CommScope opens new Advanced Technology Centre in Belgium

The new Advanced Manufacturing Technology centre enables CommScope to develop automated manufacturing competencies and technology in a laboratory setting, and doing this through cross-functional collaboration and partnerships with universities, knowledge partners and suppliers. The goal is to kick-start the design of new process equipment and mechanization tools to implement in manufacturing locations globally. “As we look to the future, the nature of manufacturing continues to evolve. Our customers expect personalisation and near immediate delivery of quality products,” said Chris Story, senior vice president of Global Supply, CommScope. “The digital factory is making manufacturing exciting again. We expect to see employees doing jobs for industries which never existed. CommScope sees the growing proliferation of flexible automation as a key part of how we innovate for our customers.” The centre includes a vision lab to support the robotics, develop automated quality inspection and augmented reality based support tools. The mechatronics lab will design tools to facilitate craft sensitive and high precision operations. This area will also focus on the development of laser-enabled process equipment. Yaskawa will showcase the following technologies—viewed as components in an advanced, automated manufacturing environment—at the new CommScope centre: “Manufacturing contributes more than six trillion euros1 to the global economy while the demand for a highly-skilled, tech savvy and innovative workforce continues to grow,” said Eddie Mennen, managing director of Yaskawa Benelux. “Yaskawa is collaborating with CommScope to modernize production technologies required to respond quickly in fast changing markets, such as electronics and high-tech.” CommScope views this Advanced Manufacturing Technology Centre as a way to develop and test technology and robotics that will help in its drive to add greater automation to its global manufacturing network and support its operations workforce.