Coherix Invests in New Facility to Advance AI-Driven Quality Control for Adhesive Applications
Coherix is expanding its production and product development facilities to meet a growing demand for AI-based quality-control systems to control the application of adhesives in the assembly of automotive and electronics products.
The move to a new 25,000-square-foot North American manufacturing, product-development and headquarters facility at 1168 Oak Valley Drive in Ann Arbor will be completed by year’s end.
The nearly $1 million expansion will increase production space by 5,000-square-feet and add 5,000-square-feet for engineering, software development, training and customer service.
Craig Manning, vice president of operations, product development and accounting, said “workspace will nearly double and allow the addition of 10 to 15 engineering and product-development jobs over the next year.”
The facility’s new Innovation Center will include 10 robot stations outfitted with a range of dispensing equipment, technical training facilities and a product demonstration-and-service area for customers.
“This is a game-changing move for Coherix,” Manning said. “It will allow us to keep pace with customer demand for our industry-leading products, speed the further development of a full range of new precision dispensing technology and help us attract needed engineering talent.”
A pioneer in the development of 3D Computer Vision enabled adaptive-process-control technology, Coherix provides high-performance adhesive-dispensing process control technology to global OEMs, tier-one suppliers, line builders, dispensing-equipment companies and system integrators in a variety of industries. Its sales have grown at a steady annual rate in recent years.
The company offers the only manufacturing technology capable of automatically inspecting and controlling the application of adhesives and sealants at assembly-line speeds. Its 3D laser-based quality-control systems are equipped with machine-learning, artificial-intelligence and process-control software proven to deliver savings of 25 percent in labor and material.
Coherix Chairman and CEO Dwight Carlson noted “the use of adhesives in manufacturing is growing rapidly, especially in the assembly of automotive, electronics and batteries. Nearly 30,000 people are employed in manufacturing sealants and adhesives in North America alone with a market size valued at more than $22 billion.”
“There’s also a growing demand for mechanical engineers as well as training for engineers currently involved with adhesives and sealants,” Carlson added. “Coherix is working with Eastern Michigan University, various trade organizations and our customers to meet those needs. The development and maintenance of trouble-free dispensing systems is an extremely complex process that includes robots, fixturing, adhesive-dispensing equipment and process-control systems along with a host of other factors. It’s been an art form up until now, but we’re injecting more science and inter-company cooperation into the process.”
For more information: www.coherix.com
