Batteries for Buckeyes and a New Old Face at Stellantis: So That Happened
Editor’s note: Welcome to So That Happened, our editors’ takes on things going on in the manufacturing world that deserve some extra attention. This will appear regularly in the Member’s Only section of the site.
Honda Revs Up R&D at Ohio State
What do quantum computing, hydrogen fuel cells, carbon capture technologies and electric-vehicle batteries have in common?
They’ll all be studied at the Advanced Materials Science Lab on The Ohio State University’s SciTech Campus that will open by year’s end. The project is an initiative of Honda Research Institute USA Inc., which is investing $2.6 million into the lab to help it feed the next generation of technologies into its product development process.
Word of the new lab comes about two years after Honda said it would pump $15 million into a center researching the future of battery cells. The company, which has a storied manufacturing history in the Buckeye State, also is building (with LG) an EV battery plant in Jeffersonville, halfway between Columbus and Cincinnati.
“Ohio continues to be one of our most important centers of innovation,” Christopher Brooks, vice president of HRI-US, said in a statement. “We are grateful to the state of Ohio for supporting the continued expansion of Honda research capabilities in the Columbus region that will deepen our collaboration with academic and industry partners.”
Ohio officials have pledged $500,000 in support of the lab via a research-and-development grant. In announcing the Honda news, they pointed to other recent advanced mobility wins for the state, such as Anduril Industries’ plan to build unmanned systems in Columbus and Joby Aviation’s electric vertical take-off and landing manufacturing facility in Dayton.
— Geert De Lombaerde
Will Work for Skills Training
Fourteen states recently scored Department of Labor grants, collectively totaling $86 million, for skilled trades training in designated “high-demand” industries, including advanced manufacturing, energy, information technology and domestic shipbuilding.
The Industry-Driven Skills Training grants, announced on September 30 before the federal-government shutdown and administered by the DOL’s Employment and Training Administration, will be distributed as “outcome-based” reimbursements to employers for training.
“By investing more than $86 million in workforce development initiatives across the country, we are carrying out our responsibility to prepare American workers to fill the mortgage-paying jobs being created by this Administration’s efforts to revitalize American manufacturing, shipbuilding, energy production and other critical industries,” Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement.
These state agencies received funding:
- Arizona Department of Economic Security
- Connecticut Department of Labor
- Technical College System of Georgia
- Idaho Department of Labor
- Iowa Workforce Development
- Louisiana Workforce Commission
- Maine Department of Labor
- Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity
- Mississippi Department of Employment Security
- Oklahoma Employment Security Commission
- Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce
- Texas Workforce Commission
- Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development
- Wyoming Department of Workforce Services
—Anna Smith
Manufacturing Day—All Month Long!
Did you host a Manufacturing Day tour at your plant, (or an off-site activity celebrating manufacturing)? Show off the latest technology to a new generation; maybe give students a chance to program a robot or design a component with Legos?
It’s not too late to send photos that IndustryWeek will share through the end of October.
Manufacturers only, please; while we appreciate manufacturing-adjacent industries, this particular shout-out is only for companies that actually do the production day in and day out.
—Laura Putre
Third-party Cybersecurity Threats Are the Worst
Do you know if your digital transformation has created countless doors for cybercriminals to walk through and hold your data hostage to the tune of millions of dollars?
Third-party network access is a risk for manufacturers. Unless all your suppliers or distributors with access to your systems have effective cybersecurity hygiene, each represents an attack surface for bad actors to penetrate your network and launch ransomware attacks, or something even more nefarious.
Third-party cybersecurity risk firm Black Kite today released a new report that outlines the problem. According to the firm, manufacturers’ own networks aren’t the biggest cybersecurity risk they face. With the pace of potential threats increasing every day, it’s challenging for even the most cybersecurity-aware manufacturer to keep its systems updated with new security patches.
How many suppliers and distributors with access to your data have the same weight of resources to stay on top of their cybersecurity protocols?
Perhaps, posits the report, this is why manufacturing is such an attractive target for ransomware attacks. With so many doors constantly opening due to third-party network access, how can bad actors help themselves from going after easy money?
Also, consider this: If a cybercriminal accesses your network through a third party, what are the chances the hacker will then go through your network to attack all the other third-party companies with access who don’t tend to their cybersecurity? The potential for cascading assaults should frighten anyone.
— Dennis Scimeca
Familiar Face Rejoins Stellantis N.V. to Lead Global Manufacturing
Struggling Stellantis N.V. announced October 8 that Francesco Ciancia will rejoin the automotive manufacturer on November 1, serving as the global head of manufacturing as well as a member of the company’s leadership team.
His name is not a new one to the global manufacturer. Before joining Mercedes-Benz in 2022 and most recently heading that company’s van operations in Stuttgart, Germany, Ciancia had worked at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Stellantis starting in 2001. Multiple roles within the Stellantis organization included head of manufacturing for Latin America and head of manufacturing for Maserati and premium brands for Europe, the Middle East and Africa regions.
Ciancia’s appointment to the leadership team is one of multiple additions the automaker has made to the team as it “pursues its path to recovery,” according to a news release. Recent additions include Joao Laranjo as chief financial officer.
“With these new appointments we are promoting exceptional talent from inside and out to leadership roles as we prepare our business for future success,” said CEO Antonio Filosa.
In late July, Stellantis announced first-half 2025 results, which showed net revenue down 13% over the previous year’s first half, driven by declines in North America and Europe. Filosa joined as the automaker’s new CEO in June 2025.
— Jill Jusko
About the Author
Geert De Lombaerde
Senior Editor
A native of Belgium, Geert De Lombaerde has been in business journalism since the mid-1990s and writes about public companies, markets and economic trends for Endeavor Business Media publications, focusing on IndustryWeek, FleetOwner, Oil & Gas Journal, T&D World and Healthcare Innovation. He also curates the twice-monthly Market Moves Strategy newsletter that showcases Endeavor stories on strategy, leadership and investment and contributes to other Market Moves newsletters.
With a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, he began his reporting career at the Business Courier in Cincinnati in 1997, initially covering retail and the courts before shifting to banking, insurance and investing. He later was managing editor and editor of the Nashville Business Journal before being named editor of the Nashville Post in early 2008. He led a team that helped grow the Post's online traffic more than fivefold before joining Endeavor in September 2021.
Jill Jusko
Bio: Jill Jusko is executive editor for IndustryWeek. She has been writing about manufacturing operations leadership for more than 20 years. Her coverage spotlights companies that are in pursuit of world-class results in quality, productivity, cost and other benchmarks by implementing the latest continuous improvement and lean/Six-Sigma strategies. Jill also coordinates IndustryWeek’s Best Plants Awards Program, which annually salutes the leading manufacturing facilities in North America.
Have a story idea? Send it to [email protected].
Laura Putre
Senior Editor, IndustryWeek
As senior editor, Laura Putre works with IndustryWeek's editorial contributors and reports on leadership and the automotive industry as they relate to manufacturing. She joined IndustryWeek in 2015 as a staff writer covering workforce issues.
Prior to IndustryWeek, Laura reported on the healthcare industry and covered local news. She was the editor of the Chicago Journal and a staff writer for Cleveland Scene. Her national bylines include The Guardian, Slate, Pacific-Standard and The Root.
Laura was a National Press Foundation fellow in 2022.
Got a story idea? Reach out to Laura at [email protected]
Dennis Scimeca
Dennis Scimeca is a veteran technology journalist with particular experience in vision system technology, machine learning/artificial intelligence, and augmented/mixed/virtual reality (XR), with bylines in consumer, developer, and B2B outlets.
At IndustryWeek, he covers the competitive advantages gained by manufacturers that deploy proven technologies. If you would like to share your story with IndustryWeek, please contact Dennis at [email protected].
Anna Smith
News Editor
News Editor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-m-smith/
Bio: Anna Smith joined IndustryWeek in 2021. She handles IW’s daily newsletters and breaking news of interest to the manufacturing industry. Anna was previously an editorial assistant at New Equipment Digest, Material Handling & Logistics and other publications.