Helping Factories Get Back to Work

May 20, 2020 | 2 min read

Greg Eden, CMO, Bright Machines

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported some factories will “close for good” due to challenges brought on by the Coronavirus. Manufacturers yet to invest in factory automation “will struggle to keep operating them (factories) profitably” and can’t afford to modernize because, “since the pandemic took hold, capital investment has cratered.”

Factory automation is compelling at any time. It mitigates risk, reduces waste, increases performance, delivers cost savings, and improves product quality. Automation also has the advantage of being able to quickly right-size production capacity anywhere in the world with the flexibility to react to market shifts, tariff spats and, yes, even pandemics.

Cash flow is a top concern for manufacturers in the wake of COVID-19. So, though they appreciate the need to automate and make their production lines more resilient, today, many don’t have the resources to do it.

At Bright Machines we believe it’s important do our part to keep factories open and help them enter the post-COVID-19 world stronger than before. Today we announced the Factory Resiliency Fund. We’ve committed up to $50M to help manufacturers put our automated microfactories to work and not be constrained by their access to capital. The fund will finance new automation projects, allowing customers to modernize factory assembly lines this year but defer payment until next year.

The coronavirus has had an impact on our industry that none of us could have foreseen. It’s evident that where we can, we must all help be a part of the solution. Our Factory Resiliency Fund is aimed at helping companies modernize and scale up automation quickly.

To learn more about our capabilities in building the backbone of AI, visit Bright Machines.