SOUTHFIELD – Comau and LIFT – Lightweight Innovations For Tomorrow, opened the doors Thursday to a new LIFT Lab inside the Comau Innovation Center in Southfield. The 1,000-sq. ft. facility will serve as an extension of LIFT’s Corktown research center providing additional collaborative space for LIFT members and partners to conduct lightweighting research along with access to Comau equipment and resources– including a fully equipped metallurgical lab, advanced laser welding lab and a machine shop.
The resource expansion follows the recent announcement by LIFT and IACMI – The Composites Institute, of nearly $50 million in advanced manufacturing equipment and upgrades to their Corktown facility.
“Comau has been a proponent of LIFT’s mission since the very beginning,” said Martin Kinsella, Comau LLC and chairman of the LIFT Executive Advisory Council on Education and Workforce Development. “This new lab provides an ideal environment for idea-sharing and partnering among LIFT members and our staff to advance the world of lightweighting.”
LIFT, one of the founding Manufacturing USA institutes, and a part of the National Network of Manufacturing Innovation program, is a Detroit-based public-private partnership dedicated to developing and deploying advanced lightweight metal manufacturing technologies, and implementing education and training programs to better prepare the workforce today and in the future. Comau is one of LIFT’s conveners and inaugural partners.
“We truly are a network of innovators in the advanced manufacturing industry and we could not be happier with the support Comau has provided from the beginning on our technology projects as well as our workforce development initiatives,” said Lawrence E. Brown, executive director, LIFT. “Expanding our network to facilities like the Comau Innovation Center will allow our members to do more research and help the industry bring more lightweight solutions to market.”
