includes the PCI General Scholarship, and three corporate member-sponsored scholarships: PCI/Axalta Scholarship, PCI/Gema Scholarship and the PCI/Nordson Ken Kreeger Scholarship.

To qualify, a candidate must:

• Be enrolled in chemistry, polymer science, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, corrosion engineering, manufacturing technologies or similar technical disciplines, as well as sales/marketing and business management. The area of study must be useful for a career in the powder coating industry.
• Be enrolled in an accredited two- or four-year technical school, four-year university, or graduate program that offers degrees that can service the powder coating industry.
• Be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States, Canada, or Mexico.
• Maintain a grade point average of 2.5 or above.
• Complete a PCI Scholarship application and attach the following required documents with the application by the deadline:
  • Completed application
  • Transcript
  • Letter of recommendation from a faculty member or advisor
  • Birth certificate or green card showing proof of citizenship or permanent residency

Special consideration will be given to applicants that demonstrate an interest or previous experience in powder coatings.

Candidates must complete the online application and submit supporting documents by March 15, 2019. Interested applicants should go to https://www.powdercoating.org/page/Scholarship to submit the required information. Scholarship winners will be notified in May and will be asked to provide one brief follow-up summary of educational experiences during the 2019-2020 academic year.

The PCI Scholarship Subcommittee reviews the applications and awards scholarships based on the following set of criteria, established and approved by the PCI Board of Directors:

• Specific studies and projects related to powder coatings
• Future goals & career objectives
• Unique qualifications/goals/aspirations
• Letter of recommendation
• Grade point average

Representatives from Axalta Coating Systems, Gema USA, and Nordson Corp. will be a part of the selection process for each of their respective scholarships. Scholarships will be awarded in April and presented at PCI’s Annual Meeting in June at the Sonesta Resort in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

We are truly excited that each year in the number of applicants considered for our scholarship program increases, says PCI Executive Director Trena Benson. “Again, we are thrilled to offer these scholarships for 2019 to help support students who are interested in building a career path in our industry.”

To see previous scholarship award winners and learn more about the program, visit our website.