Stanley Black & Decker to open Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence

Dec. 5, 2017 – Stanley Black & Decker today announced plans to open an Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence in downtown Hartford, Conn., to accelerate its global Industry 4.0 smart factory initiative.

Named Manufactory 4.0, after the original Stanley Bolt Manufactory founded in 1843, the 23,000-square-foot centre will employ approximately 50 Industry 4.0 professionals. Sudhi Bangalore, most recently WIPRO’s Global Head of Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 Solutions, will lead the centre. The company is also launching an additive manufacturing accelerator with Techstars that will be housed at the new facility.

“Strong urban cores, and in particular a vibrant capital city, are essential to Connecticut’s ability to thrive which is why we decided to locate this important new initiative in Hartford,” said Stanley Black & Decker’s president and CEO Jim Loree.

“Our Manufactory 4.0 will serve as the epicentre for the latest technologies and processes with respect to Industry 4.0,” said Don Allan, CFO for Stanley Black & Decker. “Just as Connecticut was at the heart of the first three Industrial Revolutions and has continued to have a strong manufacturing presence, we believe that the state has the potential to be a leader for what is often called the Fourth Industrial Revolution – the automation of manufacturing that includes the internet of things, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, robotics and advanced materials. We are thrilled that Sudhi has joined the company to lead this effort, which is a critical component of our company’s 22/22 strategy.”

Bangalore will serve as Stanley Black & Decker’s vice-president of Industry 4.0. Leveraging a unique combination of operations and technology background, Bangalore has served as an expert advisor to shape and deploy Industry 4.0 strategies for several global customers. He has held operations and business unit manager leadership roles across a number of technology companies, including Danaher Corporation, Siemens and Rockwell Automation.

The company has three locations designated as Lighthouse Factories, that have partially implemented Industry 4.0 across their facilities from manufacturing execution systems (MES), to 3D printing, virtual reality and artificial intelligence.

In addition, to support and accelerate innovation in Industry 4.0, the company has made a three-year commitment to partnering with Techstars, a startup accelerator, and is announcing the launch of the Stanley+Techstars Additive Manufacturing Accelerator. The mentorship-driven, entrepreneurial accelerator program will identify 10 startups in the additive manufacturing space to participate in the program in the program’s first year. Companies will co-locate with Manufactory 4.0 and have access to mentoring and resources to grow their ideas into viable businesses, and bring new technologies to market. The application process will begin in January 2018. Similar programs will be run in 2019 and 2020, with 30 potential startups completing the process.

“Additive manufacturing is a field that is constantly evolving and will significantly change the manufacturing environment of the future,” said Corbin Walburger, vice-president of business development for Stanley Black & Decker. “The Stanley+Techstars Additive Manufacturing Accelerator demonstrates our commitment to this emerging industry, and shows our intent to stay at the forefront of technological change and incorporate another example of innovative and disruptive technologies into our business model.”