All-in-one connected baby care system provides real-time view of baby’s sleep, feeding and diapering patterns 01.06.20 Lumi by Pampers, the world’s first all-in-one connected baby care system, is being showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2020. "Figuring out your baby’s needs can be tricky," says Omer Sher, head of the Start-up Pampers team who founded the product. "When developing Lumi we focused on solving real problems parents have. Lumi lets you see and know how your baby is doing right now at a glance, anticipate their needs and build your rhythm as a family.” Lumi uniquely combines a smart HD video monitor with an activity sensor and brings the information together in an easy-to-use app, so parents have a real-time holistic view of their baby’s sleep, feeding and diapering patterns, all in one place - 24/7. Lumi goes beyond the marriage of video monitoring and automated baby tracking, transforming that data into unique, tangible insights and actionable tips to coach parents as their baby develops and grows. As an exclusive partner of The Wonder Weeks (leading baby development experts) Lumi also offers parents direct access to the 10 mental development leaps and even more personalized insights specific to their baby’s unique development journey. “Parenting is the most important job you’ve never done, and it was clear there was an opportunity to enable parents to better anticipate their baby’s needs. Lumi solves this by helping parents blend real tracking data with their own intuition in a frictionless way as they find their rhythm as a family,” Sher says.

AFC Hartmetall is a cemented carbide tool blank manufacturer 01.02.20 Hyperion material & Technologies, a global leader in developing hard and super-hard materials for a wide range of demanding applications, on Jan. 1 completed the acquisition of AFC Hartmetall, a premium cemented carbide tool blank manufacturer, marking the close of the highly complementary agreement announced in September. “Bringing AFC into the Hyperion group creates an extensive product portfolio and expands our manufacturing capabilities, boosting our already robust offering and further positioning us as the first choice for toolmakers in need of high-precision, high-performance solutions for drilling and milling applications,” says Ron Voigt, CEO of Hyperion. “AFC has an extremely talented workforce and a tremendous reputation for supporting customers. Together, we will work toward the shared goal of becoming the world’s top independent supplier of cemented carbide tool blanks.” There will be little change as the companies begin the integration process. AFC will maintain its own brand identity and continue operations at its Mainleus, Germany, headquarters. AFC founder Arno Friedrichs stepped down as CEO and joined the Hyperion Board of Directors, and Ralf Greifzu, who has led AFC’s global sales for seven years, is now vice president and general manager of AFC. In addition, AFC employees will participate in Hyperion’s shared employee equity program. “We are looking forward to the benefits of collaboration across sales, product development and manufacturing,” Greifzu says. “This partnership greatly expands our global footprint, creating the opportunity to introduce our industry-leading products to more markets while ensuring we can provide even better support to our existing clients.” AFC is highly regarded for its innovative technologies in solid, preformed and coolant channel tool blanks, the latter of which is a rapidly growing market because of the ability to offer increased cutting performance and precision. Customers will continue to buy from their current contacts at each company as they gain access to the combined product portfolio.

Edison Nation, a multifaceted ecosystem which fosters innovation and drives IP, media and consumer products, announced the exclusive distribution partnership to introduce Mother-K to the U.S. market. Mother-K was founded in 2010 in South Korea with the sole purpose of providing safe, trustworthy baby essentials for new families. The global, award-winning company thoughtfully designs and produces with an effort to bring eco-friendly products that are safe for babies as well as the environment. The collection includes maternity care items, baby bottles, eco-storage bags, wipes, diapers and a line of cleaning products. The line is set to launch on Amazon at the end of December 2019. Edison Nation will launch Mother-K in the U.S. as an extension of its Cloud b brand, which is already a renowned brand name in the baby products market. The Cloud b brand is a pioneer in creating products to help children sleep by soothing the senses. “We are excited to introduce Mother-K products to U.S. consumers. The modern designs and mindfully sourced materials will appeal to the most discerning parents,” says Linda Suh, Cloud b co-founder and Edison Nation’s chief business development officer. “Like Cloud b, Mother-K is constantly focusing on research and development to create high-quality innovative products that can help make raising a child a truly enjoyable experience, which makes them a perfect partner for Edison Nation.” MinJung Kim, CEO of Mother-K, comments, “I am really excited about the partnership and launching Mother-K in the U.S.”

12.18.19 At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV next month, Smardii will be exhibiting its fully-connected, smart early detection system for diaper monitoring. The company is particularly focusing on adult care with the patented technology. Smardii’s technology includes disposable sensors that are embedded within an adult diaper, and a reusable, rechargeable, waterproof disk called the Puck. The smart system detects urine and stool and checks body temperature, body positioning and runs a real-time urinalysis. In an acute care or nursing home environment, the medical staff and caregivers receive timely alerts on the Smardii dashboard and through the mobile app. Within a private home setting, the Smardii app is also used for monitoring. Through this product, Smardii is crafting the future of adult and elder care while providing valuable information for preventive care, dignity of care and improved health. Researchers have been developing Smardii since 2016 and developed several prototypes before receving a U.S. patent in October 2017 and an international patent in September 2018. In November 2018, Smardii formed it first partnerships with three healthcare facilities in France and has more recently extended its scope with agreements in Italy and the northeast U.S.

12.15.19 Bouckaert Industrial Textiles has announced the addition of three new pieces of equipment coming online in January 2020. One of its white production lines will be enhanced by the addition of a brand new Bematic card and a new, in-line, up-stroke needle-loom from Shoou Shyng to work together with the existing down-stroke loom. Specifically targeting synthetic and glass fiber products, this needlepunch line will efficiently produce goods from 6oz per sq yard to 65oz per sq yard in varying thicknesses. In addition to the improvements to the white line, a second new Shoou Shyng needle loom has been added offline to augment its production of greys and colored nonwovens. Overall, these improvements will allow Bouckaert to phase out some older equipment and expand its capabilities when it comes to weight, width, and control for its products. These new capital investments, totaling $1.9 million, will position Bouckaert to be able to continue to meet the current market needs as well as opening access to a number of new markets it plans to enter into in the future.

12.03.19 The Procter&Ga,ble Company released its 2019 Citizenship Report, detailing progress in its Citizenship focus areas of Community Impact, Diversity & Inclusion, Gender Equality and Environmental Sustainability built on the foundation of Ethics and Corporate Responsibility. From reaching its 2020 goal of providing 15 billion liters of clean water through its Children’s Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) Program, to using its voice to spark conversations about gender and racial equality, 2019 was a year in which P&G’s leadership made a meaningful impact in the community and with the company’s employees. “We’ve built Citizenship into our business, and it’s not only doing good, it’s building trust and equity with consumers, and driving growth and value creation—allowing us to be a force for good and a force for growth,” says David Taylor, P&G’s chairman of the Board, president and chief executive officer. “It’s not a separate thing we do on the side—it’s how we do business every day around the world.” With operations in about 70 countries serving nearly five billion people, the company leverages its scale, innovation and talented employees, along with the reach of its 65 leadership brands, to do good every day. P&G’s contributions have been recognized externally with higher 2019 rankings on Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies and the Axios Harris Poll 100. In addition, more than 80% of P&G’s employees expressed a favorable opinion about the company’s Citizenship efforts, making Citizenship a high-scoring index in the Company’s 2019 annual survey. Highlights of the P&G 2019 Citizenship Report include: Community Impact: P&G provided disaster relief kits filled with its products to families affected by more than 25 natural disasters including wildfires and hurricanes that devastated parts of the U.S., flooding in the Indian state of Kerala, and the deadly earthquake and tsunami that hit Indonesia. Additionally, the company, through its CSDW Program, made a new commitment to delivering 25 billion liters of clean drinking water by 2025. Diversity & Inclusion: P&G was a platinum sponsor of World Pride in New York with 50 sites around the world showing support through various Pride activities. The company launched “The Look,” the sequel to the Emmy Award-winning film “The Talk,” to continue the conversation about racial bias. P&G also established neurodiversity programs at four company sites to provide opportunities for individuals on the autism spectrum. Gender Equality: Well on the way to P&G’s goal of 50/50 representation at all levels, the company’s senior leadership team and Board of Directors are now composed of more than 40% women. P&G’s Always brand launched its #EndPeriodPoverty Campaign to help keep girls in school, and Secret donated more than $500,000 as part of the brand’s ongoing support for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team’s fight for equal pay. Environmental Responsibility: In Apri...