Manufacturing Innovation Award nominees reap benefits from high-tech investments

One company added $1 million in profit. Another improved production efficiency by 60%. Others leveraged cutting-edge manufacturing technology to enhance product quality, upskill employees, slash production costs and reap other measurable benefits.

The firms behind those results make up the second class of nominees for the Conexus Indiana Manufacturing Innovation Award, which will be presented by Conexus as part of the 26th annual TechPoint Mira Awards gala on February 27.

This award honors Indiana manufacturing companies that have embraced the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) by successfully completing a technology adoption project. It recognizes the application of cutting-edge technologies—such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, data analytics, machine learning (ML), the industrial internet of things (IIoT), and machine vision—within a production facility. 

First awarded last year, this Mira Awards category seeks to highlight innovative projects happening in manufacturing and inspire further technology investments in a sector that adds more than $150 billion in Gross Domestic Product to Indiana’s economy.

In addition to generating gains in productivity, efficiency and profitability, the technologies deployed by this year’s nominees are delivering considerable benefits for workers who are making an impact on the production floor. “Again and again, these projects exemplified how technology and workforce investments can go hand in hand; Enhancing skillsets within existing positions, increasing wages and even adding workers,” said Conexus Senior Director of Innovation Ryan Henderson. “Examples like these should put aside any fears that new manufacturing technology will negatively affect the workforce.”

This year’s six nominees for the Conexus Indiana Manufacturing Innovation Award were selected from a group of statewide applicants operating in and serving diverse manufacturing subsectors, including precision parts, fasteners, furniture, medical devices, aerospace and automotive.

The 2025 Conexus Indiana Manufacturing Innovation Award nominees are: 

  • AMPG, Indianapolis: In an industry still relying on processes established in the 1800s, specialty fastener and engineered components manufacturer AMPG tapped into a decidedly Industry 4.0 opportunity by integrating IIoT and machine vision capabilities within its production lathes, a move that reduced lead times, streamlined production and improved customer satisfaction. Learn more here.
  • Arcamed, Indianapolis: At Arcamed, a contract manufacturer of surgical case and tray systems, the deployment of collaborative robots (cobots) with integrated machine vision and AI capabilities drove down the cost of machined and formed components by 22% and improved production efficiency by 60%. It also directly benefited employees, with 20% of Arcamed’s production workers gaining new skills and the average employee seeing a 10%-15% wage increase. Learn more here.
  • Batesville Tool & Die Inc., Batesville, Indiana: Technologyhad a tangible impact on Batesville Tool & Die’s picking, positioning, welding and inspecting of 1.2 million brackets and nuts each month: By marrying machine vision systems, robotic bin picking and automated part handling, the maker of precision metal stamping components also reduced scrap by 40% and improved product quality. Learn more here.
  • Indiana Furniture, Jasper, Indiana: Citing workforce shortages as a big challenge, 120-year-old Indiana Furniture put a coordinated fleet of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) to work moving production materials around the facility, reducing workflow bottlenecks and freeing up the workforce from manual-intensive tasks. With each AMR already traveling around 11 miles a day, Indiana Furniture expects to double or triple AMR usage in 2025. Learn more here.
  • Major Tool & Machine, Indianapolis: A contract manufacturer specializing in services such as large-scale complex CNC milling and turning, welding, engineering and assembly, Major Tool & Machine enhanced its operations by combining Industrial Internet of Things and advanced sensor technologies. The result? A real-time, critical-machinery monitoring system and centralized insights dashboard that has decreased unexpected downtime, reduced maintenance costs and increased productivity and quality. Learn more here.
  • Polygon Composites Technology, Walkerton, Indiana: Polygon Composites Technology set a big goal with its tech adoption project: Bring back business outsourced to China. With a mix of emerging technologies–AI, ML, data analytics, IIoT and machine vision–the company achieved this goal while also posting $1 million in profit growth, increasing stock department throughput by 30% and more than doubling its fabrication work. Meanwhile, the firm added positions to its workforce and secured new market opportunities. Learn more here.

“What’s impressive about our finalists is, more often than not, it was younger workers who championed the technology adoption projects,” Henderson said. “The fact that manufacturing leaders are listening to their early-in-career, tech-savvy employees and letting them bring innovations like AI and robotics into established operations bodes well for the future of advanced manufacturing in Indiana.”

The winner of the Manufacturing Innovation Award will be announced at the 26th annual TechPoint Mira Awards program on Saturday, Feb. 27 at The Palladium in Carmel. Learn more and get your tickets here.