Manufacturing

Digitally track and locate tools with Brady’s RFID solution. (Image source: Brady Corporation)

Get a real-time list of equipment present in a vehicle and see what is missing versus an established vehicle equipment list. Select missing tools on-screen. Quickly home in with proximity-increasing sounds and visuals on a portable RFID reader

Discover the affordable RFID Scan & Drive solution from Brady!

Have you ever arrived at an intervention without the necessary equipment? Ever lost tools during field interventions? How much time do you spend to make sure all equipment is accounted for, and present in your vehicles? Now you can confirm vehicle inventories digitally and automatically, highlight any missing assets, and home in on misplaced items to quickly complete your vehicles. How much time could you save?

Everything present

Instantly see which tools are present in a vehicle - and what is missing. Easily save substantial time per vehicle, per intervention, with automated equipment inventory checks that take only seconds.

By labelling equipment with passive, battery-free UHF RFID labels, we can let an RFID reader in your vehicle detect which tools and items are present. The RFID reader can check detected tools versus a list of expected items to confirm a complete vehicle inventory or to highlight missing equipment on your phone.

Be fully equipped before leaving for a field intervention. Avoid losing tools after interventions. Don’t waste time checking visually where every piece of equipment is. Just scan, get confirmation in seconds, and drive to your next destination.

Home in on assets

Quickly find misplaced equipment. Home in on specific items with a portable RFID reader and proximity-increasing sounds and visuals.

Passive, battery-free UHF RFID labels bounce back radio signals from a portable RFID reader up to 15 metres. By measuring the strength of the returning radio signal with patented data capture technology, our portable RFID readers guide users towards a unique RFID label applied on a specific tool. When closing in, auditive and visual feedback strength from the reader increases.

RFID labels can include an LED, powered by an RFID reader from a 1.5 metre distance, to let a tool light up or to find it in a dense inventory of equipment.

Solution components

Brady develops and manufactures every component in our solution. Tested in in-house laboratories, each component is designed to withstand the wear and tear of field interventions, including exposure to UV, dust and moisture.

• RFID labels: Brady offers industrial grade on- and off-metal RFID-labels and tags that stay attached and remain legible on your equipment.
• Fixed RFID readers: Equipped with patented data capture technology, Brady’s fixed RFID readers collect data on items passing through their read range.
• Portable RFID readers: With intuitive displays, Brady’s portable RFID readers and SLEDs deliver unmatched mobility, data collection and interaction.

Are you interested in automated inventory checks solution from Brady? Visit our website, watch the short video and download the free RFID labelling guidebook.

Find out more now!

Modular glass crushing plants from Pilot Crushtec are built to grow with production needs, making it easy to increase output as throughput requirements rise. (Image source: Pilot Crushtec)

Glass remains one of the most recyclable materials in the world, yet in South Africa significant volumes still end up in landfill. According to Francois Marais, sales and marketing director at Pilot Crushtec, improving glass recycling rates presents a clear opportunity to reduce energy consumption, lower carbon emissions and stimulate new business growth

Every discarded bottle or jar represents not only wasted material but also untapped economic and environmental potential.

“Unlike many materials, glass can be recycled indefinitely without losing quality,” commented Marais. “Each time we recycle glass, we are not only reducing pressure on landfills but also helping industries save energy and cut carbon emissions.”

From an environmental perspective, the advantages of recycling glass are immediate. Re-melting recycled glass, commonly referred to as cullet, requires significantly less energy than processing virgin raw materials such as silica and limestone. Lower furnace temperatures translate into meaningful energy savings and reduced emissions. At the same time, keeping glass out of landfill reduces environmental risk and supports broader sustainability goals, offering clear benefits to both industry and the environment.

The application of recycled glass goes well beyond the manufacture of new containers. Cullet plays an important role in producing fibreglass insulation products. Within the construction industry, crushed glass is increasingly being adopted as an alternative to conventional aggregates in concrete and asphalt mixes. Manufacturers of bricks and blocks are also recognising that incorporating glass cullet can improve product strength while enhancing environmental performance.

“There is a growing market for glass in construction and infrastructure,” Marais explained.

“Crushed glass can strengthen road bases, add aesthetic value to concrete surfaces and even contribute to eco-friendly brick production. This opens real opportunities for businesses to innovate and differentiate themselves.”

Demand for recycled glass is also rising in landscaping and decorative design. Once treated and processed, it can serve as a long-lasting, colourful mulch for gardens or as an eye-catching surface material for walkways and water features. In addition to its visual qualities, glass cullet is increasingly used as a filtration medium in water treatment facilities and swimming pools, where it has been shown to outperform traditional sand filters.

Its potential extends even further. Glass cullet is incorporated into reflective road markings to enhance night-time visibility and safety. In certain coastal regions, it is also being explored as a material to help restore eroded beaches. These varied uses highlight the role of glass recycling not only in everyday products but also in larger environmental and infrastructure solutions.

Pilot Crushtec is helping to advance this shift by improving access to efficient glass processing technology. The company offers modular crushing and screening plants designed to convert waste glass into premium-quality cullet. These systems are engineered for ease of installation, affordability and scalability, making them suitable for recyclers, municipalities and entrepreneurs seeking entry into the expanding glass recycling sector.

“Glass recycling represents the perfect meeting point between sustainability and profitability,” stated Marais. “It creates jobs, drives innovation and provides industries with valuable raw materials. At Pilot Crushtec, we are committed to providing the equipment that makes this possible but the real transformation will come from a broader commitment across business and society to embrace recycling as both an environmental responsibility and a business opportunity.”

Modular design is the key to streamline product portfolios

A new report from management consultancy Arthur D. Little warns that rising product portfolio complexity is quietly eroding profitability in the manufacturing sector, constraining digital growth, and limiting operational flexibility.

The study, Rise of Complexity in Manufacturing, highlights that companies must take decisive action to simplify their offerings and leverage modularisation to stay competitive.

“Unchecked complexity is a silent profitability killer,” the report states. “With resources limited and markets increasingly commoditised, companies must reduce product portfolio complexity to drive profitability and innovation.”

Manufacturers often expand product variants to meet customer demand, but without systematic portfolio pruning, these efforts generate hidden costs. Non-customer-facing complexity such as outdated products, excessive SKUs, and intricate internal processes can slow development, reduce scalability, and impede time to market.

The report identifies four key challenges for manufacturers: maintaining profitability amid market commoditisation, differentiating through digital solutions, ensuring supply chain resilience, and balancing legacy systems with emerging technologies such as new materials, battery-powered engines, or alternative fuels.

Arthur D. Little recommends a data-driven approach to complexity, starting with measuring the cost of complexity (CoC) across product lines and functions. A monetary proxy for CoC can capture inefficiencies in development, manufacturing, warehousing, and support, helping firms identify underperforming products for phaseout.

Strategic modularisation is highlighted as a crucial tool for managing complexity. By designing standardised, interchangeable product modules, manufacturers can simplify portfolios, accelerate time to market, and reduce costs while enabling cost-effective customisation.

The report cites Electrolux, which cut component numbers by 40% and reduced development time by 30% through modular design, and Siemens, which applied modularity to its industrial automation systems, reducing design time by 40% and improving scalability.

Arthur D. Little stresses that complexity reduction requires more than technical solutions: it demands cross-functional coordination, strong governance, and a cultural shift away from short-term gains. Companies must embed modular principles in product development, eliminate low-performing products, and ensure that both hardware and software systems are designed with simplicity in mind.

“Reducing product portfolio complexity is not a technical fix — it is a strategic transformation,” the report concludes. “By making complexity measurable, pruning underperforming products, and embedding modular design, manufacturers can release trapped value, improve speed to market, and build more resilient operations.”

The consultancy urges manufacturers to act decisively now, turning awareness of complexity into structured strategies for long-term profitability and innovation.

Toyota Tsusho’s TTMG acquires Toyota and Hino distributor in Ghana, strengthening mobility services and local operations

Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Toyota Tsusho Manufacturing Ghana Co. Limited (TTMG), a subsidiary of CFAO SAS (CFAO), has acquired the Toyota and Hino distributor business from Toyota Ghana Limited Company (TGLC) in Ghana, effective December 31, 2025

Strengthening mobility operations in Africa

Toyota Tsusho is developing four core business areas across Africa: mobility, green infrastructure, healthcare, and consumer solutions. Its mobility operations cover all 54 African countries, with the group directly operating Toyota automotive distributors in 35 of these nations, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa.

In Ghana, TGLC, which is independent of Toyota Tsusho, has previously served as the distributor for Toyota and Hino vehicles. Meanwhile, CFAO Mobility Ghana, a Toyota Tsusho group-operated distributor, has handled multiple other automotive brands in the country.

Purpose of the acquisition

This strategic acquisition brings the Toyota and Hino distributor business under the direct management of Toyota Tsusho in Ghana, allowing the company to expand its mobility value chain. Toyota Tsusho aims to offer a safe and reliable automotive experience in Ghana, consistent with its standards across Africa, including after-sales service and insurance offerings.

TTMG, which currently manages the assembly of Toyota and Suzuki vehicles in Ghana through semi knock down production, will now also take on sales functions, serving as the main customer contact while continuing its manufacturing role. Semi knock down production refers to a method where vehicle bodies are imported welded and painted, with major components assembled locally onto the chassis.

Future developments

With this acquisition, Ghana becomes the 36th African country where Toyota Tsusho directly operates a Toyota distributor, reinforcing the group’s development strategy in the region. The move is expected to improve vehicle inventory management, streamline logistics, and enhance sales to governments and international organisations.

Toyota Tsusho will also explore opportunities to optimise sales across Ghana in collaboration with CFAO Mobility Ghana, further strengthening its local presence.

Guided by the philosophy “with Africa for Africa,” the Toyota Tsusho group continues to invest in Africa’s sustainable development while providing world-class automotive products and services across the continent.