The Best Story on Manufacturing Day? How About the 235-Year History

Take a look at the history of manufacturing that begins in 1785 and continues beyond today.

Rob Spiegel

October 1, 2021

22 Slides
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Manufacturing begins with material handling of all things. The history of manufacturing is the history of advances in human development. From cotton gins and sewing machines to artificial intelligence and 3D printed body parts– it’s all automated.

Manufacturing has changed human life and created the present world. These days, the dirty business of industrial production is moving toward clean manufacturing. Mass production is moving into mass customization, the production of one.

About the Author

Rob Spiegel

Rob Spiegel serves as a senior editor for Design News. He started with Design News in 2002 as a freelancer covering sustainability issues, including the transistion in electronic components to RoHS compliance. Rob was hired by Design News as senior editor in 2011 to cover automation, manufacturing, 3D printing, robotics, AI, and more.

Prior to his work with Design News, Rob worked as a senior editor for Electronic News and Ecommerce Business. He served as contributing editolr to Automation World for eight years, and he has contributed to Supply Chain Management Review, Logistics Management, Ecommerce Times, and many other trade publications. He is the author of six books on small business and internet commerce, inclluding Net Strategy: Charting the Digital Course for Your Company's Growth.

He has been published in magazines that range from Rolling Stone to True Confessions.

Rob has won a number of awards for his technolloghy coverage, including a Maggy Award for a Design News article on the Jeep Cherokee hacking, and a Launch Team award for Ecommerce Business. Rob has also won awards for his leadership postions in the American Marketing Association and SouthWest Writers.

Before covering technology, Rob spent 10 years as publisher and owner of Chile Pepper Magazine, a national consumer food publication. He has published hundreds of poems and scores of short stories in national publications.

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